OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 - Shesaid.so Interview

OUGD505 Studio Brief 2 - Shesaid.so Interview

This was a really great interview as shesaid.so is a collective with very similar aims to my campaign, so it was interesting to hear their insight. This comes as useful research as they state they are planning to expand further by social media and editorial content. These are two important factors which I plan to include in my campaign.

Interview - 

1. Could you tell me about the origins of shesaid.so?

shesaid.so was born in London in September 2014 with the aim of bringing together women who were active in the industry, creating a collaborative space for them to share ideas, projects, skills and, ultimately, increase the number of women across all verticals in music.

We got started as an email-based community and then started organizing a series of speaker events that tackled various industry topics beyond the gender conversation. The network quickly grew through word of mouth and is now active in various cities around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Cape Town etc. The goal with our events is to ensure more women are represented on stage and to enable our members to connect locally, empower each other and inspire generations of young women to come.

2. What are your objectives? How do you aim to encourage women in the industry and do you have any advice?

Our vision is to create an environment that supports collaboration, creativity and positive values. We value professionalism and high standard work ethics. Through our network, we share opportunities and provide a safe space for discussion and exchanging ideas. Our community encourages women to be confident and strive to achieve success through hard work and determination.

3. There are a lot of women who dream of DJing or producing, but don’t because of the inaccessibility of the scene. Would you agree with this statement?  

We are aware of the difficulties women face in electronic music and the industry in general, and aim to foster change through working with both men and women to create equal opportunity within the scene. Our members work in all facets of the industry, from PR to management to agents, including many who are DJs and producers themselves, so we have a well-rounded perspective on these issues and how we can solve them.

4. How do you go about challenging stereotypes surrounding being a female in the music industry?

While sexism is inarguably present in the industry, we choose to frame our conversations around individual accomplishments rather than focus on how they are affected by gender. It’s very important to reject negative stereotypes, however we feel that giving a platform and voice to women who have pushed past these challenges and found success in music will inspire others to do the same. We choose to include men in these conversations as well to create constructive commentaries and uphold a balance that will allow us to work together to break down pre-existing barriers.

5. Do you think the music industry is changing for the better?

We believe wholeheartedly in progress and the potential for positive change, and our members speak very much to the good that is happening in the music industry. Our community is constantly growing (with over 1,000 members worldwide), and with every new voice it’s clear to see that the industry is not just lead by men, but by hard-working people of all genders and backgrounds. We hope to support the efforts of all the talented women seeking roles in music and to form allies in the men we work with too.

6. What’s next for She Said So? What would you like to achieve in the next coming months?

So far we’ve mainly been active behind closed doors, focusing on strengthening our network and establishing our core values. This year we are planning to be more outspoken about our projects and initiatives through social media and editorial content. We now have an official blog that can host this type of content and that will hopefully enable us to spread the word about our mission.

In addition, we are continuing to grow our digital community around the world and are working on establishing a presence in various key cities in the industry. We aim to do that by launching networking events, speaker opportunities and partnerships with other conferences and festivals that are aligned with our vision. Some locations we want to add to the map this year are New York, Lisbon, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam and San Francisco.