Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Spotify Celebrates Women in Music: A Global Spotlight on Talent and Achievement

08/03/2025

Spotify is dedicated to amplifying and celebrating the incredible contributions of all artists and creators worldwide. As part of that commitment, on March 6 we teamed up with Billboard to host the first-ever Women in Music Executive Honoree Reception, an intimate gathering in Los Angeles.

The evening served as a pre-celebration for the magazine's annual Women in Music event on March 29, which recognizes top artists, creators, producers, and executives for their contributions to the industry.



NEXT

Guests had a chance to network with some of this year's Women in Music honorees and more female trailblazers. Spotify leaders-including Chief Public Affairs Officer Dustee Jenkins, Global Head of Editorial, Music Sulinna Ong, and Global Head of Music Go-to-Market Madeleine Bennett-shared their perspectives. EQUAL artist and DJ Empress Of provided the soundtrack for the night.

It's so exciting to partner with Billboard. This is the first time we've done this for the Women in Music event, so really thrilled to be here, said Dustee. I also want to note that for some time, Spotify has been funding a study with the USC Annenberg team to look at the data of women in the industry, because it's very hard to change something if you don't track it.

When you look at the data, you see progress and there are certainly some bright spots, but it shows us we still have a lot of work to do, she continued. And at the end of the day, it's going to take us supporting each other. It's going to take us fighting for each other. It's going to take us cheering for each other in rooms that we're not even in before we see the kind of progress that we're looking for.

EQUAL: Global reach, global impact The event aligned with International Women's Day on March 8. Spotify's EQUAL Global Music Program, introduced in 2021, is at the forefront of our efforts to raise women's voices in the music industry.

This year, we're expanding support to more EQUAL ambassadors through editorial, marketing, and partnerships, while doubling events worldwide-from educational sessions to songwriting camps, networking, and concerts, said Bel Aztiria, Lead, Global Music Programs at Spotify. It's exciting to see this program not only unite women globally, but also reinforce local culture and networks. The past year has been incredible-women raising their voices, leaving a lasting mark in music, and breaking records. We believe in the power of music to shift culture, and EQUAL is committed to being a space for that.

EQUAL by the numbers Since launch, EQUAL has supported more than 1,200 ambassadors, and EQUAL artists have received 1.5 billion editorial streams within their first month of joining the program.

In total, our EQUAL hub has generated more than 12 million editorial streams across 330,000 listening hours. The hub contains our flagship EQUAL global playlist (featuring tracks from our ambassadors and women artists worldwide), as well as local playlists cocurated by ambassadors, a podcast shelf, an audiobook shelf (available in select markets), and more.

In 2024 alone, more than 30 million artist discoveries were made through EQUAL playlists. Here are a few more program highlights:

Artists who experienced the biggest boost in listeners in 2024 after EQUAL inclusion

Paola & Chiara (Italy)

GONEISBACK (South Korea)

Baaba J (Ghana)

(Taiwan)

So!YoON! (South Korea)

Oumaima Taleb (Tunisia)

Perrie (Egypt)

Diana Burco (Colombia)

Laura Weng (Slovakia)

Julieta Laso (Argentina)

Most-streamed EQUAL global ambassadors (all-time) in 2024

Billie Eilish

Sabrina Carpenter

KAROL G

Shakira

Tate McRae

In addition to on-platform support, EQUAL continues to amplify its mission in communities around the world.

EQUAL Day returns to Mexico On March 14, Mexico's EQUAL Day will return for its third consecutive year, bringing more than 1,000 women together in Mexico City-including artists, creators, partners, influencers, and for the first time, fans. From live performances to panels and workshops, the event will serve as the ultimate destination for women in audio to connect, learn, network, and collaborate.

Colombia's empowerment anthem Spotify is also proud to support women in music through our longest-running original recorded music franchise, Spotify Singles. In Colombia, this support shines through in Rayo, the first Colombian Spotify Single created entirely by women.

The track features Ana Sanz, a pop-rock singer-songwriter from Bogot , Lil Keren, a Cali-based rapper, and Maria McCausland, a genre-bending singer-songwriter from Barranquilla. The trio was selected to create this Spotify Single with renowned music producer Natalia Bautista after participating in EQUAL's 2024 Empowerment Day at Casa Spotify Bogot .

