Where are the Female DJs?
I went to my first drum and bass rave in 2007 when I was sixteen years old. Dancing around in a grotty warehouse in the middle of the Somerset countryside, I felt at home for the first time. After that rave it became the thing I lived for. At that age I didn’t think much about who the DJs were, and I certainly didn’t question the fact that there were only men on the line-ups. Social media was in its infancy, and I knew nothing about social justice or equality, just that I loved raving more than anything.
Fourteen years later I started DJing and producing drum and bass, becoming more heavily involved in the scene. With a new lens through which to see the world due to the evolution of social media and a university degree, I started to notice the lack of female names. Not just behind the decks. The promoters, the cameramen, the sound guys, the MCs. However, when I look around at the crowd, the split is fifty/fifty. Women love the electronic dance music (EDM) scene as much as men.
The first time it really hit me that there was such a discrepancy in the male/female ratio on line-ups was the first time I saw a female DJ warming up for Congo Natty, a legendary jungle Dj and producer. Her name was A Little Sound and she not only performed as a DJ, but she sang over the music. I was enthralled by her. Everything about her, her energy, the way she interacted with the crowd, the fact that she was singing over the music, it was all new and beautiful. And she was a woman. Not long after that I became a drum and bass DJ and music producer myself, and I often wonder whether I would have bought my first tiny set of decks if I hadn’t seen A Little Sound warming up the stage for a slew of male DJs.
Why is there such a gender imbalance in the EDM industry? We Are Studio say women have always been underrepresented in the EDM scene. The situation is slowly improving, with the percentage of men being booked at 86% as opposed to 90% in 2017. The rave scene has always been about celebrating diversity across culture and expression, but the business side of things is significantly lacking. Women are generally more represented as vocalists than they are DJs or producers. Perhaps because men have been seen as the more tech savvy of the sexes in the past.
Metalheadz is an iconic British label and was founded by female DJs Kemistry and Storm and male DJ Goldie, who is now known by some as the pioneer of drum’n’bass. Despite Storm and Kemistry having introduced Goldie to drum and bass, he is arguably more popular than the women who founded the label with him. Across the whole EDM industry there is an imbalance but drum and bass seems to be particularly behind. House and techno DJs Honey Dijon, Peggy Gou, and The Black Madonna headline sell out shows regularly. DJ Fabio commented in 2015, ‘D’n’b is still very male dominated. It shouldn’t be, after being around for two decades — but unfortunately it hasn’t changed much since the ’90s in that respect.’ In 2017 Metalheadz label hosted 75 male sets and 1 female set; Critical had 90 male sets to 3 female sets, and Hospital Records 251 males to 2 female sets. Female DJs rarely have headline slots and are mostly relegated to warm-up sets.
DJ Digital says that working with DJ Storm and DJ Kemistry from the beginning of his career has had an impact on the way he approaches bookings at his label, Function Records. He says, ‘I do make an effort to book women, but I go off talent first. But women DJs make sure they’re banging, when sometimes you get men signed to labels who cannot mix for toffee. Women want to prove themselves.’ Despite this fact I hear a lot of comments from men about how women get in on looks alone.
At my first ever DJ gig, I learned what being in this industry as a woman was going to be like.
‘I love Harriet Jaxxon,’ I said to a man who was involved with running the event.
‘Oh yeah, me too, she’s amazing,’ he agreed. ‘Not only is she fit, but she actually is a good DJ too. No offence Hannah, but the scene is becoming saturated with female DJs who are fit but aren’t good DJs. They just get in on their looks.’
I shrank back and looked around at the event where I was the only female DJ. Saturated? With female DJs?
I thought long and hard about what he said for the rest of the event. Initially my own pride was stung, and I couldn’t figure out what that said about me.
I’d been gearing up for my first DJ gig for a few weeks. I had been meticulously planning my set, but almost as much effort had gone into my outfit, not for the reason you might think.
I had been so desperate not to be seen as sexy that I bought a baggy cow print pair of dungarees and an oversized t-shirt. I wanted to be liked for my music, not my appearance, but I still wanted to look good. Trying not to be sexualised or appear like my looks were what got me a spot on the line-up felt like a bigger minefield than planning my set.
Psychlo (real name Chloe), an electronic dance music producer and DJ, tells me, ‘I’ve experienced some sexism being a female producer in a male dominated scene. I was once told by a label that, although they liked my music, they had decided not to release it because I’m a young woman and it’s not normal to see music come from that category of producer. In simple terms, they were inferring I don’t make my own music. It’s a shame because music should be inclusive for all and in my opinion, I believe a lot of women can be put off releasing music as it doesn’t feel like they’ll be taken seriously. I’ve seen pre-published event posters that would say, ‘female artist one, female artist two etc’, as if to tick boxes, and not actively booking artists because they respect their music and the quality of performer and DJ they are. However, this doesn’t go for everyone, there are some labels and brands out there who are wonderful to work with but so many need to do better.’.
Georgie Riot, a famous drum and bass producer and DJ told UKF, a drum and bass label, that when she was in college doing Music Technology, she was treated with less respect than her male peers as she was the only female. Some phrases she’s heard people say about her are, ‘she didn’t make that track herself’, ‘she probably had a ghost producer’, and ‘she only got to where she is now because she’s a female’. She went on to say that if you are female in the music industry, you have to work twice as hard and even once you’ve proved yourself people will comment on your gender. As with my first experience DJing Georgie has said that women are misrepresented, objectified, and sexualised. To some people our appearances are valued more than our talent.
There are sixteen more examples from sixteen other women who work in the industry at the UKF website. Tales of disrespect, sexual harassment, insults, putdowns, and general sexism from people who work in the industry.
I’ve seen comments from men on Instagram posts and articles about female DJs saying the industry has become overly sexualised and women are taking over. The thing they are frustrated with is something women hate too. We don’t want to be judged on our looks; we want to be valued on our skills. Don’t be mad at women, take issue with an industry that continues to objectify us. Women are not taking over; we are simply being permitted space in a world that has historically kept us out. The stats are proof that we are nowhere near being equal in terms of percentage in the music industry. We need to see more women for there to be more women.
Hospital Records, one of the leading drum and bass labels, agrees that something should be done to boost female producers in the scene. In 2020 they started a mentorship scheme to help boost female producers in the drum and bass scene. I spoke to Degs, a DJ signed to the record label, and he said, ‘We started Women in Drum & Bass and the mentorship schemes in 2020 to platform the wide range of talented women in the Drum & Bass community. 2020 was a year of great societal change and debate, and we felt the need to recognise and address the issues of inequality within the music that we love. Since then, the Women in Drum & Bass group has grown rapidly, with a diverse range of producers, vocalists and MCs that have a space to connect and collaborate with one another. We have held two Sonic Surgery events in London — a networking event with A&R sessions, song-writing/DJ/production workshops and panels with experienced industry professionals. We have witnessed positive shifts within the Drum & Bass scene, thanks to the involvement of various labels, events, and collectives. However, there is still a long way to go, and we are committed to continuing our efforts in supporting talent and pushing for positive change.’
DJ Flight told Mixmag she sees an obvious reason for the underrepresentation of women on line-ups. She says, ‘If there’s a white guy in charge, you will see majority white male performers.’
Not because of sexism or racism or any of those clickbait words, but because we as humans gravitate towards people like us. Having more diversity in promoters and behind the scenes would mean more diversity on line-ups. DJ Storm commented that when she is on a line-up it attracts more women. To see more women there needs to be more women up there for us to aspire to. More women behind the scenes would be a great thing to see too. If women are involved in making the decisions, there will be more women behind the decks and releasing music on record labels.
Hospital Records has set a great example with the Women in Drum and Bass mentorship scheme. Why are other labels not doing the same? This is something we should be pushing for as a community of ravers. If you are a man with power in the industry, it’s up to you to help include more diversity throughout the scene. If you are a female producer or DJ, keep putting your music out there. Push open all the doors and when you find your platform, do what you can to inspire more women to come up there with you.
Although we are starting to see the gender imbalance being addressed in the EDM scene there is still so far to go. It seems that we need a ubiquitous change of attitude from all parties as well as more women and people of colour working behind the scenes in order to bring about diversity.
FIND OUT MORE HERE:
Equality Act 2010: guidance – GOV.UK
