PRS Foundation celebrate Women Make Music’s impact and call for industry support to address gender inequity
- Over £1.46 million invested in more than 380 women and gender expansive music creators since 2011
- 340% increase in demand for support since 2011, meaning only 8% of exciting women and gender expansive applicants could be supported
- 98% of surveyed grantees say the fund is still needed, 94% agreed the fund impacted creative development, and 94% stated that Women Make Music instilled a sense of confidence and empowerment
PRS Foundation – the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development – calls for the music industry to get behind their flagship targeted gender equity initiative, Women Make Music following an independent evaluation report which looks at the impact of the initiative since it was created in 2011.
Launched today at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios and available for download from the PRS Foundation’s website, the report outlines the impact the ground-breaking initiative has had for women and gender expansive music creators, as well as its changemaking impacts for the wider music industry.
Read the report
Women Make Music supports the development of outstanding women and gender expansive songwriters, composers, artists, bands and performers who are writing their own music in any genre and from any backgrounds at any stage of their career, with grants of up to £5,000.
The fund was set up in 2011 as a response to the low representation of women amongst songwriters and composers (at the time 13 percent of PRS for music members were women) and lack of applications to PRS Foundation for commissions featuring women music creators (then 16 percent). And aims include breaking down assumptions and stereotypes within the music industry by enabling role models and increasing the profile of underrepresented music creators; and raising awareness of the gender gap and solutions to the music industry’s gender problem.
Over £1.46 million has been invested in more than 380 women and gender expansive music creators since 2011. And with 4,706 applications so far, the fund has seen a 340% increase in demand for Women Make Music support since its launch, to the point that only 8% of exciting applicants (and only 6% of applicants in the last 5 years) could be supported and highlighting the wealth of talented women and gender expansive music creators based in the UK.
Today’s report reveals that this impact is still significant with, 94% agreed the fund impacted creative development, and 94% stated that Women Make Music instilled a sense of confidence and empowerment.
98% of grantees agree that the fund is still needed and 50% were motivated to apply because of the targeted nature of the fund.
PRS Foundation recognises the importance of taking an intersectional approach to gender equity and finds that where there is a focus on breaking down barriers for women and gender expansive creators, intersectional inclusivity increases. Between 2020-22 54.5% of Women Make Music grantees identified as White (including 39% White British); 26.7% were Black or with Mixed Heritage including Black; 9.9% were Asian or with Mixed Heritage including Asian; 5% identified as Mixed Heritage (with no further detail given), and 4% stated they belong to another ethnic group. 36% of grantees identified as LGBTQIA+. 93.3% of grantees identified as women; 2.8% were in all-women groups; and 3.9% were gender expansive.
Women Make Music has had a huge impact on PRS Foundation’s approach to funding and talent development, with the organisation reaching its 50%+ gender representation target in 2018 (four years ahead of schedule), and in 2022 it saw 63% of creator grantees were women, gender expansive or in mixed gender groups.
The fund’s timely support has played a vital role in supporting some of the most exciting music creators in the UK today including Anna Meredith, ESKA, Emma-Jean Thackray, Carleen Anderson, Cassie Kinoshi, Let’s Eat Grandma, Jessica Curry, Judith Weir, Kelly Lee Owens, Little Boots, Errollyn Wallen, Amahla, Marika Hackman, Poppy Ajudha, Rakhi Singh, ROE, YolanDa Brown, Sanity, Phoebe Green, BISHI, Isobel Anderson, Peggy Seeger and Yazmin Lacey. You can see the full list on prsfoundation.com
Many Women Make Music grantees have gone on to win awards and industry recognition. Out of 382 grantees, nominations and awards include 15 British Composer Awards, 9 Jazz FM Awards, 5 Mercury Prize Album of the Year nominations, 5 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards, 2 Royal Philharmonic Society Award, an Ivor Novello Composer Award, a Welsh Music Prize and Scottish Album of the Year Award and a Scotsman ‘Fringe First’ Award. One piece funded by Women Make Music has also been added to the music curriculum.
And although some progress has been made on gender equality in the industry, Women Make Music is still very much needed in the sector and the report underscores the need for the wider music industry to get behind the fund. The report has 8 recommendations for the fund going forward:
- Continue, adapt and expand Women Make Music
- Continuously build an understanding of the complex challenges affecting women and gender expansive music creators
- Embed mentoring, collaboration and networking
- Embed support for parents/carers, music creators with disabilities or health issues, and those with low incomes
- Enhance promotional, performance and showcasing support
- Consult further with gender expansive creators and stakeholders
- Continue to be a powerful sector voice on gender equity and catalyse better representation in the music industry through further strategic partnerships
- Create and support communities of grantees and an ecosystem for women and gender expansive people in the music industry
And it is clear that with more support from partners across the industry, PRS Foundation can deliver for more creators and tackle complex barriers facing women and gender expansive creators in 2023.
Joe Frankland, CEO, PRS Foundation said, “Women Make Music’s role in developing hundreds of women and gender expansive creators while shaping a stronger music sector for all genders has been remarkable. The fund quickly became a stamp of approval and is one of our most competitive programmes statistically and musically. We’re proud to look back at the exceptional music being created and successful careers being forged as a result.
The huge impact of the fund also demonstrates PRS for Music’s dedication to gender equity and intersectional inclusion through its annual donation to PRS Foundation. Results would not have been possible without this huge investment.
Having said that, the report makes it clear that in order to fund more of the exceptional creators applying for support, and to meet the holistic support needs of grantees, PRS Foundation requires increased investment from like-minded music companies. We look forward to working together to build on successes and evolve Women Make Music for the future.”
Vanessa Reed, previous CEO at PRS Foundation and founder of Women Make Music, now CEO & President at New Music USA said, “When we launched Women Make Music in 2011, I defined “success” as the moment when this fund would no longer be needed. In an industry that continues to be run by men, this evaluation confirms that there is still much progress to be made. Until there is more evidence of widespread structural and cultural change led by those who currently hold the most power, targeted initiatives like Women Make Music are an essential form of empowerment and endorsement for women and gender expansive creators.
I am extremely grateful to Joe Frankland and everyone at PRS Foundation for continuing to champion this fund and for this detailed analysis of the obstacles and opportunities ahead. I hope other industry leaders will acknowledge the importance of this work by helping to extend the fund’s future reach as part of their investment in talent of all backgrounds.”
Andrea Czapary Martin CEO, PRS for Music said, “Today’s report highlights how instrumental the Women Make Music fund has been over the past 12 years in empowering passionate women and gender expansive writers and composers. Our continued investment ensures creative excellence is always first and foremost and offers support to enable the career development of PRS’s talented members, as we strive to change the face of equity, diversity and intersectional inclusion within our industry and for future generations of musicians”.
Zara McFarlane, Women Make Music grantee and award winning jazz / soul singer and songwriter said, “As an independent artist, the Women Make Music Fund was imperative in allowing me to continue to have creative control of my work and ideas. It also gave me a financial injection at a crucial point in my career which allowed me to develop my live show ideas and deliver some performances on a grander scale than I would otherwise be able to.
The opportunities the Women Make Music Find provide not only directly support professional development but also confidence within all facets of being an artist (music maker, performer, band leader, curator).”
