It is no secret that the EDM scene is heavily dominated by male artists. Festival lineups are majority males and there only seem to be a few female artists ever listed as headliners. It is not as if there is a shortage of them, in fact, there is a plethora. Female artists should be getting the recognition and attention they deserve for their amazing music and hard work.
Let me start off by naming a handful of great female producers:
- REZZ
- CloZee
- Alison Wonderland
- Lucii
- TOKiMONSTA
- NERVO
- Jvna
- Mija
- NOTLO
- Veil
- Huxley Anne
- VAMPA
- WHIPPED CREAM
- Maddy O’Neal
- ZEN SELEKTA
- Kendoll
- Khiva
- Level Up
- J. Worra
- Flava D
- Amelie Lens
This list just covers a small number of the hundreds of talented female artists in the scene. These producers make a wide range of music that will play to your emotions no matter what kind of mood you find yourself in. Personally, I have seen almost all of the artists listed above, and they have thrown down some of the best sets that I have witnessed. For example, REZZ played in Detroit in 2019, and I cannot remember another time when a DJ had me in a trance as deep as I was in. WHIPPED CREAM played at Electric Forrest and there was not one person at that set who wasn’t getting down heavy to what she was playing. Whether it was in a nightclub, a stop on their tour, or a festival set, they never disappoint. Female artists bring a different energy to the stage with all of their performances. They seem to take control of the crowd with empathetic ease, guiding everyone through a musical journey. And regardless of the setting the crowd always has an incredible reaction to their performance. With that being said, let’s give female artists the attention they deserve.
What more attention for female artists looks like
Attention for artists could mean a lot of things. In this case, we are discussing the same kind that so many male artists have received over the years. Attention such as exposure and media coverage. Coverage like articles about female artists and their backgrounds. Reviews of their albums, EPs, and concerts. Interviews with them to hear more of their opinions and insights. We need higher exposure of female artists at festivals. Exposure in the sense of listing their names higher up in the larger text. Having more headlining spots for female artists, and my personal favorite, more secret sets!
With all of the new events and festivals being announced this year I am shocked at how few festivals have a lot of female artists. I will not name individual festivals because that is not what this article is about. However, an overwhelming majority of festivals that have been announced for the coming year have lineups that consist of about 10% or fewer female artists. How can this be the case for so many festivals when there are so many great female producers out there?
What we can do as a community
The EDM community has always claimed to go against the status quo while also being all about acceptance and inclusion for everyone. Ergo, going against a lot of societal norms. Throughout history, women have had to face lower wages, unfair societal standards, gatekeeping, and many more sexist obstacles. Women are judged much more on their appearance than men are by society. Women were denied the simple right to vote until 1920. And in the workplace, as well as the public eye, women have been forced to work much harder than men in order to receive the same recognition and validation. So why should they have to face obstacles and adversity in our community?
You may be asking yourself, “what can I do about this?”. If you are an avid music listener, explore more female artists when you are looking for new music, and support them on their social media pages. To all of you frequent concert and festival-goers, go hear them play whether it is at a small club or a massive festival setting! To the promoters, start booking more female artists and search the underground for up-and-coming female producers. As a community, let’s take action and show some love!
If you have not already, I strongly recommend checking out all of the artists listed above and branching out to find even more female artists who make your favorite kinds of music. Let’s give them the attention and love they deserve! They all work hard perfecting their craft and should receive proper praise for doing so. So when you are at your next festival or looking for someone who is coming to a venue near you, be sure you are not missing out on the chance to catch these incredible producers!
Discover more music by some of these producers below:
