Industry Professionals

Music HerStory

Industry Professionals

Producing and disseminating music is a massive undertaking. Roles unrelated to performance are critical to success in the music industry. Whether behind the scenes, administering business activities, or working with artists, women contribute in a variety of roles.

Cover of volume one of the 1964 publication, Broadside: Songs of Our Times from the Pages of Broadside Magazine.

Broadside: Songs of Our Times from the Pages of Broadside Magazine
Compiled and edited by Sis Cunningham
New York, 1964

Black and white photograph of Barbara Dane seated with her guitar in 1965.

Barbara Dane with her guitar in Alan Lomax’s apartment, New York City, 1965.
Photo by Diana Jo Davies
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Women in the Industry

Women work in every facet of the music industry. Throughout the twentieth century, women broke significant ground as record label executives, talent developers, editors, engineers, and photojournalists, among other professions. As more women become decision-makers in the music industry, they bring diverse perspectives, talent, and creativity to the profession.

Women-Owned Record Labels

Barbara Dane

Paredon Records, cofounded by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber in the early 1970s, set out to amplify the voices of artists and activists that were full of hope, and sometimes desperation—voices that expressed the struggles and victories of people standing up for peace, equity, and social justice. Dane’s Paredon Records donated their holdings to the Smithsonian in 1991.

Black and white photograph of Barbara Dane seated with her guitar in 1965.

Barbara Dane with her guitar in Alan Lomax’s apartment, New York City, 1965.
Photo by Diana Jo Davies
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Cover of Barbara Dane's 1982 LP record, When We Make It Through.

When We Make It Through
Barbara Dane
Paredon Records, 1982

Cover of the 1973 LP record, A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America

A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America
Chris Kando Iijima, Joanne Nobuko Miyamoto, "Charlie" Chin
Paredon Records, 1973

Cover of the 1977 LP record, ‘…And Ain’t I A Woman?’

“…And Ain’t I A Woman?”
New Harmony Sisterhood Band
Paredon Records, 1977

Marian Distler

In 1948, Marian Distler (1919–1964) and Moses Asch (1905–1986) cofounded Folkways Records, an innovative label dedicated to recording and documenting culturally diverse music and sounds. In 1987, the Smithsonian purchased Folkways Records from the Asch estate.

Black and white photo of Marion Distler from the book, Making People’s Music.

Marian Distler, cofounder of Folkways Records
Making People’s Music: Moe Asch and Folkways Records
Peter Goldsmith
Washington, D.C., 1998
Photo by David Gahr

Photo of Moses Asch at the control booth, from the book, Making People’s Music.

Moses Asch (right), cofounder of Folkways Records
Making People’s Music: Moe Asch and Folkways Records
Peter Goldsmith
Washington, D.C., 1998
Photo by David Gahr

Sylvia Robinson

Sylvia Robinson was a groundbreaking singer, songwriter, producer, and record label executive. As co-founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records, Robinson produced and released one of hip hop’s earliest commercially successful songs of sociopolitical commentary, “The Message” by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five (1982).

Sylvia Robinson with a guitar on the cover of a 1959 issue of Jet magazine.

“Can Mickey’s Sylvia Succeed as a Single Act?”
Jet magazine
October 8, 1959

Front cover of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's 1982 LP record, The Message.
Label from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's 1982 LP record, The Message.

The Message
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Sugar Hill Records, 1982
Loaned by Meredith Holmgren

Ani DiFranco

Folk singer Ani DiFranco founded Righteous Babe Records in 1990 to publish her own material and that of like-minded artists.

Ani DiFranco on the cover of the March/April 1999 issue of ROCKRGRL magazine.

Ani DiFranco
“A Label of One’s Own: Inside Women-Owned Record Labels”
ROCKRGRL
March/April 1999

Expanding Roles

Suzanne de Passe

Suzanne de Passe is a popular music producer, label executive, television producer, and business woman. At Motown Records, she helped lead artist development and music television productions for more than two decades.

Cover of the 1991 book, Suzanne de Passe: Motown's Boos Lady.

Suzanne de Passe: Motown’s Boss Lady
Mark Mussari
Ada, Oklahoma, 1991

Sis Cunningham

Singer, songwriter, editor, and labor activist Sis Cunningham (1909–2004) founded Broadside magazine in 1962 with her husband Gordon Friesen. They published a wide range of topical songs from well-known folk artists of the era, including Bob Dylan, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Vanessa Redgrave, and others.

Cover of volume one of the 1964 publication, Broadside: Songs of Our Times from the Pages of Broadside Magazine.

Broadside: Songs of Our Times from the Pages of Broadside Magazine
Compiled and edited by Sis Cunningham
New York, 1964

Cover of volume one of the 1964 publication, Broadside: Songs of Our Times from the Pages of Broadside Magazine.

Sis Cunningham at a concert held in her New York apartment, mid-1960s.
Photo by Diana Jo Davies
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections