Rebekah and Sydney Blu lead the campaign drive to increase female representation on record labels

A new campaign to increase female producer presence on record labels is now underway. A lot has been done to resolve the gender imbalance within the industry in recent times, and this campaign is the next step in the process to invoke change. 

THE #23BY23 CAMPAIGN CHALLENGES LABELS TO INCREASE THEIR PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE PRODUCERS TO 23% OR MORE BY THE END OF 2023 

Highly respected electronic artists Sydney Blu and Rebekah, with the support of LP Giobbi, Femme House, Ableton Live, Native Instruments, DJ Minx, and Baby Weight, are launching a new initiative. The campaign is calling on labels to commit to increasing the number of female artists on their roster. 

Record labels Toolroom Records, Club Sweat, Gorgon City’s Realm Records, Soma Records, Desert Hearts, Walker and Royce’s Rules Don’t Apply, and more to be announced will be supporting the initiative with remix competitions and demo challenges on the Metapop community powered by Native Instruments starting December 11/12 and will run throughout 2022. 

Ableton Live will be spearheading a big part of the campaign by hosting specific online production content throughout 2022 open to women, trans and non-binary artists in partnership with the campaign. 

Sydney Blu had this to say around the campaign ethos:

“I believe in 2021 we need to do better with how we shape, brand, and release music, to support a new generation of female producers and create lasting change and equality. I encourage the following question to any A&R rep: Are you making your label a welcome space for women? Do you provide feedback to female submissions? Are you proactively seeking female artists who are producing music similar to the sound of your label? This is the basis of the 23by23 campaign.”

Rebekah has also given some insight into why she is involved with the drive: 

“If we are wanting a diverse and equal opportunities scene, then highlighting an area where this is heavily imbalanced can only be a good thing. Starting on many labels as the first women producer nine years ago, it seems that only baby steps have been made in this area to have more female representation. It’s also important to note women of colour are not only underrepresented on dance labels but also affected the most by discrimination, so this makes it even more imperative for diversity to be a priority.”

“I am fully behind this campaign and hoping to understand more deeply the reasons why this is still the case in 2021 and how things can improve.”

Inciting change and putting words into practise is often easier said than done. However, implementing sustainable changes to a label landscape that has been male-dominated for years will resonate with people. You cannot be what you can not see, and labels have the power to inspire an entirely new generation of female producers and artists.