While male artists can stand still and be labeled as iconic, female artists are expected to shapeshift under the spotlight, changing their sound, image and identity to capture the music industry’s attention. Take this year’s Grammy Awards, for example: Women represented only 28% of this year’s nominees, while men accounted for 69%. Men also won the majority of awards, taking home 61% of the awards across 94 categories.
These jarring statistics from AKAS only go to show the disparities that continue to be evident in the music industry. Female artists are often expected to constantly do something to differentiate themselves through new visuals, sounds and aesthetics. However, male artists are more likely to be praised for keeping a consistently laid-back image. What is seen as brand loyalty for men can be criticized as lacking effort when applied to women.
These differences extend into how artists express themselves in their music. Lyrics about relationships, love and sexuality are very common in the music industry, but they are not received in the same way. Male artists can easily describe attraction or intimacy with little backlash, while female artists are more likely to face criticism or judgment. For example, Taylor Swift is often scrutinized for writing about her past relationships, even though male artists rarely are. At the same time, when women — such as Miley Cyrus or Sabrina Carpenter — write sexual lyrics, they are told they have to uphold a child-friendly image.
In genres that are traditionally male-dominated, such as indie rock, rap or EDM, these pressures are even more visible. Female artists may feel the need to manage their appearance to be taken seriously, often navigating expectations that their male counterparts do not face. Rather than being evaluated solely on their work, they are more likely to be defined by their gender or subjected to additional scrutiny.
These double standards also extend beyond artists to their audiences. Fanbases associated with female artists are often dismissed or not taken as seriously, reinforcing the idea that music enjoyed by women holds less cultural value. This pattern reflects a broader issue within the industry, where recognition and credibility are not always distributed equally.
These patterns of imbalance in recognition are not only evident in awards and industry statistics, but also in how performances are perceived when they’re played live. This was seen at this year’s Coachella music festival.
A guitarist stands on stage as smoke moves through the frame around him. The camera then shifts into the distance as Justin Bieber appears holding a microphone and begins singing “Daisies.” He is dressed casually in a grey vest and jorts, strolling across the stage as he performs. The two are the only people on stage, with a MacBook placed on a table.
As the performance continues, the MacBook reveals that Bieber wasn’t fully singing live but instead was playing his songs directly from YouTube. Even though Bieber didn’t put much effort into the appearance of his performance, the moment still drew significant attention. After the performance, Bieber became the highest-paid performer in Coachella’s history, receiving over $10 million.
Freshman Eva Barrett said that she enjoyed Bieber’s performance, which she thought was a homage to his younger self, as he played his older songs from when he was younger.
“I thought that Justin Bieber was really good, and it was really sweet because he played so many songs that I didn’t really think he was going to play,” Barrett said.
However, freshman Lucia Macy said she didn’t like Bieber’s performance; she thought it was “lazy” and didn’t compare to the other headlining artists like Sabrina Carpenter or Karol G, both of whom created detailed stages.
Macy said that she thinks that if any female performer were to give the performance that Bieber did, they would get a lot of backlash from the media. Macy even made the comparison that when male performers go out in public wearing sweatpants, they are seen as trendy and cool. However, female performers are heavily criticized for doing the same thing.
“I think there’s a lot more forgiveness for male performers than there is for female performers, and I definitely saw that firsthand at Coachella this year,” Macy said.
As the reactions to these types of performances show, attention in the music industry is not evenly distributed between men and women. In a space like the music industry, where recognition carries real impact, who receives that attention — and why — is very important. Until women receive the same level of recognition and respect as men, inequality in the music industry will continue to persist.
