Female Artists and the Digitization of Labor in the Music Industry

Abstract

The digital revolution brought about by new technology and the eroding of intellectual property rights has simultaneously brought about increased opportunity as well as increased competition among content creators in the music industry-artists and bands as well as record labels. This change is evident in the "long tail" and "superstar effects" hollowing out the middle class of artists as well as lowering barriers to entry. It is well documented that women are still under-represented in many fields of the modern economy. Given this background, how do female pop artists fare in the music industry over time? This research utilizes a sample of the Billboard Hot 100 charts from the 1990s and 2000s and finds that female artists are dramatically and consistently under-represented on the pop charts. Though the percentage of female solo artists is nearly 50%, female artists still account for less than a quarter of the total artists who make the charts. At the same time female solo artists and groups with at least one female artist are remarkably more productive at producing pop hits than male solo artists and groups with no female artist involvement. This, perhaps, represents an opportunity for entrepreneurial female artists in the future as production and consumption bottlenecks are dismantled in a superstar-dominated culture.

“One for the money”? The impact of the “disk crisis” on “ordinary musicians” income: The case of French speaking Switzerland

“…Starting from this broader definition of what it means to be an "ordinary musician" may prompt a consideration of the extent to which every segment of this professional subspace has been impacted by digitization. Indeed, some of the rare studies that covered a larger rank of musicians' profiles show that the discourses and concrete effects of the so-called "MP3 crisis" are really diverse -and somehow opposite, between the ones who earn money mainly by playing gigs and those who are more focused on the creation of new songs and records (Bacache, Bourreau, & Moreau, 2012;Strachan 2013). This also begs the question of whether digitization deeply modified this partition by offering people from the more alienated and heteronomous pole -the "craftsmen" one -more opportunities to create, record, and sell their own music.…”

“…The authors point out that "the digital divide effectively reinforces musical distinctions [that] will increasingly become polarized, as individuals without access to technologies (possession and being capable to use them adequately) become increasingly marginalized" (p. 260). Studies more focused on the top of the musical hierarchy also point out that digitization did not fundamentally change power relationships in favor of traditionally underrepresented popula-tions (e.g., women) among successful artists (Strachan, 2014).…”

“…Recent works on records companies show that the recomposition of the musical professional landscape since the 1990s followed diverse routes (Galuszka & Wyrzykowska, 2016;Leyshon et al, 2005;Stahl & Meier, 2012). The impact of digitization on record sales appears contradictory (Strachan, 2013). On the one hand, digitization has been ideally poised to "help less-known and new artists gain exposure" (Strachan, 2013, p. 2).…”

“…Those who sold more at the beginning of the 2000's consolidated and reinforced their dominance over the music market after digitization. At the same time, the number of musicians who were "intermediary sellers" diminished (Strachan, 2013). Some capitalized on new ways of broadcasting and selling music through platforms like iTunes or Spotify.…”