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As the music industry prepares to celebrate at the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2), the latest report from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative suggests that things for women in music are holding steady but not moving forward. The study is based on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart and Grammy nominations in key categories.
After documenting significant change for women last year, the Spotify-supported study finds that there was little movement in 2024. Women comprised 37.7% of artists across the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart last year, which is a bit better than 2023 (35%) and a significant improvement from 2012 (22.7%). More than a third (38.9%) of individual artists on the year-end chart were women, compared to 40.6% in 2023 and 35.8% in 2012.
“Women artists in 2024 saw little change,” Dr. Smith said in a statement. “In fact, it is the number of men that has declined while the number of women in 2024 was consistent with prior years. This suggests that it is fluctuations in the number of men, not gains for women that is driving these findings. For those interested in seeing change in the music industry, this is not a sign of progress.”
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The percentage of women songwriters on the year-end Hot 100 chart in 2024 was 18.9%, which was similar to the percentage in 2023 (19.5%) and significantly higher than the 11% of songwriters in 2012 who were women. Whereas women of color were responsible for the gains seen for women in 2023, this was not the case in 2024. Last year, the number of women of color represented on the year-end chart as songwriters dipped while the number of white women songwriters increased. Just over half (54%) of those songs featured at least one woman songwriter, on par with 2023 and significantly higher than 2012.
“While there may be movement in the independent space, the songs and charts evaluated represent the agenda-setting music that has the greatest opportunity to launch and grow a career,” said Dr. Smith. “Until the people in the executive ranks and A&R roles take seriously the lack of women in the industry, we will continue to see little change.”
Looking to producers of popular songs in 2024, once again there was no increase for women. A total of 5.9% of producing credits on the Hot 100 year-end chart were held by women, compared to 6.5% in 2023 and 2.4% in 2012. And of the 14 women producers on the year-end chart in 2024, only two were women of color. Across all 13 years of the study, 93.3% of songs lacked any women producers.
“Behind the scenes, women have not lost ground since the gains we saw last year,” said Dr. Smith. “However, the numbers are not growing. Programs like Be The Change, Keychange, She Is The Music, Spotify’s EQL, Women’s Audio Mission, and others are supporting talented women who are ready to take on opportunities. These numbers can continue to grow if the industry looks to these organizations and the many qualified women ready to work as songwriters and producers.”
Artist race/ethnicity was also assessed in the report. The percentage of artists of color (what the study calls “underrepresented artists”) on the year-end chart in 2024 (44.6%) fell significantly from 2023, when the number stood at 61%. Despite the decline, the percentage of artists of color remained on par with the proportion of the U.S. population that is people of color. Additionally, it was still meaningfully greater than 2012 (38.4%).
The drop affected both men and women of color, though the decline for women was steeper. In 2024, 40.8% of all women artists were women of color, while 46.9% of men were men of color. In 2023, nearly two-thirds of women on the popular charts were women of color (64.9%) as were more than half of men (59.4%).
The report also assessed Grammy nominations in the six categories that comprise the General Field: album, record and song of the year, best new artist, and producer and songwriter of the year, non-classical. According to Annenberg, just under a quarter (22.7%) of all nominees in these categories in 2025 were women, similar to 2024 (24%) and significantly greater than 2013 (7.9%).
The Annenberg analysis counts all nominees in album and record of the year, not just artists; in those two categories, producers, engineer/mixers and mastering engineers are nominated alongside artists. (There are no so-called “supplemental” nominees in the other four categories named above.)
This year, female solo artists took four of the eight nominations for best new artist, the same as last year. But last year, a male/female duo (The War and Treaty) was also nominated. That represents a slight drop for women this year, but women still had parity.
In song of the year, the number of female songwriters who are nominated inched up this year, from eight last year to nine this year.
Annenberg reports that the one nomination for a woman in the producer of the year, non-classical category represented a significant jump, as Alissia is only the second woman to be nominated in the category since the study began tracking nominations. (Linda Perry was nominated in the category six years ago.)
Meanwhile, four of the five nominees for songwriter of the year, non-classical this year are women: Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen, Jessie Jo Dillon and RAYE. The only male nominee is Édgar Barrera. This compares to just one female nominee last year.
“The Recording Academy has demonstrated that it can recognize the contributions of women to the music industry—this is clear through the increase we observed last year and that it has continued into this year,” said Dr. Smith. “The challenge now is to continue that growth and to see more women receiving acknowledgement of their talent and effort through awards like the Grammys, particularly for women in producing roles.”
The latest report from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative can be found here.
Billboard is making its way back to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, for three star-studded concerts from March 13 to 15.
