Gender in the Music Industry : Rock, Discourse and Girl Power

This classic volume achieves a remarkable width of appeal without sacrificing scientific accuracy or depth of analysis. It is a valuable contribution to the study of business efficiency which should be read by anyone wanting information about the developments and place of management, and it is as relevant today as when it was first written. This is a practical book, written out of many years of experience in working with managements of small, medium and large corporations. It aims to be a management guide, enabling readers to examine their own work and performance, to diagnose their weaknesses and to improve their own effectiveness as well as the results of the enterprise they are responsible for.

Why, despite the number of high profile female rock musicians, does rock continue to be understood as masculine? Why is rock generally assumed to be created and performed by men? Marion Leonard explores different representations of masculinity offered by, and performed through, rock music, and examines how female rock performers negotiate this gendering of rock as masculine. A major concern of the book is not specifically with men or with women performing rock, but with how notions of gender affect the everyday experiences of all rock musicians within the context of the music industry. Leonard addresses core issues relating to gender, rock and the music industry through a case study of ''female-centred'' bands from the UK and US performing so called ''indie rock'' from the 1990s to the present day. Using original interview material with both amateur and internationally renowned musicians, the book further addresses the fact that the voices of musicians have often been absent from music industry studies. Leonard''s central aim is to progress from feminist scholarship that has documented and explored the experience of female musicians, to presenting an analytic discussion of gender and the music industry. In this way, the book engages directly with a number of under-researched areas: the impact of gender on the everyday life of performing musicians; gendered attitudes in music journalism, promotion and production; the responses and strategies developed by female performers; the feminist network riot grrrl and the succession of international festivals it inspired under the name of Ladyfest.