The three emerging artists are also our EQUAL global ambassadors this March, in addition to Cazzu, a singer and rapper from Argentina.

A career milestone I'm proud of is being able to live from music and achieve international recognition, despite coming from a place where such opportunities are limited-it is my greatest accomplishment, said Cazzu. It's the legacy I want to leave for women from similar backgrounds.

Ana Sanz, Lil Keren, and Maria McCausland

Cazzu

Women artists are earning from their art worldwide Canada, South Korea, Sweden, and Argentina are among the top markets globally when it comes to the proportion of women among the top-earning artists. In Canada, for example, more than 40% of artists generating more than $1 million (US) on Spotify are either women artists or women performing in bands with men and women. And globally, 18% of all artists generating at least $1 million in 2024 on Spotify were women, an increase from 14% in 2017.

Check out Spotify's EQUAL global playlist.
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2025-03-07/spotify-celebrates-women-in-mu...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

25/04/2026

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of Show for Scheduling Optimization

Mediagenix Sweeps 2026 NAB Awards With Wins for Product of the Year and Best of ...

25/04/2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026

SCHOEPS Microphones Announces Desert Island Boom Set for NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 24, 2026 0 Comments Compact modular set ideal for location sound ...

25/04/2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026

Berklee Africana Studies Hosts Gospel Extravaganza 2026 The Signature Series event will honor three new inductees to the Berklee Gospel Hall of Fame and celeb...

25/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Siva

Student Spotlight: Siva Maja Gierszewska, who performs under the artist name Siva, shares how she found her songwriting confidence at Berklee. April 24, 2026...

25/04/2026

WNBA Offers Free Streaming of all Preseason Games

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/04/2026

Churchill Downs Inc. Acquires Preakness Stakes for $85 Million

Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/...

24/04/2026

Inter Miami CF Opens Miami Freedom Park with 26 LED Displays From Daktronics, DCL

Daktronics has partnered with DCL (Design Communications, Ltd.) to design, manuf...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Chyron Launches PRIME Translate for Multi-Language Live Production

Chyron has announced PRIME Translate, a workflow solution that produces live content simultaneously in multiple languages within the PRIME platform. The system ...

24/04/2026

Eutelsat Supports Co-op Cable in Launching Expanded DTH Offering Across the Caribbean

Eutelsat has announced a new partnership with Co-op Cable, introducing an expand...

24/04/2026

Pitch Dublin Deploys Panasonic Laser LCD Projectors for Indoor Golf and Hospitality Venue

Pitch Dublin, an indoor golf simulation and hospitality venue on Dawson Street i...

24/04/2026

G&D and VuWall Appoint Mirko Aubel as EVP Sales EMEA/APAC, Eric Hnique as Chief Revenue Officer

G&D and VuWall have announced two senior leadership appointments, effective Apri...

24/04/2026

Victory+ Becomes Exclusive Local Streaming Home for Minnesota Lynx

Victory , the free sports streaming service from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year agreement to become the exclusive local streaming ho...

24/04/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jason Weitz, University of South Florida

The former business major from Massachusetts has found his home in graphics and bug operation while contributing to live ESPN productions In the live-sports-vi...

24/04/2026

MASN and Spectrum Announce Multiyear Carriage Agreement

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Spectrum have announced a multiyear carriage agreement making MASN available to Spectrum customers in areas of southe...

24/04/2026

Case Study: 4Wall Entertainment Powers 2026 NFL Draft on NETGEAR AV Line Network

The NFL Draft is rebuilt from the ground up in a new city every year. The three-day fan festival is expected to draw 500,000 or more attendees, with millions fo...

24/04/2026

Diversified Continues Live Sports Expansion, Supports Mobile TV Group Ops Center Buildout

Diversified has continued expansion of its sports and media capabilities to supp...

24/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 Is In The Books! Our Coverage Continues at SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com Announces Updates to Arcadia Central Station and Eclipse HX with New ARC Architecture

Clear-Com has announced significant updates to its Arcadia Central Station and E...