Billboard THE STAGE at SXSW will take place at the the iconic Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, and will kick off Thursday (March 13) with a performance by Texas native and country superstar Koe Wetzel. The fun continues Friday (March 14) when Música Mexicana stars Grupo Frontera — also Texas born and raised — take the stage. The final evening, Saturday (March 15), is presented by Carnival Cruise and will feature a high-energy performance from dance music artist John Summit.
More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Carnival Cruise Line will provide pedicabs to transport guests to and from THE STAGE, and will also host a one-of-a-kind Celebration Key experience in The Paradise Zone that features a tropical-themed bar, a snack cart and custom photo opportunities. Additionally, Azzaro Parfums is hosting an immersive fragrance sampling station.
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“Billboard has always been at the forefront of celebrating the artists and moments that shape the global music landscape, and this year at SXSW, we’re continuing that tradition with a unique concert series that highlights the diversity of today’s music scene,” Hannah Karp, Billboard’s editorial director, said in a press statement. “From country to Música Mexicana and electronic dance music, Billboard THE STAGE will bring unforgettable live performances to Austin to enhance the SXSW experience and connect music fans with the artists they love.”
Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park will host a ticket pre-sale for all three days of the event starting on Thursday (Jan. 30) at 9 a.m. CT using an exclusive venue code. General admission tickets go on sale the next day via Ticketmaster here at 9 a.m. CT, with a number of tickets reserved for existing SXSW Platinum and Music Badge holders, as well as SXSW Music Festival wristband holders.
Billboard is also partnering with REVERB again to provide a lucky music fan with the chance to win an all-expense-paid VIP trip to SXSW. Participants can enter to win by making a donation to REVERB through Prizeo, which will support REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, which works to reduce carbon emissions within the music industry. The prize also includes a meet-and-greet with Koe Wetzel, side-stage viewing, round-trip airfare for two, three nights of hotel accommodations and a signed merch pack. To enter the contest, visit prizeo.com/Koe.
Billboard will report live throughout SXSW. Be sure to follow along on billboard.com and on social media (@billboard) for the latest news and announcements.
Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
LONDON — Musicians and creator groups are calling upon the British government to take legislative action to help end the “endemic” misogyny, bullying and discrimination that many female artists still routinely face throughout the industry.
“We need a cultural change in the music industry… and the only way that can happen is if people are educated and there are consequences to their actions,” Charisse Beaumont, CEO of Black Lives in Music (BLiM), told a cross-party committee of MPs on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
Appearing alongside Beaumont at the Parliamentary session was singer-songwriter Celeste, classical soprano singer Lucy Cox and Naomi Pohl, general secretary of the U.K. Musicians’ Union, who all echoed calls for greater protections and support for women working across all sectors of the music business, particularly those in freelance employment.
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“What is most prevalent in my daily experience of being a female in the music industry is this idea of an ingrained bias or even an unconscious sexist bias,” Celeste told MPs.
“I think that all women will deal with it but there will be a scale of how much you [encounter it]. I can imagine that what I might experience might be different to an artist who is on a global scale and I know, for example, from some of my close friends and peers who are just starting out in music … [that they] experience things that I haven’t experienced when I have had the protection of already being established,” said the singer, whose debut album, Not Your Muse, topped the U.K. charts in 2021.
Beaumont called on the current Labour government to enact the original recommendations made by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) in its highly critical report “Misogyny in Music,” published last January.
That report painted a damning picture of the music business as an industry “still routinely described as a boys club” where a “culture of silence” prevailed with many victims of sexual harassment or abuse afraid to report such incidents.
It followed an inquiry into misogyny in the U.K. music industry, which began in June 2022 and saw artists and executives give evidence, including senior executives from all three major labels, representatives of the live industry, former BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac and British pop singer and Ivors Academy board director Rebecca Ferguson.
In response, the committee made a number of recommendations, including banning the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and other forms of confidentiality clauses in cases involving sexual abuse, bullying or misconduct, as well as stronger rights for freelance music workers, nearly all of which were rejected by the then-Conservative government.
With Sir Keir Starmer‘s Labour Party now in power, musicians and artist representatives used Tuesday’s catch-up session with committee members as an opportunity to exert pressure on politicians to act.
In a statement, Beaumont said her organization had heard “hundreds” of stories from women about harassment they had faced in the music industry, including being “sexually assaulted by male artists, as well as promoters, [and] people assaulting women in music education” since the launch of its anonymous survey YourSafetyYourSay in April.
