International Women's Day: The Music Industry Version

Vital resources, playlists, and M.U.S.I.C.

Happy 2025 International Women’s Day!

Let’s start this issue with Herizon Music’s values M.U.S.I.C. acronym. I haven’t busted this out in a while and it’s a pretty good summation of what Herizon Music stands for on International Women’s Day.

Music is the Great Uniter
Uplifting others brings joy
Sharing stories incites change
Investing in women is wise
Collaboration beats competition

In 2019, Herizon Music‘s podcast launched under the name Backstage Chats with Women In Music. The goal? To promote gender equity in music by spotlighting women who work on air, on stage, and behind the scenes. What inspired the midlife career change? Research for an article about Joan Jett proved that the industry had changed very little for women in opportunity and representation since the 1970s. The podcast and then-nonprofit were the beginning of many newsletters, educational events, fundraisers and concerts to help women succeed in music careers.

Here are conversation starters that you can use when discussing the state of gender equity in music.

Also in 2019, the Recording Academy set numerous goals to increase women’s representation in music and spread awareness about issues that affect them.

“Women In The Mix” is the program that focuses on these goals as well as creating community within the larger academy. The Recording Academy set a goal to add 2,500 women voting members by 2025. The Academy surpassed this goal, adding more than 3,000 women voting members ahead of their deadline.

If you’ve been a Herizon Music subscriber for a while, you’ll know that job safety is an ongoing concern for women in the music industry. Sexual assault, harassment, stalking, bullying, discrimination… the struggle is real as are the mental health consequences. So, Women In The Mix put together this page of resources for everyone to use— you don’t have to be an Academy member to access them.

Our last issue discussed the history of International Women’s Day and National Women’s Month. If you’d like to spread the word, here is a link to digital assets you can grab and post on your social media or newsletter super fast. Men, we depend on your support and welcome any and all postings/shares on your feeds. Together, we can make the music industry a better experience for everyone!

And what would a celebration be without music? Here is Herizon Music’s Women’s Empowerment playlist to get you pumped up. If you have songs you’d like to add to the list, please leave them in the comments. (That’s our former logo on the graphic, but it’s us!)

Of course, sharing the stories of women in music is one of the best ways we can make sure that women’s contributions to modern music are recognized and remembered. Herizon Music: The Podcast is growing internationally. The folks at FeedSpot ranked us #15 in their Top 45 Women In Music Podcasts of 2025. The next episode will feature sister Substacker and Canadian musician Quinn Bélice of the Juno-nominated duo Bel and Quinn. Episodes are 30-50 minutes long. Perfect for workouts, lunch breaks, and work commutes!

Lastly, a new Hidden Tracks article is coming out next week for premium subscribers. Nina Simone is our featured icon in this new series that exposes the dark underbelly of music and challenges that women had to overcome to achieve their career goals.

Upgrade to a paid subscription to access premium content and support the work we do at Herizon Music.

This series is the result of research for my upcoming book First Ladies of Music: A Rockin’ Activity & Coloring Book (Fox Chapel) that will hit stores in Spring 2026. The book is meant to inspire and educate teens, but fans of all ages will enjoy the stories and activities. That said, the topics covered in the Hidden Tracks series are not appropriate for young readers, but equally as important in understanding how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go in achieving gender equity and safety in the music business.

Thank you for embarking on this journey with our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars.

It’s a wrap!

Thea 🎶

Thank you to the Women Changing The World Global Awards committee for choosing me (and Herizon Music) as a finalist for the 2025 awards. Learn more about WCWG here.