Taylor Swift’s new album ushers in ‘Pop Girl Spring’

For pop fans, the bevy of high-profile drops has solidified a trend that became evident during last year’s summer of Swift and Beyoncé, and was further reinforced at this year’s Grammy awards, where women swept nearly all of the televised categories: Culturally, women are dominating pop music.

But that public-facing influence hasn’t translated behind the scenes, says Tonya Butler, chair of the music business and management department at Berklee College of Music. Women in the C-suite remain a rarity in the music world, as do female producers. Sexual harassment is still rampant in the industry, according to a report from MIDiA Research, and the pay gap between men and women industry-wide remains pronounced. Swift and Beyoncé may run empires that eclipse many male artists’, but they are anomalies, she says. 

“It’s definitely exciting,” Butler tells me of all the female chart-toppers of recent weeks. “But I would love for us to get to a point where it’s not a surprise that so many women in the industry are doing so phenomenally well.”

There’s long been a perception in the music industry that women can’t lead a successful tour, since they only appeal to other women consumers (meanwhile, both men and women will pay to watch men perform). The past few years—and especially 2023’s record-breaking Renaissance and Eras tours—have been notable for defying that perceived wisdom—women are flocking to see their favorite acts, and they’re paying big money to do so. 

Still, reaching true parity in the industry will require constant, sustained effort and attention, says Butler, not just cheering on the handful of female artists who have managed to reach the summit in this moment. While it’s exciting to see women dominating the charts, she wants to make sure that extends beyond the headliners: That labels are investing the money that female artists generate (from their female fan bases) into developing the next generation of female acts, and that those women have access to mental health resources, for example.

“I don’t want us to get distracted by all the hoopla,” she says. “For every Beyoncé, there’s 10,000 wannabe Beyoncés who are working their butts off and not getting any support and might even be exploited. Where are the mechanisms to support them?”

Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com

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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

– Full circle. Beautycounter CEO Gregg Renfrew is purchasing the cosmetics company back from The Carlyle Group months after she was reinstated as CEO. The Carlyle Group, which initially ousted Gregg as CEO after purchasing Beautycounter three years ago, said it was selling the company because it “continued to lose ground” despite investments. Ad Age

– Acting out. Congressional Democrats are frustrated with abortion rights groups that are blocking efforts to repeal centuries-old laws that Democrats worry could be used to introduce a nationwide abortion ban. Abortion rights groups say repealing the 1873 Comstock Act, which bans the shipment of goods related to abortion, would complicate ongoing reproductive rights lawsuits and bring the wrong attention to the law. NOTUS

– Called out. An Indianapolis Star columnist apologized to basketball star Caitlin Clark for comments he made to her at a press conference following the WNBA draft. Gregg Doyel imitated Clark’s trademark heart hands gesture during the press conference, and then told her to “start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.” Doyel apologized for the “clumsy and awkward” exchange after fans called him out for being inappropriate. The Athletic

– Account closed. Sex workers in the U.K., where it is legal for consenting adults to sell or purchase sexual services, are blasting banks for refusing them as customers. The workers, most of whom are women, argue that lacking financial services makes them more vulnerable to exploitation. The banks say that it is their duty to identify and block earnings from potential financial crimes like sex trafficking. Financial Times

– Teeing off. New and seasoned designers are pivoting into golf wear to accommodate a rush of women into the sport and a burgeoning women’s professional tour. Former Warby Parker executive Amy Anderson and A. Putnam designer Ali Putnam are just a few to capitalize on the trend by releasing their own pieces to better suit women on the course. Wall Street Journal

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Chief technology and innovation officer Leigh-Ann Russell and Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, executive vice president of gas and low carbon energy, are leaving BP.

ON MY RADAR

There are plenty of power publicists. But only one works for Taylor Swift Wall Street Journal

Is the ‘rest gap’ why women are so exhausted? HuffPost

“I never, ever had an issue with being confident”: How Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg turned teen “delusion” into Hollywood domination British Vogue

PARTING WORDS

“You have to make room for joy. The world can be burning down, but…if you didn’t spend any of your life trying to be happy, I don’t know what you’ve done.”

— Singer Dua Lipa on looking for fun in everything on her busy schedule

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