Women artists dominate pop music, but behind the scenes, progress comes more slowly. A&R directors Margaux Grober (Arista Records) and Sammye-Ruth Scott (Atlantic Records) met with moderator Olivia Shalhoup on Tuesday morning – first day of virtual SXSW 2021 – for an online brainstorm on how to up the industry’s gender parity.
“Men are [seen as] smarter, go getters, more dominant, as if a woman can’t take those same roles and internalize them and do the same thing,” pointed out Scott. “Why can’t we go in a room and close a deal?”
“I think a lot of people would be surprised to see that behind a lot of these successful women artists are still a lot of men,” noted Grober, adding that persistent stereotypes relegate women to nurturing assistant roles while men monopolize competitive, decision making fields.
“Men will put you against other women,” Scott said. “[Yet] even if men don’t like each other, they’re still going to have each other’s back.”
Both talent scouts agreed that big companies must take the reins in placing more women and people of color in leadership roles, and professed their love of speaking in panels and taking on mentees in order to provide a model for younger women. Grober stressed her desire to let the next generation know what they’re getting into.
“I try to do things like informational interviews – tell them the things I wish people told me,” she said. “This is not a very glamorous and sexy job, which I think, when you’re a young girl, you definitely think that this is.”
This want for support proved central to the 38-minute panel’s message. Both label reps implored their fellow women not to fall into the traps of competition that exist in a male-dominated industry.
“Men will put you against other women,” Scott said. “[Yet] even if men don’t like each other, they’re still going to have each other’s back and they’re always going to close the deal together.”
Grober pressed empowerment over insecurity, promising enough positions to go around.
“At the end of the day, we’re making music and it should be fun, and it should be supportive, and it should be a healthy community,” she said. “There’s no reason for it to be divisive and evil.”
This article appears in March 12 • 2021.
