Billboard Power 100 List Confirms Women In Music Study

Billboard has named its 2018 Power 100 list of the executives driving the music industry. There is only one women named in the Top 25 in a standalone role, and just four more share billing in an otherwise all male team. While reflective of the industry, the list seems particularly tone deaf appearing on the same day that the trade magazine reported a new study of the " Major Lack of Representation by Women in the Music Industry."

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Billboard has released its annual music industry Power 100 list. The top 10 includes only 2 women with just 3 more making the top 25.

1. Michael Rapino, CEO, Live Nation Entertainment

2. Lucian Grainge, Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Group

3. Daniel Ek, Founder/CEO, Spotify

4. Irving Azoff, Chairman/CEO, Azoff MSG Entertainment; chairman, Full Stop Management

5. Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment

6. Stephen Cooper, CEO, Warner Music Group; Max Lousada, CEO of Recorded Music, Warner Music Group

7. Eddy Cue, Senior vp, Internet and Software Services, Apple; David Dorn, Senior Director, Apple; Jimmy Iovine, Executive, Apple; Larry Jackson, Head of Content, iTunes/Apple Music; Robert Kondrk, Vice President, Apple

8. Jody Gerson, Chairman/CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group

9. Coran Capshaw, Founder, Red Light Management

10. Boyd Muir, CFO/Executive vp/President of Operations, Universal Music Group; Michele Anthony, Executive vp, Universal Music Group

More from Billboard here.

Annenberg Study: An Industry "Mired In The Past"

Billboard's male dominated Power 100 list confirms a new Annenberg Inclusion Initiative survey that shows a glaring absence of women in the music industry, at all levels.

Key findings:

Artists – A total of 1,239 artists were attached to the 600 top songs. In 2017, a full 83.2% of artists were men and only 16.8% were women. This calculates into a gender ratio of 4.9 male artists to every 1 female artist. 2017 was a 6‐year low for female artists (16.8%) in popular content. In particular, the percentage of women in 2017 was significantly lower than in 2016 (28.1%) or in 2012 (22.7%).

Songwriters – Of the 2,767 songwriters credited, a full 87.7% were male and 12.3% were female. This calculates into a gender ratio of 7.1 male songwriters to every 1 female songwriter. Over time, the percentage of female songwriters has not changed. The difference between the percentage of women lyricists in 2017 and 2012 is less than one percent.

Producers – Across these 300 songs and 651 producers, a full 98% were male and only 2% were female. The gender ratio of male producers to female producers is 49.1 to 1! No difference was observed over time. Of the 300 songs, a full 95.7% or 287 did not feature a single female producer.

Grammy Award Nominations – A total of 899 individuals were nominated for a Grammy Award® between 2013 and 2018. Of those, 90.7% were male and 9.3% were female. This is a gender ratio of 9.7 males to every 1 female. 2018 did not differ from 2017 or 2013. 2017 was the year with the lowest percentage of female nominees.

"An industry with international reach and culture‐shaping products, the music business is a place where inclusion is imperative,” the study concludes. “Addressing the deficits that currently exist will prevent this industry from being mired in the past and make it one that is moving toward the future.”

Read the full study here.