Sexists in the music industry: you will be found, you will be ridiculed
by Milly Shaw // 3 September 2008, 14:25
Today's reasons to love music website The Lipster:
1. They rightly call Noel Gallagher a 'tool' because he's posted a list of his top 10 bands of all time but decided that it should have "no female artists allowed". OMG that must means that Oasis only listen to dreary white-male guitar bands! SCOOP.
2. They've jumped to the brilliant conclusion that Usher is a massive Bikini Kill fan because he's performing a series of women-only gigs. Despite the fact the tour is called 'One Night Stand' and that Usher explained the tour with such wisdom as: "What better way to get up close and personal than to make it all women? The ladies like to see that masculine build. They question if I still got it", The Lipster hopes he will be performing a cover of Suck My Left One. Wouldn't that be just lovely!
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maggie // Posted 03 September 2008 at 16:18
Q magazine is just as bad. I have written many a letter to them to include more female musicians on the covers and in their pages but surprisingly nothing is ever done. They continue to have covers and covers and issues and issues of middle aged white male cock rock. Its quite depressing.
laurenthelurker // Posted 03 September 2008 at 16:27
I'd like The Lipster, but I was always a bit put off by their involvement with drownedinsound - a site which has systematically avoided paying its female contributors for all the years it's been running.
BenSix // Posted 03 September 2008 at 16:55
Maggie,
Yes, I've noticed that. Whenever there are women in bands, of course, they take curious pains to point it out, as if it were some kind of aberration.
Ben
maggie // Posted 03 September 2008 at 18:58
Yes i stopped buying Q magazine a long time ago because of that reason.,
And why are music magazines always designated to the 'mens lifestyle' section?
Women are still not taken seriously in the industry at all on every level.
Nicola // Posted 04 September 2008 at 21:17
@ laurenthelurker: woah, really?! I didn't know that. I thought DiS was okay... well, apart from the occasionally misogyny that lurks on the message boards.
I saw an interesting article at the start of the summer that showed the ratio of mostly female/mostly male bands at festivals. Somewhat unsurprisingly, it was something ridiculous like 5% female and 95% male for most of them. Ugggh.
rebeccan // Posted 08 September 2008 at 18:06
thanks for the lovely mention of the site, milly. @laurenthelurker - we're no longer affiliated with drowned in sound in any way. we're completely independent, not-for-profit and volunteer-run now, and always looking for people to help de-macho the music industry...