Women in the music industry: Grammy Edition

The 2019 Grammy Awards marked a night of progress and success for women in the music industry.

​Photo: the Hudsucker

Going to an all-girls school can sometimes make it difficult for us to imagine that women are not always seen as equal. We have been fostered by a community of female admissions leaders, teachers and students who are surrounded by amazing opportunities, when outside of our safe space at St. Mary’s, many women are catching up from years of being seen as “less than.”

Kacey Musgraves, a thirty-year-old singer-songwriter based out of Nashville, is by no means “new” to the music industry. For her whole adult life, Musgraves has been pursuing her music career. Musgraves once said, “One thing I’ve experienced as a woman on this path is I can be meeting the same radio station people or people in the industry as a male artist, but there’s an extra pressure on me to be accommodating or nice.” Well-known for her witty, biting lyrics describing everything from her journey from the tiny town of Golden, Texas to quirky families to ballads about life on the road, she set the stage for her sound as a “dime store cowgirl.” This image was slightly altered, however, when she released her newest album, “Golden Hour,” in March of 2018. In comparison to her more country sounding albums with slide guitar and twang, “Golden Hour” had more of a psychedelic pop sound. It was still classified as country, though. At the Grammys on Feb.10, Musgraves won three awards from the album: best country song, best country album, and album of the year. This was not only a huge step for country music, seeing as album of the year was country, but also a huge step for women in the music business.

Another brilliant, female songwriter who made waves in the music scene at the 2019 Grammy awards was Brandi Carlile. Not only did she represent women at the awards but also the gay community. Being nominated for six awards and winning three, Carlie gained much deserved praise and acclaim for her work. She went home with wins for best American Roots Performance, American Roots Song, and best Americana Album. Carlile’s lyrics tell of the truths of life. With choruses like “Let ‘em laugh while they can. Let ‘em spin, let ‘em scatter in the wind. I have been to the movies, I’ve seen how it ends, And the joke’s on them” and “All of these lines across my face tell you the story of who I am. So many stories of where I’ve been and how I got to where I am. But these stories don’t mean anything when you’ve got no one to tell them to. It’s true… I was made for you” it is no wonder that she had so much success that night.

Musgraves, Carlile and so many other incredible female artists are paving the way for future generations of girls, inside the music industry and out. Recognizing and supporting their work is one of the many ways we can help secure a place in the industry for the future generations of talented women.