New Study on Women and Gender Minorities in Music by MIDiA Research Launched

In 2021, MIDiA Research — a company that chiefly concerns themselves with the digital content economy — launched a survey called ‘Be The Change: Women Making Music’ in 2021. The under-acknowledged discrimination and challenges that women and gender minorities face as creators was backed by data from the responses gathered from men and women around the world.

Everything from under-representation (81 percent of female creators said it’s harder for female artists to get recognized compared to males) to sexual harassment as a key challenge and seeking institutional-level change in the music industry was brought to the front. Now, the second outing of this survey seeks to update its findings and cast its net wider to increase the number of respondents worldwide, across genders.

‘Be The Change: Women Making Music in 2022’ launched on February 17th, with sponsors including music platforms TuneCore and Believe. “The study will look at women and gender minority creators in the music industry, uncovering their challenges, experiences, inspirations, and ambitions for the future,” a press release states.

A statement by Mark Mulligan, the director at MIDiA Research, stated that they want to take a step further into seeking responses about “what changes can be made” and identifying how men can be allies. “We are proud to be working on this study again and look forward to hearing just what the industry has to say,” Mulligan adds.

The survey is also supported by artists like Imogen Heap. The seasoned electro-pop artist said in a statement, “We have a long way to go before there is no more need for reports such as these. There are many incredibly talented people across the industry who come from diverse backgrounds and still remain the minority. It will take us all pulling together — every creator and every institution to show that bias is not acceptable, and that inclusivity and equality needs to form a core part of people’s values and beliefs in order to really drive positive change.”

Take the survey here.