INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH: HERE TO STAY

Earlier this year, the Women and Equalities Committee published a report on Misogyny in Music. Depressingly, it was made clear that “Black women are overlooked for promotions, and have their qualifications questioned.” Wider institutional racism is localised within the music industry, with Black women facing many barriers to progression in their careers. 

As a Black women-led organisation, WNDRLST is committed to showcasing the talents of Black women in the UK music industry. There are countless Black women behind the scenes making a profound impact, and their work sometimes goes unnoticed by those unaware of the scope of jobs within music. So, for Women’s History Month, we are spotlighting two women who are part of a wider network of trailblazers in this industry.

Iman

Tour Manager, Sound Engineer & DJ

Iman is a true multi-hyphenate creative. She dabbles in tour managing, DJing, and live sound engineering as a full-time freelancer. After studying Music Multimedia and Electronics at Leeds University, Iman felt passionate about exploring “audio skills through different mediums.”

During the pandemic, Iman was picked to join a group of Black women to attend the 3T Tour Tech Training course. 3T is a free course for people from underrepresented gender and ethnic groups, equipping them with valuable skills, industry knowledge and connections to begin careers as touring technicians. Recounting her experience very fondly, Iman says,  “3T was a God-send for me because it was during the pandemic and no live music events were happening. It was the perfect course to begin my career. A lot of my gigs came from that course.”

After working as a tour manager for a few years, Iman recognises how courses like 3T are very much needed, “at a lot of gigs I work at, I’m told, ‘I’ve never seen a Black female tour manager or technician before’. It reminds me that there is not a lot of us.” The lack of representation within the touring sector inevitably leads to discrimination, which Iman recognises, “if you don’t have backing from the industry, a lot of the time you can be overlooked.” 

She is grateful to 3T for providing support and a foundation to kickstart her already-successful career, Iman is very much aware of how there is a lot of work that needs to be done in making her industry a more equitable space, “A lot of people get jobs from being recommended, and are given the space to learn and grow in their work. For Black women, we don’t get the privilege of doing that. We almost have to be overskilled to get a job, but our counterparts don’t have to work as hard.” After a brief pause, she continues, “I wish we could be given more grace and looked at more openmindedly.”

Iman is a core member of Recess, beginning her work with them in October 2020 during No Signal’s ‘10v10’ sound clashes. “It was like a live production but broadcast through radio”, she says. With the Recess brand, she works on audio recordings from parties, capturing the work of DJs playing the night, “archiving and having a record of the live performances is so important. It’s easy for people to forget but it’s a part of history that needs to be kept.” If that isn’t enough for you, she also DJs at Pulse and the Social Club. “I’m interested in so many aspects of the music industry!” she laughs.

Layla

Independent Promoter

Layla founded Kato & Friends, a community of promoters for emerging talent in London. A woman of many talents (and seemingly incredible time management skills), Layla’s background is in Law, and she is currently training to become a solicitor. Despite this, music has been Layla’s constant, “I’ve always been a music person. But I had the typical African upbringing, where you had to get your academic shit in a row. Law was the only thing I could see myself doing. I just put music on the back burner until I finished my degree.”

A tale as old as time: the child of African parents delays their creative pursuits to meet their family’s expectations. Layla’s passion for entertainment has materialised through the Kato & Friends brand, which she describes as “a group of carebears. The sense of community is second to none when you walk into our crowd. “They're so attentive and embracing.”

Kato & Friends focuses on underground talent, Layla says, “They deserve the opportunity for artist development.” The nation is deep into a recession, which inevitably has reduced funding for the arts and made it harder for new acts to break through. Because of this, the gap of opportunity between signed and unsigned artists is widening, Layla laments, “I think development deals look really obvious now. We can tell when an artist has just popped out of nowhere.” Rooted in nostalgia, Kato & Friends gives artists the chance to grow their audience organically, “I really miss the stories of people just performing and people liking them. I want to bring that back. They put so much work into recording and producing these songs, but they don’t have anyone to perform them to for a long while. ”

As an independent promoter, Layla has learnt about how much time and effort goes into making sure live events come to fruition, “a lot of people don’t know the amount of work that goes into producing a live event. They’re very easy to take for granted.” Through Kato & Friends, Layla has achieved great success. In their first year, they have managed to get a residency at The Lower Third in Tottenham Court Road. “We need to respect promoters. They hustle to bring events to these venues. Their job is to show venues that the Black British community is marketable and that we can positively add to their brand identity.”

Speaking fondly of women she is inspired by, without hesitation, Layla screams, “Kara! She changed my life. She is an amazing woman.” Kara, acclaimed promoter at AEG, acts as a mentor to Layla, “she brings so much perspective to what I am doing. I’ve enjoyed leaning on her and asking for advice.”

Briefly chatting with Kara to inform her of Layla’s kind words, Kara is overwhelmed by the praise. “I’ve always just wanted to be the person that I wanted for myself when I was younger. When people say ‘your name travels in the industry’, those are the things that make my heart sing.” WNDRLST asked if she has any advice for other women, who want to follow in her and Layla’s footsteps and get into promotion, “I wish I could go back to my younger self and not be so hard on her, because it was going to work out in the end.”

We hope Kara’s wise words are remembered by all the women who are killing it in the live music industry. You’re doing amazing, sweetie!