She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. No, she wasn't beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful deep down to her soul. She is beautiful.

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hello Friends:

I was out shopping in the frame and picture section at a home store recently when I ran across this beautiful quote. It inspired me to write about women in music.

Women bring so much artistic beauty and talent to a world waiting to hear our perspective. But our talent as female musicians is often overlooked. Music collaborations with men can feel like a subtle shunning, an invisible pressure where musicians talk around you and don't always consider your opinion. In the worse scenarios, you can feel objectified as a woman and put in your place. And I've seen that happen first hand.

In 2019, the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism conducted a breakdown of the top billboard songs based on gender and ethnicity as it compares to songwriters, musicians, performers and music producers. As the article points out, there is a huge on-going disparity between women and men in the business. One finding....

In the music industry, women made up only 12.3% of the songwriters responsible for writing the 700 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end charts between 2012 and 2018.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

How do we rise as female singer-songwriters and musicians in the industry?

here are some strategies…

one: hire a coach

Tiger Woods employed a coach during his years of competition winning five Master's tournaments. Celine Dion employs a vocal coach before, during and after touring. There is no substitute for expert counsel in every step of your professional life.

Music coaches should be good generalists who know a lot about different areas of the industry and can guide you accordingly. Specific music coaches are experts in one area, like vocal training, songwriting or music production. Determine what you need and keep good counsel close by. This extra effort will yield you great results over time.

Let's talk on a free coaching call. I offer a one month or three month coaching focus. I would simply love to hear what you would like to accomplish musically.

two: your work is the point

As best actress Frances McDormand received her Oscar this year, she said "My voice is in my sword. We know the sword is our work. And I love to work". Stay focused on writing and recording and performing the best work you have inside you. Don't approach it softly, but stand up in confidence and continue to create with excellence. Be fierce about it. There can be no argument against great work and full commitment.

three: be about your business

Why do I need to copyright my songs? How do royalties work? What's a performing rights organization and why do I need one? How do writer's credits work? Familiarize yourself with the game of music and what is new and changing. The more you know, the less you can be taken advantage of.

Like it or not, you are a musicpreneur. You run your own business and call your own shots. This is hard stuff really because most musicians are not wired to like administration duties, copyright law and keeping up with the ins-and-outs of music related stuff. But it's unavoidable. Even if you have others running parts of your business, you will still need to know what is going on. Embrace your business and learn.

four: be kind, confident and gracious to everyone

An actor once told me that his long run in Hollywood was based on being nice to everyone because those at the bottom become those at the top. The music industry is no different. It is a close knit community and everybody knows everybody else.

If you do good work and stand up for yourself, your reputation will proceed you - and that's invaluable.