In 2017 and 2018 especially, equalizing music and line ups has been a topic discussed at all levels and from all aspects in the music industry. The disparity becomes clear when we look at statistics from research like FACTS, a bi-annual study of festival lineups by Female:Pressure, which showed that in 2017 women still only accounted for 19% of festival headliners. Launched in 2017, the Smirnoff Equalising Music initiative began a three-year global project to escalate the gender parity in the music industry by 2020. Smirnoff Equalising Music is an initiative designed to effect real, top-down, industry-wide change.
So far this year, Smirnoff Equalising Music has launched the Smirnoff Equaliser, a collaboration with Spotify, to tackle the unconscious bias towards female artists in streaming. They also teamed up with London’s pioneering underground music station Rinse FM to bring an all-female stage to Wireless Festival in direct response to the controversy surrounding the festival’s male-dominated line-up.
Announced this week, award winning London venue Printworks will be hosting a 'Smirnoff Equalising Music Presents' event at Printworks on 13th October 2018. As well as Honey Dijon, The Black Madonna and Peggy Gou – Artwork, Mella Dee, HAAi and Grainger will also be playing in the venues incredible Press Halls. Perhaps the most exciting part of all, though, is the Dark Room – which will see a whole range of up and coming talent who have been mentored by various DJs on the line up. Alexis, Catalina, Eva Crystaltips, Jaguar, Jay Carder, Kiia and Trudy Knight have worked closely with mentors (Artwork, The Black Madonna, Honey Dijon and Peggy Gou) to prepare for their debut at the South London venue.
"Printworks would not be Printworks without London, and its incredible mix of people, cultures and influences. Making sure that Printworks is a place which is open to everyone, representing the absolute best in talent and creativity across the board, is something that we are built upon. Gender parity is a crucial part of this, and in Smirnoff Equalising Music, we have found the perfect partner." – Bradley Thompson, Printworks MD
To round off an incredible year of Equalising Music, Smirnoff will host a one-day event, ‘Smirnoff Equalising Music Presents’ at Printworks in London. Tickets available via Resident Advisor.
Connect with the 'Smirnoff Equalising Music Campaign': smirnoffequalisingmusic.com/
Connect with Printworks London: printworkslondon.co.uk/