BLiM’s chief executive also described accounts of young women being pressured to take part in “almost naked casting videos” and feeling “pressured to drink and take drugs,” as well as “male producers grooming young female vocalists.”
Black Lives in Music reports that 71% of respondents to its anonymous survey feel that bullying and harassment is accepted as being part of the industry they work in and only 29% feel there are people in their U.K. music business who will protect them.
NDAs are frequently used to protect perpetrators, says the organization, which identifies a normalization of harassment and objectification of women in the industry, particularly Black women. These problems are often underreported, says BLiM, as women fear the consequences and lack of support.
“Often there is no recourse or accountability, so reporting incidents is futile as those doing the bullying control the narrative. It’s happening under their watch and they are too powerful,” said Beaumont in a statement following Tuesday’s session.
BLiM said its research into bullying and harassment in the British music business will be made available to the newly formed U.K. body The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), which has the remit of upholding and improving standards of behavior across the creative industries, including music, and is due to officially launch later this year.
Things are getting a little uneasy in the Big Easy. According to Nola.com, ahead of Kendrick Lamar‘s anticipated halftime show at Feb. 9’s Super Bowl LIX, a group of 17 Republican Louisiana legislators sent a letter to the leaders of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium and Expo District claiming that the state’s taxpayers should have a say in what takes place during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
Specifically, the note called out what is deemed a “lewd” performance by Rihanna in 2023 and the 2020 halftime show by Jennifer Lopez, during which they said the singer “wore little clothing and was groped by male and female dancers on stage, while the performer made sexually suggestive gestures and performed on a stripper pole.”
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“While certainly a large amount of support exists among many Louisianians who are excited about the Super Bowl coming back to New Orleans, many are also hardworking taxpayers with children who have serious concerns about the fact that past Super Bowl halftime performances have been less than family-friendly,” the letter read.
The note does not specifically name Lamar, instead focusing on some past performances, including the infamous 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake “wardrobe malfunction,” while devoting half a paragraph to a vivid description of Rihanna’s halftime show. It describes the singer “groping herself while she sang song lyrics that were so offensive that few Louisiana adults could read those lyrics before an audience without shame.”
The signatories to the letter said they refused to repeat the lyrics in their note because they are “so offensive.”
“We realize that these past vulgar performances may have been acceptable to the residents of those states where those Super Bowls were held but, in Louisiana, these lewd acts are inappropriate for viewing by children, objectify women, and are simply NOT welcomed by the majority of Louisiana parents,” they wrote.
This year’s game will take place at the Caesars Superdome in the city known for its generous embrace of all manner of debaucherous behavior, including nearly round-the-clock drunken, boisterous tourists stumbling through the legendary French Quarter and women hoisting up their shirts to expose themselves for beads during Mardi Gras.
And while the lawmakers acknowledged that the contracts for next month’s Super Bowl are already signed, they expressed a wish that future contracts for the use of facilities “funded and paid for by Louisiana taxpayers” ensure, in writing, that any performers’ conduct adheres to “Louisiana’s community decency standards.”
Pulitzer Prize honoree and 17-time Grammy winner Lamar will be joined by four-time Grammy winner SZA for this year’s halftime show.
Read the full letter here.
Deitrick Haddon achieves his fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart as “Never Be the Same” ascends to the top of the survey dated Feb. 1. During the Jan. 17-23 tracking week, the song increased by 11% in plays, according to Luminate. “Never Be the Same” was authored solely by Haddon and he co-produced […]
Retail and shopping mall giant Simon Property Group is teaming up with former American Idol judge Randy Jackson and music A&R veteran Paula Moore‘s new company Greater Than Distribution to launch Scouting for Stars, a nationwide tour meant to give Gen Z a front row seat to all aspects of the music industry.
The “Scouting for Stars @themall” tour will feature performances from a revolving lineup of more than 150 rising artists, including Jules Walcott, Tealousy, Karma and Nicolas McCoppin, along with a talent search with auditions on the first day of each tour stop. One person from each city will be selected to perform on the second day of the tour stop.
“The mall is where generations come together to have fun and make memories,” said Lee Sterling, SPG’s chief marketing officer. “We know Gen Z loves the mall and connecting in person, just like their parents did. Since music is also about connecting, this tour is a natural fit.”
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Beyond connecting signed artists with fans at Simon malls, the Scouting for Stars @themall tour also aims to elevate and educate emerging artists in each city the tour visits. The tour will provide a platform for yet-to-be-discovered artists to interact and learn directly from music industry executives through on-site educational workshops focusing on songwriting and content creation.
