B:Music launches She:Music

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A music charity responsible for two major concert venues in Birmingham has announced a new creative project which is set to shape the future of music and empower women to carve out lasting careers in a field that has long been disproportionately dominated by men. She:Music is the brainchild of B:Music, which is responsible for the city's Symphony Hall and Town Hall. The initiative aims to amplify the powerful stories of emerging female musicians from the West Midlands, igniting genres where women’s presence is most underrepresented and unleash a bold, new wave of talent.

She:Music aims to promote cross-genre collaborations and break down the barriers that women, especially those from the global majority, working mothers, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, face in creating innovative, genre-defying music. Focusing on far more than just composition, this dynamic initiative will empower participants to confidently challenge the status quo, advocating for their voices and needs, while collaborating with male musicians and technicians, and by pushing boundaries and amplifying their presence in the music industry.



With initial funding from the PRS Foundation and the William A Cadbury Charitable Trust, B:Music has brought on board project partners Girl Grind UK and Women in Jazz to collaborate on the three-year project. During that time, the participants will take part in a number of varying events including specialist workshops in key skills such as management, accountancy and promotion, to performance and networking opportunities.

Lucy-Ellen Parker, Talent Development & Education Manager at B:Music, said: “The idea behind She:Music is ultimately to create a network of young, fresh, emerging talent, showcasing women in music- not just on stage, but behind the scenes, too. We are specifically targeting women in the jazz, heavy metal and rock genres of music, and those wanting to be involved in technical roles. These are particularly underrepresented groups, with heavy metal and rock being the musical genre with the lowest level of female participation in the UK.



She added: "Over the next three years, myself and the rest of the team at B:Music and our fantastic project partners can’t wait to provide performance platforms for women in these genres. In the first year alone, we will do this by working with Girl Grind UK to curate and host a celebration of black women in rock music as part of B:Music’s Incubator Sessions for emerging artists, and with Women in Jazz to compile and present three gigs as part of B:Music’s Free Jazz Fridays programme.

"We will also provide work placement opportunities for women wishing to pursue careers as sound engineers, and we will deliver open workshops for women wanting to work in the music industry. These will be based on general themes including self-employment; self-promotion and contracts; and events management– as well as more genre specific workshops, such as scream-vocal training in Heavy Metal, and musical improvisation in Jazz.”



Namywa, founder of Girl Grind UK, one of the project partners for She:Music, said: "The She:Music initiative is ground-breaking and intrinsically aligned with our values (bold, courageous, free, and honest) and our founding mission rooted in amplifying the voices of culturally diverse women and gender-expanding people in music. Working in partnership with B:Music is an incredible experience as it allows us to champion talented, underrepresented voices in the industry and create opportunities that empower individuals to thrive. Girl Grind UK is proud to be part of a project that nurtures creativity and fosters lasting change within the music ecology in the West Midlands."

Applications to take part in the first year of She:Music will open in April. For more information on how to be involved email she:[email protected] or visit: https://bmusic.co.uk/what-we-do-2/shemusic

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