Abstract
Despite the increasing number of women composers active in Australia, it remains difficult for them to enter the music marketplace. This chapter examines the current professional landscape in Australia for women and gender-diverse composers, with analysis of recent efforts by researchers, industry organisations and the media to advocate for gender equality. I offer an original, insider perspective, drawing on first-hand experience as an arts journalist and contextualising Australia’s music industry within the current landscape of arts journalism. The diminished role of the media in covering the arts is explored, along with the commensurate impact on the music industry. The chapter examines the statistics and activity of Australian women composers and outlines three important facets involved in enabling women composers to more effectively market their work. Examples of industry activism in Australia demonstrate how each part of the arts sector can help propel music by women deeper into the marketplace. The chapter concludes with a “letter to composers,” with advice on how to leverage the media in order to increase visibility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Rosalind Appleby, Women of Note: The Rise of Australian Women Composers (Perth: Fremantle Press, 2012).
- 2.
Appleby, Women of Note, 163.
- 3.
Data for this survey was gathered from the Australian Music Centre, Estonian Music Information Centre, University of Amsterdam, Music Centre Canada, Music Austria, The Society of Finnish Composers, Polish Music Information Centre, Italian National Music Committee, Centre de documentation de la musique contemporaine, German Composers’ Association and the American Music Centre.
- 4.
The 2009 survey conducted for Women of Note was as comprehensive as possible. Record keeping of gender-based data was incomplete at the time and difficult to obtain. For example, the United Kingdom had several music organisations supporting composers. However, it was clear from quantitative and qualitative research, statistical data and conversations with heads of music centres and industry figures that Australia’s statistics were quite exceptional.
- 5.
Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore, “Beyond the Dead White Dudes,” The Guardian, August 20, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/20/beyond-the-dead-white-dudes-how-to-solve-the-gender-problem-in-australian-classical-music.
- 6.
Doug Sweet, “Historic Moment for McGill Orchestra,” McGill Reporter, November 4, 2013, https://reporter.mcgill.ca/historic-moment-for-mcgill-symphony-orchestra.
- 7.
D. Bennett, S. MacArthur, C. Hope, T. Goh, and S. Hennekam, “Creating a career as a woman composer: Implications for music in higher education”, British Journal of Music Education, November 1, 2018. Accessed November 14, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051718000104.
- 8.
Sally Macarthur, Cat Hope, and Dawn Bennett, “The Sound of Silence,” The Conversation, May 31, 2016, https://theconversation.com/the-sound-of-silence-why-arent-australias-female-composers-being-heard-59743.
- 9.
Catherine Strong, “Why Are There So Few Women Screen Composers,” The Conversation, August 1, 2017. https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-few-women-screen-composers-81689.
- 10.
Appleby, 43.
- 11.
Australian Women Composers’ Conferences were also held in Melbourne (1994), Sydney (1997) and Canberra (2001).
- 12.
Adelaide conference convenor Becky Llewellyn received expressions of interest from resource centres in the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, and the following year the International League of Women Composers recorded additional women’s conferences taking place around the world (Appleby, 43).
- 13.
Appleby, 164.
- 14.
The Women in the Creative Arts Conference at the Australian National University was initiated and directed by Dr Natalie Williams, accessed November 16, 2019, http://genderinstitute.anu.edu.au/women-creative-arts-conference.
- 15.
The Gender Diversity in Music Making Conference was directed by then Head of Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Professor Cat Hope, accessed November 16, 2019, https://www.monash.edu/muma/events/2018/The-Gender-Diversity-in-Music-Making-Conference.
- 16.
The Gender Diversity in Music and Art Conference was convened by Dr Louise Devenish, accessed November 16, 2019, https://www.uwa.edu.au/able/schools/conservatorium-of-music/conservatorium-of-music-events/gender-diversity-conference.
- 17.
University of Sydney, “Composing Women,” accessed November 14, 2019, https://sydney.edu.au/music/industry-and-community/community-engagement/composing-women.html.
- 18.
PRS Foundation “Keychange,” accessed February 24, 2021, https://prsfoundation.com/partnerships/international-partnerships/keychange/.
- 19.
Monash University, “Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music Pledges Commitment to Gender Equality in Music,” accessed February 24, 2021, https://www.monash.edu/arts/music-performance/news-and-events/articles/sir-zelman-cowen-school-of-music-pledges-commitment-to-gender-equality-in-music.
- 20.
Tura New Music, “The Summers Night Project,” accessed November 14, 2019, https://www.tura.com.au/tura-program/the-summers-night-project/.
- 21.
Anne Summers, The Women’s Manifesto, accessed February 14, 2021, https://www.annesummers.com.au/discover.
- 22.
Susanna Eastburn, “Take Note—Why do Women Composers Still Take up Less Musical Space,” The Guardian, March 8, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/08/sound-and-music-female-composers-musicians-susanna-eastburn.
- 23.
