Insomniac and Spotify have signed onto Smirnoff’s ‘Equalizing Music’ campaign, created in order to combat gender inequality in EDM. A recent study by THUMP concluded that women only make up 17% of the headliners at music festivals, a number that is even more skewed when examining the electronic music space specifically. Women clearly have not been given the same exposure and opportunities in EDM as men have, and so Smirnoff has launched the ‘Equalizing Music’ campaign in order to “double the number of woman-identified headliners by 2020”.
Smirnoff plan to do this, by launching a brand new platform with THUMP, Broadly and Spotify which will encourage industry leaders to sign a pledge to increase the number of women headliners over the next 3 years. A forthcoming documentary will divulge more details and further explore the challenges female musicians face in electronic music.
“We are committed to promoting gender equality on Spotify through the diversity of the music available on the service and the artists, songwriters and DJs who create it,” said Austin Kramer, Spotify Global Head of Dance and Electronic Music. “We applaud the SMIRNOFF “Equalizing Music” initiative, and look forward to supporting their goal of increasing gender diversity within the electronic music industry.”
“Insomniac has always been committed to supporting equality within the industry, whether it’s the artists we book on our stages, the performers who bring life to our festival experiences, or most importantly, the talented individuals that make up our brilliant internal team,” said Pasquale Rotella, Founder and CEO of Insomniac. “As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we shine a light on the strong female figures that have forever shaped dance music. We encourage our community to respect and love one another regardless of gender, not just today but every day. The spirit of inclusion should extend well beyond our culture, and we aspire to help spread that message around the world.”
Smirnoff, in conjunction with THUMP and Broadly, will also be releasing the “Top 50 Women Making Noise” list, a “global list of 50 of today’s most influential woman-identified headliners and collaborators”. Check out Smirnoff’s ‘Top Women Electronic Artists’ Spotify playlist below:
