Nonprofit Organization Women in Music Names Best Places to Work in the Industry
Written by djfrosty on March 20, 2025
Live Nation, BMI, ASCAP, Nettwerk Music Group, Soundstripe and the Recording Academy rank among the best places in the music business for women to work, according to a first-of-its-kind survey.
The 40-year-old nonprofit organization Women in Music, in partnership with company reviews platform InHerSight, has unveiled its first edition of WIM Best Places To Work, recognizing top companies in several areas, based on industrywide initial survey data. Women in Music, established in 1985, describes its mission as serving “to advance the awareness, equality, diversity, heritage, opportunities and cultural aspects of women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment and recognition.”
“The music industry has long been a cultural force for change, and now more than ever, we have to take the lead in prioritizing diversity in leadership as much as the diversity of the music we represent,” Women in Music president Nicole Barsalona says.
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“Research shows that gender-diverse leadership drives revenue, innovation and talent retention — it’s not just good practice, it’s critical to our success as an industry,” Barsalona says. “Future surveys will include increased diversity metrics to add even more depth to the data, but this is an exciting start.”
The WIM Best Places To Work initiative honors music companies that demonstrate excellence in fostering inclusive workplace culture and ensuring satisfaction across metrics that matter to women, such as salary, leadership opportunities, remote work options and parental leave.
Women in Music notes that the survey is ongoing and accessible through its website to ensure that it’s continually updated to reflect the latest industry standards in workplace excellence.
“Our philosophy has always been that data is central to building better workplaces,” InHerSight co-founder and CEO Ursula Mead says. “So when organizations like Women in Music come to us recognizing the power of data, we’re thrilled to realize their initiative.”
The survey cites research from consulting firm McKinsey that states that companies with strong female representation at the top outperform competitors by nearly 50% in profitability and share performance.
In addition to those previously named, smaller companies and organizations (of two to 51 employees) that ranked high on the survey include the Music Business Association, The Syndicate, Blackstar Agency, the American Association of Independent Music and the Mechanical Licensing Collective.
“I’m thrilled to know that the Music Business Association scored so well in the WIM Best Places To Work survey,” MBA president Portia Sabin says. “Diversity is very important for us in all aspects of what we do, and we’ve worked to diversify our board, our events and our staff. One thing we strive for is to have diversity at all levels of the company, providing a mentorship aspect for younger people who may join us. It’s very true that our diversity makes us stronger as a team and makes this a great place to work.”
The survey collected data on 17 research-backed metrics. The results singled out the top companies in categories including equal opportunities for women and men, women in leadership, salary satisfaction, flexibility, remote work opportunities, maternity and adoptive leave, employee responsiveness and a sense of belonging.
Live Nation, for example, stood out for its maternity and adoptive leave policies, ability to telecommute, remote work opportunities, flexible work hours and equal opportunities for men and women.
The WIM Best Places To Work initiative has been launched at a challenging time for corporate America, says Monika Tashman, a partner at prominent music industry law firm Loeb & Loeb and an advisory board member at Women in Music.
“With diversity, equity and inclusion programs terminated at the federal level and a vow to police the private sector’s DEI initiatives,” she says, “it is vital that we publicize, promote and encourage private sector companies that are committed to constructing a workplace culture and benefits package that is unbiased and crafted to allow all employees to thrive.”
Women in Music is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, unaffiliated with Billboard, founded in 1985 to educate, empower and advance women in the music industry. WIM hosts year-round educational and career development programming in chapter markets around the world, with equity-focused initiatives that include WIM Safe(r) Spaces, the WIM Workplace Initiative, the WIM Mentorship Program and the WIM Executive Internship Program. To become a charitable partner or to make a donation, go to womeninmusic.org.
This story appears in the March 22, 2025, issue of Billboard.