Screen New South Wales, “Screen New South Wales Steps Up Gender Parity Push,” accessed November 14, 2019, https://screen.nsw.gov.au/news/screen-nsw-steps-up-gender-parity-push.
- 24.
Rosalind Appleby, “Women Composers, a Score to Settle,” Limelight Magazine, July 4, 2018, https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/women-composers-a-score-to-settle.
- 25.
Ian Whitney, “Australian Content in 2019,” November 22, 2018, https://ianwhitney.com.au/2018/11/22/australian-content-in-2019/.
- 26.
Catherine Strong and Fabian Cannizzo, “Australian Women Screen Composers: Career Barriers and Pathways,” RMIT University, April 2017, https://www.apraamcos.com.au/about/supporting-the-industry/research-papers/australian-women-screen-composers.
- 27.
Strong and Cannizzo.
- 28.
See Chap. 16, by Johnson and Dewey, present volume.
- 29.
See Chap. 16, by Johnson and Dewey, present volume.
- 30.
Lisa Cheney and Peggy Polias founded the Making Waves podcast in 2015 to shine a spotlight on the music of Australian composers, https://makingwavesnewmusic.com/podcast/. Stephen Adams curates the New Waves podcast at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, https://www.abc.net.au/classic/programs/new-waves/.
- 31.
Varnya Bromilow and Nina Levy founded www.seesawmag.com.au in 2017, and www.cutcommonmag.com was launched in 2014 by Stephanie Eslake.
- 32.
Rosalind Appleby, Women of Note.
- 33.
Thomas W. Bridges, “Casulana [Mazari] Maddalena,” Grove Music Online, accessed November 14, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05155.
References
Appleby, Rosalind. Women of Note: The Rise of Australian Women Composers. Perth: Fremantle Press, 2012.
Australian National University. “Women in the Creative Arts Conference.” Accessed November 14, 2019. http://genderinstitute.anu.edu.au/women-creative-arts-conference.
Bridges, Thomas W. “Casulana [Mazari] Maddalena.” Grove Music Online. Accessed November 14, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05155.
Cooper, Rae, Amanda Coles, and Sally Hanna-Osborne. “Skipping a Beat: Assessing the State of Gender Equality in the Australian Music Industry.” Sydney: University of Sydney Business School, 2017.
Eastburn, Susanna. “Take Note—Why do Women Composers Still Take up Less Musical Space?” The Guardian, March 8, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/08/sound-and-music-female-composers-musicians-susanna-eastburn.
Macarthur, Sally. Towards a Twenty-First-Century Feminist Politics of Music. Farnham: Ashgate, 2010.
Macarthur, Sally, Cat Hope, and Dawn Bennett. “The Sound of Silence.” The Conversation, May 31, 2016. https://theconversation.com/the-sound-of-silence-why-arent-australias-female-composers-being-heard-59743.
Monash University. “Gender Diversity in Music Making Conference.” Accessed November 14, 2019. https://www.monash.edu/muma/events/2018/The-Gender-Diversity-in-Music-Making-Conference.
Screen New South Wales. “Screen NSW Steps up Gender Parity Push.” Accessed November 14, 2019. https://screen.nsw.gov.au/news/screen-nsw-steps-up-gender-parity-push.
Sebag-Montefiore, Clarissa. “Beyond the Dead White Dudes.” The Guardian, August 20, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/20/beyond-the-dead-white-dudes-how-to-solve-the-gender-problem-in-australian-classical-music.
Strong, Catherine and Fabian Cannizzo. “Australian Women Screen Composers: Career Barriers and Pathways.” Melbourne: RMIT University, 2017.
Summers, Anne. “The Women’s Manifesto: A Blueprint for How to Get Equality for Women in Australia.” March 7, 2017. https://www.annesummers.com.au/discover.
Sweet, Doug. “Historic Moment for McGill Orchestra.” McGill Reporter, November 4, 2013. https://reporter.mcgill.ca/historic-moment-for-mcgill-symphony-orchestra/.
Sydney University. “Composing Women Program.” Accessed November 16, 2019. https://sydney.edu.au/music/industry-and-community/community-engagement/composing-women.html.
Tura New Music. “The Summers Night Project.” Accessed November 14, 2019. https://www.tura.com.au/tura-program/the-summers-night-project/.
University of Western Australia. “Gender Diversity in Music and Art Conference.” Accessed November 14, 2019. https://www.uwa.edu.au/able/schools/conservatorium-of-music/conservatorium-of-music-events/gender-diversity-conference.
Whitney, Ian. “Australian Content in 2019.” Accessed November 14, 2019. https://ianwhitney.com.au/2018/11/22/australian-content-in-2019/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Appleby, R. (2022). “Dear Women Composers in Australia (and Beyond)”: (A Letter from a Music Critic). In: Kouvaras, L., Grenfell, M., Williams, N. (eds) A Century of Composition by Women. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95557-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95557-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-95556-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-95557-1
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)