Book More Women!

Bowie Jane (0:08)

Hey, it is Bowie Jane with Jess Bowen for Babes Behind the Beats, and it's great to be back in studio for a second time.

Jess Bowen (0:15)

Yes, it's good to see you, Bowie. We've got some good old things to catch up on, and we've got some pet peeves to tell you about.

Bowie Jane (0:24)

Let's hear them, Jess Bowen. Jess Bowen has pet peeves.

Jess Bowen (0:28)

No, I've been waiting to talk to you about this, because this is a huge reason why you and I even started this show, and why we have this show, is to have a platform that highlights women and non-binary in every aspect of the music industry, right? And we're trying, us as well as people like Amplify Her Voice and Book More Women and Diversify the Stage, I think we're all trying to do the same thing, which is create equality, gender equality in music, as far as there are women that can fill these spaces, but it still tends to lean very male heavy, right?

Bowie Jane (1:08)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (1:09)

So with that being said, something that really bothered me lately, and it's come up a handful of times since our band has gotten back together, is that festivals we know right now historically are very male heavy. And our band has been told, again, a handful of times by like talent buyers or bookers that, you know, it doesn't count that I'm a female because I'm the drummer. They were like, oh, sorry, we're looking to book, you know, female fronted bands.

Bowie Jane (1:39)

And they want that female up the front as the lead singer so that it looks like there's they're meeting that female chord or more.

Jess Bowen (1:46)

Well, that's what it feels like. This is why I think it to me, it's missing the whole mark.

It's missing the whole purpose, because what we're fighting for is that women are here, women and non-binary people, we're all in these roles.

Bowie Jane (2:00)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (2:01)

And we can do this as well. And so what annoys me about this specifically is that, like not only am I a woman in this band, I'm one of the founding members of this band.

Bowie Jane (2:12)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (2:12)

And to be discredited in that way by people that essentially, again, what it feels like they're saying is, you don't count.

Bowie Jane (2:21)

Yeah. Shocking.

Jess Bowen (2:23)

How is that fair to tell... I am a female identifying musician in a band I happen to be a founding member of.

Bowie Jane (2:31)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (2:32)

And you're telling me I don't count.

Bowie Jane (2:34)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (2:34)

Like, that's essentially what I'm gathering, right?

And it's frustrating because, again, it's missing the whole mark. Like, the whole point is to have more women on the stages. I mean, even in... I think there's a statistic of, in 2024, only like 25% of people on the stage in general were female or non-binary.

Bowie Jane (2:56)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (2:56)

That's not enough. That's not a lot.

Bowie Jane (2:59)

And the thing is, so sites like Book More Women, if you haven't seen it, look at their Instagram. It's fantastic. They basically grab a festival line up, and then the next slide... So here's the full line up, and then the next slide, or around the other way, is listing whether it's female or non-binary members of the band. So there just can be one person in the band that's female identifying or non-binary, right? And then that counts as a number. So that 20% is if just one person in the band is that. So for them to say, oh no, they want someone that's got a female fronted so they can fill the quota. It's not helping you fill the quota.

Jess Bowen (3:35)

It's not. No. And the thing that that's what's frustrating is it does feel like the, oh, we're checking the box, but as a drummer, a female drummer of a band, I'm like, it just feels very disrespectful.

Bowie Jane (3:49)

Yeah.

Jess Bowen (3:50)

In a way. And I mean, it is disrespectful because again, it has made me feel like, am I less of a woman because I play the drums instead of being the singer? And what does that set as an example to like younger women or non-binary people that are wanting to learn how to play drums or bass or keyboards or guitar? Like people, basically anyone who doesn't want to be a singer, but they want to play music, is it telling you that you're actually not, no, you're not, you don't count as a woman though, when it comes to when you grow up and you're in a band and we're gonna try to fill the quotas. You don't count though.