MassiveMusic Dubai's ‘Balance the Mix’ initiative champions and promotes under-represented music talent in the Middle East.MassiveMusic Dubai, a Songtradr company and a music creative agency, has launched ‘Balance the Mix’ in the Middle East region – an initiative that champions and promotes under-represented music talent in the Middle East.
Spearheaded by MassiveMusic London in 2023 – and now an independent, not-for-profit entity – Balance the Mix raises awareness, promotes and fosters growth among women in every aspect of the music industry.
While some of the world’s biggest and well-known artists are female, MassiveMusic says it’s a different story behind the scenes, with talent not being acknowledged or recognised in sectors such as production, songwriting and among commercial artists.
For instance, the company revealed that the ratio of commercial artists is 78 per cent male and 22 per cent female, and of songwriters is skewed 86 per cent towards males versus 14 per cent female. In addition, merely 3 per cent of music producers are women, a figure MassiveMusic is working to raise by 30 per cent over the next five years.
Leading Balance the Mix in the Middle East, Cherine Altobaishi, Senior Account Manager, MassiveMusic Dubai, said, “Since its launch, Balance the Mix has grown year-on-year, operating in the United States, Europe and now, here in the Gulf region. While many Arab women may not have previously considered music as a career option, it’s changing. We are seeing growth and momentum in terms of female talent, particularly in the UAE and KSA. The goal now is to get them into roles where they can grow and thrive.”
Altobaishi added, “A key part of my role at MassiveMusic is working with music producers, but finding females is a real challenge. We want to create a better gender balance among producers, and, through our Balance the Mix 30-30 initiative, hope to boost the number of women in the business by 30 per cent over the next five years.”
In the Middle East, the number of women entering and being retained by the music industry is low, despite a wealth of available female music talent.
Becky Wixon, who is spearheading the launch of Balance the Mix globally, said, “Women in the music sector are often paid less than their male counterparts, despite often being more qualified. They can also face a lack of support when it comes to career growth – particularly in engineering and production roles, which were traditionally seen as jobs for men and remain male-dominated today. We are delighted to bring Balance the Mix to the Middle East.”
Balance the Mix initiatives in the region and globally include building an online talent pool through a dedicated website for under-represented talent; regular seminars and events to address issues facing women in the industry; and exploring new ways to champion women and promote diversity, such as future collaborations with organisations such as Equal Arabia, Little Pink Book and Hunna.
The initative also calls for better regulation in the creative and music industries to protect women and other represented groups.
In addition, girls should be encouraged to study music at school and pursue a career in music: historically, at some girls-only schools, music was never even part of the curriculum.
Altobaishi concluded, “We also encourage businesses to build diversity, equity and inclusion into their brands when it comes to music and tap into female talent – perhaps even insist on it – when working with musicians/artists/music engineers for their businesses.”
