International Women’s Day 2023: Celebrating the wonderful women of Encore

International Women’s Day 2023’s missions include ‘Celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility while calling out inequality.’

Here at Encore we care about each and every one of our musicians and strive to make the music industry a better place for all women. 

We want to give an extra shout-out to the women, trans, non-binary & gender-diverse musicians of Encore, who have historically had less of a voice to celebrate their achievements. 

1. Sexism in the Music Industry
2. What female Musicians say
3. Musician Spotlight
4. Women Working at Encore
5. Encore’s IWD Playlist!

Thought sexism in the music industry was over? 

No women or gender-neutral artists were nominated for best artist at this year’s Brit Awards. What about Florence + the Machine who topped the charts with her last album ‘Dance Fever’ or Charlie XCX whose album was ranked the fourth best album of 2022?

In October 2022 an inquiry into misogyny in music was undertaken by the House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee. They have been looking into what existing misogynistic attitudes exist in the music industry and why.

Read here for more information.

This inquiry began when industry professionals reported that the music industry was not making as much progress as the film industry in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

Expert criminologist Dr Cassandra Jones spoke about her findings:

Of the 20% who did report misogyny in the music industry, nothing would happen. In some instances, their career was hurt, and they were issued with a non-disclosure agreement or a cease and desist. So, when that happens to one woman and then another woman sees this, they’ll often think, ‘well why should I report, look what happened to her’.

Time to meet our musicians!

We asked our women, trans, non-binary and gender-diverse musicians to share their experiences in the music industry and we have had some great feedback that we would love to share!

Joanne Cave (Composer, arranger, violinist & educator) studied for a Music degree at Royal Holloway, University of London and specialised in Violin Performance and Composition. She has over 25 years of experience in performance and many years of experience in teaching music and the violin, music theory, viola, cello and trumpet. She has also performed at many impressive venues including The Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Sara Feldmann Brummer (Singer) trained at Trinity College of Music London and is an experienced soloist in classical, opera, jazz, liturgical & musicals. She performed as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2022 and has broadcast for Classic FM, BBC Radio 1, Channel Four and Channel 5 Television.

Here are some other women-identifying artists who have inspired our Musicians here at Encore:

Here’s to changing times and working together to fight inequality in the music industry!

Musician Spotlight

We wanted to take a moment this IWD to celebrate a few fantastic women in music.

Taking on historically male-dominated scenes, there is a whole host of incredible women out there ready to wow at your next event. Check out some of our top picks below:

DJs:

• Jodie Yang-Cooper – Offering the unique combination of live vocals while DJing
• at the same time, Jodie specialises in 90s dance/club classics, disco and party floor-fillers.
• Jewels Hartnell – Having cut her teeth in some of London’s most iconic clubs, Jewels now lets the music do the talking with her vast collection of vinyls and colourful performances. 
• DJ Sparx – Originally from Holland and now DJing around the world, DJ Sparx can tailor her set to your tastes, with the option of performing alongside live sax, percussion or vocalists. 
• DJ Paula Frost – Paula is as much at home playing radio and festivals as she is at weddings and private parties.
  She is a keen selector and loves to remix her own tracks to suit the party atmosphere.

Guitarists: 

• Theresa Terzonie – Theresa Terzonie is an alternative pop/rock artist with over 13 years of experience. Prepare to be swept away by her smooth vocals and dreamy guitar playing.
• Edina Balczó – Award-winning guitarist Edina can bring a touch of class to your event with classical, Spanish and flamenco guitar. 
• Jenny Biddle – Jenny is an indie, folk and blues artist who can perform refreshing takes on all of your favourite hits.  
• Emma Stevens – A multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Emma has wowed audiences at hundreds of weddings and events

Women-led bands: 

• Ceilidh With Us – Ceilidh With Us are led by the musical powerhouse that is Lilac Sheer and are one of the most popular ceilidh bands on Encore. 
• Step N Soul – Looking for a high energy, crowd-pleasing Motown/Soul show, with slick choreography? Look no further than Step N Soul, led by the inimitable Katanya.
• Temple – Comprising some of the country’s finest pro session musicians, lead singer and musical director Wendy provides the best quality live music for any event type, performing a mix of genres and in a line-up of your choice.
• Pharaoh & the Beats – Leanne leads this slick function band, available as a full outfit complete with brass section, or pared back to just an acoustic duo. The band performs pop, rock, soul and funk covers from the 60s to the present day.

This year’s IWD theme is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.’ 

As a tech company with lots of inspiring women working to make the company grow and grow, we wanted to share a spotlight on some of our wonderful women that work at Encore:

Thanks for reading & here is our official
Encore International Women’s Day 2023 Playlist!