Gone are the days when festivals could spew out white-washed lineups requiring thorough inspection in order to locate a single female act without evoking public outcry. But while the music industry remains a blatant boys club, we are inching ever closer to tearing down the barriers enforced to stop women receiving equal opportunity, success and recognition in the field.
A mere glance at some of the most iconic female musicians of decades past will show that women have been shouldering this issue since music’s beginning, though it seems the crusade is finally gaining some momentum – with the help of women working within the industry, such as Kailei Ginman.
Having been privy to the flagrant sexism so deeply ingrained in every facet of the music scene throughout her career, Ginman sought to make a change by launching Alpha, an all-female booking agency. “I wanted to represent females and female-identifying [artists] and then it opened up to the entire LGBTQIA+ community – so it’s kind of developed from there,” says Ginman. “Even wanting to work for charities and wanting to do more for the community than just be a booking agency, that’s kind of come into play as well.
Upon leaving her position at Ministry of Sound and relocating to Melbourne, Ginman saw her chance, and got to work shaping her vision into something tangible. This resulted in Alpha, which took form in a mere four months.
While the response to Alpha has been predominately positive, the ‘reverse sexism’ rhetoric has been slung in Ginman’s direction.
“I think that rhetoric just confirms the need for Alpha to exist,” she rebuts. “The only negative feedback that I’ve had has been from hetero, white cis-males who don’t work in music so this doesn’t affect them in the fucking slightest, but you know, they still want to have their ten cents.”
In addition to promoting female-identifying artists, Alpha’s long-term goal is to look at restructuring the framework of the music industry, so that gender-based initiatives and quotas are no longer necessary.
“I’m really into Keychange as well, which is promoting 50/50 gender balance on lineups by 2022, which seems so bloody far away. It seems absolutely stupid, right? Like just change it now. But there’s got to be a goal,” says Ginman. “I’m hoping to be able to drive that to make change.”
Ginman also aims to branch into charity work once Alpha is off the ground, with aspirations to host programs, panels and school-based workshops based around songwriting, production and the industry to foster future talent. Additionally, there is scope to one day take Alpha international.
For now, Alpha will focus on EDM artists, with talent such as Ayebatonye, Bambi, Feline, Sara T, Stara and The Ironing Maidens already on the roster, though there is room to explore other genres as the company grows.
“Most of my network are in the EDM scene and the females I’ve worked with previously are in EDM and I really wanted to continue working in strengthening that,” Ginman says. “I left my role not because I didn’t like what I was doing, but just because I needed to get out of an environment that was so heavily dominated by men and seeing what was happening with the female talents, that I could then go on and take good care of it myself.”
Ginman hopes to showcase the ways that shifting the goalposts within the music industry can service all genders, not only for those on the stage and working behind the scenes, but for music listeners, too.
“I think that the sexual misconduct that happens at live music events is coming from the exact same place that sexism in the industry and the boys club comes from – it’s toxic masculinity,” she explains. “They’re definitely all linked, one hundred percent, and that’s a big part of what needs to change as well and what Alpha really wants to encourage to change. So that everyone is happier in the long run, right?