24/04/2026

NAB Reports 58,000+ Registered Attendees at 2026 NAB Show, Up From 2025 but Down From 2024

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NHL Sees Best Regular Season Average Since 2013; CBS Sports Secures Most Watched Final Round Masters

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

24/04/2026

Bleacher Reports Live NFL Draft Stream Builds on Record-Breaking Audience With Player-Driven, Interactive Production

B/R NFL Draft Live' refines the digital giant's productions around footb...

24/04/2026

Sportradar Report: The Viewing Experience Is the Product' as Sports Media Enters New Era of Personalization, Data-Driven Storytelling

Study highlights five pillars shaping modern fan engagement as broadcasters reth...

24/04/2026

ESPN/ABC, NFL Network Prepare for Record-Setting NFL Draft Presentation From Pittsburgh

The 2026 event, the first Draft with NFL Network under the ESPN umbrella, will b...

24/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 12: Detroit Lions' Jessica Shlemon - Motor City Football at Ford Field

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

24/04/2026

Van Wagner Brings Warhol-Inspired Pop Art Vision to NFL Draft Videoboard Production

Integral to the Draft production for three almost decades, the company tells the...

24/04/2026

Film Festival Watch: 17 Sundance Institute-Supported Films to Screen at the 2026 Hot Docs Festival

Championing documentaries that illuminate and expand the artform is at the core ...

24/04/2026

Audiobooks About Climate, Conservation, and the Stories They Inspire

Earth Day is a chance to reflect on our connection to the natural world. To mark the 57th Earth Day on April 22, Spotify's editors have pulled together a co...

24/04/2026

From Page to Stage: Spotify Celebrates Storytelling at the LA Times Festival of Books

This past weekend, Spotify was at the heart of the largest literary event in the...

24/04/2026

What 20 Years of Spotify Data Reveals About Our Listeners

All data tells a story, and in our case, that story is written by you. To celebrate 20 years of Spotify, we're sharing bite sized moments that capture how t...

24/04/2026

The Look Behind the Sound

Over the past 20 years, Spotify's look and feel has evolved with the way people use our platform, while ensuring we preserve an intuitive, personal, and fam...

24/04/2026

Spotify at 20: The Most Streamed Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks of All Time

It's been 20 years since Spotify began, but the real story is what the world chose to play. For the first time, we're unveiling the most streamed artist...

24/04/2026

Spotify Brings Music and Podcast Recommendations to Claude

Whether you're relaxing at home or on the go, Spotify is there across more than 2,000 devices, ready with your favorites or something new to discover. Now, ...

24/04/2026

Nintendo and Spotify Bring Nostalgia with New Super Mario Galaxy' Playlists

Nintendo and Spotify are welcoming fans to the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary and the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with new playlists and a speci...

24/04/2026

AES Show moves to Nashville

30 October - 1 November 2026 The Audio Engineering Society (AES) have announced that the AES Show 2026 will be held on Halloween weekend - Friday 30 October...

24/04/2026

Sennheiser introduce the HD 480 Pro

New closed-back design promises honest' low end Sennheiser have just announced the launch of a new pair of flagship closed-back headphones which they s...

24/04/2026

Cre8audio unveil the Programm

Powerful 12-channel hardware sequencer announced Cre8audio are renowned for their innovative, and often visually striking designs, and although their latest...

24/04/2026

IK Multimedia ARC X Immersive arrives

Room correction now supports full 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos setups The software element of IK Multimedia's room-correction system has just received an update th...

24/04/2026

VSL announce free Big Bang Orchestra expansions

New content for BBO Tutti & BBO Riffs VSL have recently introduced some new free content expansions for two of their most popular Big Bang Orchestra Packs: ...

24/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at IFIS 2026

Rohde & Schwarz to highlight its R&S EVSD1000 UAV-based navigation analyzer at I...

24/04/2026

Call for NFVF funding applications to attend Film Festivals and Markets taking place from 01 30 June 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...

24/04/2026

Andrea Riseborough & Ashley Walters To Star In ITV Thriller First Woman' About Race To Find Missing Astronaut

ITV's Director of Drama Polly Hill has commissioned six part propulsive, lun...

24/04/2026

NASA Receives L3Harris' Modified Next-Generation Research Aircraft

The NASA 777 aircraft departs the L3Harris facility in Waco, Texas....

24/04/2026

L3Harris Closes $1B Investment from Department of War in Missile Solutions Business

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has closed a $1 b...