By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Recording Academy is partnering with Berklee College of Music and Arizona State University to complete a study focused on women's representation in the music industry.
The academy, which puts on the annual Grammy Awards, said the lack of female creators in music is "one of the most urgent issues in the industry today." The organization says the data it collects "will be utilized to develop and empower the next generation of women music creators."
The Grammys have been criticized over the years for awarding and nominating more men than women. Part of that is because the awards show honors not just performers, but also producers and engineers — positions dominated by men.
The academy revealed that among the 853 nominees across all 84 categories at this year's show, 198 — 23% — identify as women.
In 2019, the organization said it planned to double the nominees of female voters by 2025; the academy reported that it had reached 33% of its goal by adding 831 women to its voting membership. In the same year, the academy launched a new initiative asking musicians, record labels and others to consider at least two female producers or engineers when working on a project, whether it's a song or an album.
The study is expected to be completed by and released in early 2022.
The 2021 Grammys will air on March 14 from Los Angeles.
Changes Afoot For Cannes Lions 2025, Including Increasing Festival Access For Underserved Communities
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is putting plans in motion for its 72nd edition, set to take place from June 16-20, 2025 in Cannes, France. The Festival has announced that it will double funding to provide €2m (some $2,150,000) worth of complimentary passes to underrepresented talent and underserved communities through its Equity, Representation and Accessibility (ERA) Pass, returning for a second year.
Frank Starling, chief DEI officer, Lions, said the increased investment was “crucial to continue to drive progress for both Cannes Lions and the industry.” Starling added, “The ERA pass plays an important role in fostering a global representation of talent within the creative communications industry at Cannes Lions, and to date our funded opportunities have reached creatives in 46 countries globally. With the Festival being the destination for everyone in the business of creativity, we recognize the importance of creating equitable access to it, and this is why we’re prioritizing increased representation from the Global South to support a greater range of voices and perspectives from the region at the Festival.” Applications for the ERA pass are open now and close on December 5, 2025. More details can be found here.
With submissions into the Cannes Lions Awards opening on January 16, 2025, innovations to the Awards have also been announced today. Glass: The Lion for Change celebrates 10 years since its introduction. The Glass Lion was launched to champion work that used creativity to drive a shift towards more positive, progressive and gender-aware communication, and Marian Brannelly, global... Read More