BIIANCO and Monogem Talk About Their Experience As Women In Music

October 17, 2019

1:51 pm

Story / BIIANCO and Monogem

Photos / Chase Leonard

BIIANCO and Monogem are here to discuss their experiences as women in music and how the landscape is shifting.

BIIANCO: I feel like women in music have been shouting at the top of our lungs for more visibility and it’s starting to work. We’re becoming more aware that 95% of the songs you hear on the radio are written by men and most of the top festivals have bills with a serious lack of women. We need to keep shouting to keep those benchmarks moving. But what about the everyday experience for women in the industry? How do we create an environment that lifts up our female peers and propels ourselves forward? If women are distracted competing with each other, then they’re not going teach each other how to produce, or engineer or mix and they’re not going to notice when the men who do apprentice each other are a mile down the road in their careers. There is room for all of us at the top. That’s what is so special about this LadyGunn x Purple Bite show. It’s about lifting up women’s visibility and helping us unlearn the internalized misogyny that makes us see each other as competition instead of community.

Monogem: The music industry overall seems to be valuing women’s voices more than they did when I started making my own music in 2008. I think we’ve all seen a wave of confidence in women embracing artistry and individuality. I’ve recently felt the power of community, particularly amongst women in music, and it feels really, really good. I have honestly been challenged over the years, struggling with jealousy, comparing myself to other women, and have measured success in totally wild ways. But I’ve been working hard on teaching myself to turn that energy into a benevolent and supportive one… teaching myself that there is room for all of us in this dirty business and that when one of us rises, we all rise.

Everything in life is a work in progress, but I do feel an upward trajectory when it comes to women in music supporting one another. It is beyond important that we develop this sense of comradery amongst our peers…especially with all of the violence and cruelty we experience in our daily lives now, I feel it is our mission as female artists to support and lift each other up so that we push the boundaries, break the mold and create our own version of the music industry.

Janelle Kroll will be joining Monogem and BIIANCO on a night of badass women musicians performing at LA’s Moroccan Lounge on Saturday October 19th presented by LADYGUNN and purple Bite. Get your tickets here.