“I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to witness what can happen when doors open and talented newcomers get an opportunity to grow and shine. I’ve seen it and lived it as a musician, mentor and music executive,” said Jackson. “There is so much talent out there, and as the first music company to go on tour to discover stars city by city, this experience may very well bring about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a budding new artist.”
Moore added, “We are glad to bring this to life with our friends at Simon as their malls are often the third space for Gen Z and others.”
The Scouting for Stars @themall tour is scheduled to launch Feb. 22 in Houston at Katy Mills and runs through August, stopping at 20 locations total and include special retailer promotions, “brand hauls” and other on-trend giveaways reflecting popular culture, fashion, and music. Trevor Andrew, aka Trouble Andrew, is developing street wear and specialty apparel and accessories to drop throughout the tour.
The tour kicks off Feb. 21-22, 2025, at Katy Mills in Houston. The final stop is Aug. 22-23 at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas. Registration is mandatory for some events and is free, but spots are limited. All who pre-register will receive an exclusive limited edition tote bag and shirt. Pre-register here.
Scouting for Stars @themall Tour DatesFebruary 21-22, 2025 – Houston, TX – Katy MillsFebruary 28-March 1, 2025 – Oklahoma City, OK – Penn Square MallMarch 7-8, 2025 – Austin, TX – Barton Creek SquareMarch 14-15, 2025 – McAllen, TX – La Plaza MallMarch 21-22, 2025 – Knoxville, TN – West Town MallMarch 28-29, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Woodfield MallApril 4-5, 2025 – South Bend, IN – University Park MallApril 11-12, 2025 – Boston, MA – Northshore MallApril 25-26, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA – King of PrussiaMay 2-3, 2025 – Trenton, NJ – Quaker Bridge MallMay 9-10, 2025 – Woodbridge, VA – Potomac MillsMay 16-17, 2025 – Atlanta, GA – Mall of GeorgiaMay 23-24, 2025 – Miami, FL – Dadeland MallMay 30-31, 2025 – Orlando, FL – Florida MallJune 6-7, 2025 – Garden City, NY – Roosevelt FieldJuly 18-19, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA – Ontario MillsJuly 25-26, 2025 – Anaheim, CA – Brea MallAugust 1-2, 2025 – San Jose, CA – Great MallAugust 8-9, 2025 – Mission Viejo, CA – The Shops at Mission ViejoAugust 22-23, 2025 – El Paso, TX – Cielo Vista Mall
Alison Krauss & Union Station will return with the group’s first new album in 14 years, Arcadia, when the project releases March 28 on Down The Road Records.
The group just released a first glimpse at the project with the new song “Looks Like the End of the Road.”
The 10-song Arcadia album, produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station, features songs primarily composed by Robert Lee Castleman, Viktor Krauss, Bob Lucas, JD McPherson and Sarah Siskind.
“Usually, I find something that’s a first song, and then things fall into place,” Krauss said in a statement. “That song was ‘Looks Like The End Of The Road.’ Jeremy Lister wrote it, and it just felt so alive — and asalways, I could hear the guys already playing it.”
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The new album will release on Down The Road Records, which was founded in 2023 by Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and and Bill Nowlin, who previously founded the iconic independent music label Rounder Records, as well as “fourth Rounder” John Virant, who led Rounder for several years. Krauss was first signed to Rounder when she was 14. Meanwhile, Douglas first worked with Rounder in the 1970s as part of JD Crowe & The New South. Rounder supported Alison Krauss & Union Station’s earlier releases, from the group’s 1989 debut album Two Highways to their 2011 album Paper Airplane, which debuted atop multiple Billboard albums charts, including the country and bluegrass charts.
With Arcadia, Alison Krauss & Union Station welcome new band member Russell Moore on guitar, mandolin and co-lead vocals. Moore is known for his work with another bluegrass outfit, IIrd Tyme Out, and is the International Bluegrass Music Association’s most-awarded male vocalist. He joins bandmates Krauss (fiddle, lead vocals), Jerry Douglas (dobro, lap steel, vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals).
Krauss said in a statement regarding the album, “The stories of the past are told in this music. It’s that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’ There’s so much bravery and valor and loyalty and dreaming, of family and themes of human existence that were told in a certain way when our grandparents were alive. Someone asked me, ‘How do you sing these tragic tunes? I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story. And I want to hear what happened.”
Alison Krauss & Union Station will also embark on their first tour together in a decade when The Arcadia 2025 Tour finds the storied group performing 75 dates across the United States and Canada. The new slate of tour dates starts with a two-night stint at The Louisville Palace in Louisville, Ky., on April 17-18.
