The Recording Academy, Arizona State University, and Berklee Publish Women in the Mix Study Illuminating the experiences of women in the American music business, the study was developed to help create a more inclusive and equitable industry.
By
Media Relations Staff
March 8, 2022
Image courtesy of the Recording Academy
The Recording Academy, Arizona State University (ASU), and the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship revealed today the results of the inaugural Women in the Mix Study, designed to examine and better understand the experiences and socio-economic landscape of women and gender-expansive people working in the American music industry. Developed to influence advocates, allies, and leaders in music to work towards a more inclusive and equitable industry, the study explores demographic characteristics, employment experiences, career challenges, job satisfaction, family decisions, and pathways into the music industry within this community. With this survey, the academy, ASU, and Berklee affirm their commitment to create dialogue around the realities of women and gender-expansive people in music, directing resources to accelerate progress around representation and equity.
The study was built upon the baseline results from the 2019 study by Berklee and Women in Music, titled Women in the U.S. Music Industry: Obstacles and Opportunities. More than 1,600 respondents from across the U.S. representing all ages, races, and ethnicities took part in the Women in the Mix Study. Respondents included those working in various capacities in the industry, from behind the scenes to front and center, and at all levels, from entry to executive. Compelling data points are outlined below:
Discrimination is prevalent. Eighty-four percent of respondents had faced discrimination equally across all racial identities; 77 percent felt they had been treated differently in the music industry because of their gender; and more than 56 percent believed their gender had affected their employment in the industry, with music creators and performers expressing this the most, at 65 percent.
They are overworked and underpaid. Fifty-seven percent of respondents have two or more jobs, 24 percent are working between 40 and 51 hours per week, and an additional 28 percent are working more than 50 hours per week. Thirty-six percent of respondents are making less than $40,000 per year and almost half of them feel like they should be further along in their careers.
Music creators and performers see the lowest income and highest dissatisfaction with career progress. Of the respondents that identified as music creators and performers, 48.6 percent said they made less than $40,000 per year. While thats roughly 15 percent higher than within the entire respondent pool, this indicates that these professionals are making less money than their peers in other professions on average. Approximately 57 percent of music creators felt they should be further along in their career, compared to those working in music education (48.5 percent), event/tour production and management/promotion (41.7 percent), music business (37.4 percent), and music media and technology (32.9 percent)
Respondents prioritize career advancement over parenthood. Roughly one out of every two respondents said they chose not to have children or had fewer children than they wanted because of their careers. Respondents with children under the age of 18 represent slightly less than two out of every 10 women and gender-expansive people in the music industry. People who make more than $100,000 per year had a 27 percent likelihood of having children, which fell to 15 percent for those making less than $40,000 per year.
Gender-expansive respondents face heightened levels of adversity. Gender-expansive people were less satisfied than respondents who identified as women by a 16 percent margin. They were twice as likely to make less than $40,000 per year and felt less comfortable in their workplace by a margin of almost 18 percent.
Mentorships prove to be beneficial toward respondents self-fulfillment. Ninety-three percent of respondents felt mentoring had contributed to their career. These respondents were more likely to feel they were where they should be in their careers and satisfied with their jobs.
Despite challenges, career satisfaction and passion for the music industry remains high. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported feeling satisfied, with more than 80 percent in career categories that seem to face the most obstacles, such as freelancers, music creators, and performers. More than half of respondents said that their pathway into their careers was through their inherent love and passion for the music industry.
Advocacy organizations provide value. Forty percent of respondents were members of advocacy organizations, and roughly 20 percent mentioned advocacy in their recommendations to help improve the climate for women and gender-expansive people. Thirty-five percent of respondents cited professional or industry-related organizations as being one of the main sectors of the music industry that helped them grow and advance.
Read the full report.
We have a responsibility to ensure that we are amplifying womens voices and our lived experiences, said Valeisha Butterfield Jones, co-president of the Recording Academy. The Women in the Mix study is a groundbreaking account of the realities and decisions that we as women working in music are publicly and privately making each day. By centering this study around active listening, learning, and building solutions, weve armed the industry with valuable data about the barriers affecting women in music and how we can together take a stand. Were thankful to the more than 1,600 respondents that participated, whose voices are helping us shape the approach to achieving equity in the industry.
Listening
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
14/10/2025
SVG Europe Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYNetworking event that preceded IBC2025 shone a light on elite live sports innovation acro...
14/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Author Rich Podolsky on Writing Madden & Summerall: How They Revo...
14/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Michael Reiners, Coordinating Producer, FloRacingThe Illinois State grad steers a vast schedule of motorsports events at tracks across the countr...
14/10/2025
Content protection: Getting the right management for your DRM By Neal Romanek
Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:11
Print This Story
Eluvio power the EPCR'...
14/10/2025
As League Takes Over Ops, NBA TV and NBA App Add 60 Games, Weekday Studio Show, ...
14/10/2025
Time and effort: World's largest student-led broadcast prepares to go On Air...
14/10/2025
(L-R) Guest, Kimberly Robinson Jones, Geeta Gandbhir, Pamela Dias, and Takema Ro...
14/10/2025
Lossless ist jetzt mit Spotify Premium verf gbar.
Verlustfreies Audio war eine...
14/10/2025
La qualit Lossless est disponible sur Spotify Premium.
Le format sans perte de...
14/10/2025
For the seventh edition of Spotify and FC Barcelona's artist jersey series, ...
14/10/2025
Spotify is committed to bringing the best listening experience to all our users, and that includes parents and families. That's why we're expanding mana...
14/10/2025
Since its debut, the Spotify Original podcast Caso 63 has been more than just a story; it's been a cultural sensation. The science fiction thriller captivat...
The Recording Academy, Arizona State University, and Berklee Publish Women in the Mix Study Illuminating the experiences of women in the American music business, the study was developed to help create a more inclusive and equitable industry.
