NPR Polls Women Musicians

(Via MS Magazine Blog)

In March, NPR asked over 700 female musicians about their experiences in the music industry. Those stories, unedited and uncensored, are now available on NPR's website and they are, "by turns infuriating, hilarious, downright inspiring and heart-breaking."

The project is called Hey Ladies: Being A Woman Musician Today, and topics cover everything from the inevitable sexism of being "the girl in the band"to raising families while being a working musician, plus lots of advice to novice musicians and how much -- or sometimes how little -- the music industry has changed:

Dot Allison: "I think women need to see themselves as worthy without having to allow themselves to be sexualized in a 'victim' kind of way... sexuality is beautiful.. but I think the objectification of any human being in an exploitative way is really sad."

Marissa Nadler: "I think women today have a more DIY approach, with much of that due to the prevalence of technology. Women can book their own tours and build their own fanbases, as well as control their own images and imagery, from home. They don't necessarily need a record label and they don't need a label telling them how to dress or how to sound."

Bettye Lavette: "I see differences between women after the seventies. Women entertainers were suggestive until then. Women have become way too salacious since then. There is little left to the imagination."

Hey Ladies Facebook Page