Listen to “Looks Like the End of the Road” and see the track list for Arcadia below:
“Looks Like The End Of The Road” (Writer: Jeremy Lister)“The Hangman” (Viktor Krauss & Maurice Ogden)“The Wrong Way” (Robert Lee Castleman & Dan Tyminski)“Granite Mills” (Timothy Eriksen)“One Ray Of Shine” (Sarah Siskind & Viktor Krauss)“Richmond On The James” (Alison Krauss & G.T. Burgess)“North Side Gal” (Jonathan David McPherson)“Forever” (Robert Lee Castleman)“Snow” (Bob Lucas)“There’s A Light Up Ahead” (Jeremy Lister)
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Justin Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year for co-writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” is set to host the 67th annual Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 2). Tranter also hosted last year’s Premiere Ceremony, where the vast majority of Grammys are presented.
This year’s Premiere Ceremony, to be held at Peacock Theater at the LA Live complex in Los Angeles, will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
The opening number will feature a performance by current nominees Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo and Taj Mahal. Six other current nominees – Joe Bonamassa, Joyce DiDonato, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, Muni Long and Kelli O’Hara – are also set to perform, as is Grammy-winning contemporary classical composer Kevin Puts.
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Harvey Mason jr., Recording Academy and MusiCares CEO, and Tammy Hurt, chair of the academy’s board of trustees, will provide opening remarks.
“The Premiere Ceremony will not only kick off our Grammy Sunday, it will provide an opportunity to show that in times of adversity, music has the power to be used for good, to help our community unite, and to show our community’s resilience,” Mason said in a statement.
This year, both the Premiere Ceremony and main Grammy Awards telecast will have an added sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders.
The 67th Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony is produced by Branden Chapman, Ruby Marchand, Lindsay Saunders Carl and Rex Supa on behalf of the Recording Academy. Greg V. Fera is executive producer and Cheche Alara is music producer and music director.
SiriusXM will be backstage during the ceremony capturing interviews with nominees and winners for their Grammy Sunday broadcast on The Grammy Channel, channel 17 and on the SiriusXM app.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards will broadcast live following the Premiere Ceremony on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.
Performers
Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo, and Taj Mahal (opening number)
Joe Bonamassa
Joyce DiDonato
Béla Fleck
Renée Fleming
Muni Long
Kelli O’Hara
Kevin Puts
Presenters
Wayne Brady
Bob Clearmountain
Rhiannon Giddens
Scott Hoying
Jimmy Jam
Anoushka Shankar
Queen Sheba
If this whole football thing doesn’t work out, Travis Kelce has proven he has a viable second option in the game show world. Unlike the smash mouth, pound the pigskin skills he needs on the field as a tight end for the Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs, being the host of Amazon Prime’s Are You […]
The Jonas Brothers are proof you can go home again. Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas announced on Tuesday (Jan. 28) that they will return to their early home at Disney for an upcoming holiday movie tentatively called Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie.
The trio revealed the news in a promo video posted by Disney+ (which will stream the film), in which the siblings pay homage to Love Actually with a bit in which they show up unannounced at someone’s home as schmaltzy holiday music plays in the background. They are, of course, holding a series of poster boards explaining their intentions, beginning with “Hi, we are the Jonas Brothers.”
After Joe reads the card aloud, Nick snaps at him, “No! Don’t say it! The whole point is you don’t say… you just let it… let them read it.” As the snow keeps falling, they try another take in which they smile and start dropping the news after reminding viewers which brother is which.
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“Sorry to bother you,” they explain. “But we’re making a Christmas movie… coming out this holiday season. Only on Disney+.” At press time the streamer has only said that the film is due out “later this year.” According to a description, the movie will find the brothers facing a “series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.”
The brothers will co-produce alongside writers/producers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (This Is Us), with Oscar winner Jessica Yu (Quiz Lady) slated to direct.
The team-up with Disney is a full-circle moment for the guys, who signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records in 2007 and made their TV debut that year on the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana alongside Miley Cyrus. Their film debut came a year later in the Disney Channel music movie Camp Rock, in which they co-starred with Demi Lovato; they were back in 2010 for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. They also had their own show on the channel called Jonas and released three albums on Hollywood Records, their 2007 self-titled debut for the label, followed by 2008’s A Little Bit Longer and 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times.
The group split in 2013 and went on hiatus until their reunion in 2019 for the album Happiness Begins, which featured the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Sucker,” which was their first chart-topping song. The trio released their sixth studio album, The Album, in 2023.
Grammy-nominated Justin Tranter will be the executive music producer and will write original songs for the movie.
Check out the Jonas Brothers holiday movie promo bit below.
