FACES OF CHANGE: TODD CASSETTY
ALL QUIET ON THE FEMALE FRONT
By Todd Cassetty
I prefer the good news.
The good news is that after many years of advocating for women in music, I’ve seen progress I didn’t expect.
When I founded Song Suffragettes in 2014, I thought that creating Nashville’s first and only all-women, weekly singer-songwriter round would showcase the depth and diversity of female talent in this town. And as a result, our spotlight would awaken the powers-that-be to the systemic marginalization of women within the music ecosystem.
Well, I was partially right. In the subsequent years of Song Suffragettes, awareness of the disparity against females in Nashville spiked to an all-time high. By finding the best-and-brightest female talents in music, we were able to clearly communicate that the consistent lack of representation of women – in country music specifically – was not a talent problem but a lack of opportunity problem.
There were industry panels and private meetings and media coverage. Song Suffragettes was the subject of stories by PBS NewsHour, ELLE, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard, Associated Press and more. The #MeToo movement was an added catalyst to spur these conversations, and Song Suffragettes even worked with the Time’s Up organization on a fundraising effort around an original song that was penned and performed by women from the Song Suffragettes collective.
All the while, good things were happening. Most of all, we were building community. It was a community of like-minded musical women who befriended and believed in one another. We created a safe space where women could both collaborate and commiserate. The “collective-ness” of Song Suffragettes was an unexpected result of our efforts but to this day, it is the facet of Song Suffragettes that I’m most proud of.
As we approach eight years of Song Suffragettes, we’ve also seen commercial success with many from our collective. So far, 25 Song Suffragettes have gone on to receive recording contracts, and 53 have landed publishing deals. 338 women have played our show (out of 1,900+ screened), and we regularly meet with new singer-songwriters in our journey to continually expand the collective. As we say, our mission is to #LetTheGirlsPlay, and we have no intention of stopping.
Now for the bad news.
Despite intense and wide-spread industry awareness, the Nashville powers-that-be haven’t stepped up to enact substantive change. In short, country radio still won’t play females as evidenced by the 2021 end-of-the-year chart reports. For example, only four solo female acts made it to the #1 spot on the country radio charts. In 52 weeks, that’s a whopping 8%.
Further, the finger pointing continues. Radio blames the record industry for not sending more females artists down the pipeline. The record industry blames radio for not playing more women. Meanwhile, the touring and publishing industries are supplicants to the radio game and take no responsibility for any of it.
To be frank, it’s tough because as it turns out, awareness was not enough. It’s clear now that “doing the right thing” and providing more opportunity for women in music is not a proper motivator. It’s clear now that societal pressures are easy to ignore. It’s clear now that hitting the powers-that-be in the pocketbook is likely the only way to move the needle.
So how do we do that? Well, there are lots of opinions, and I have a few ideas myself. What I can tell you though is that change is not easy or quick. However, there is reward in trying. And there are moments of success that are both overt and intrinsic. And that’s why Song Suffragettes will continue to take a public stand against female inequality in music.
In the meantime, we’ll keep strategizing. We’ll keep nurturing the best musical talent in Nashville. We’ll continue to build a community of like-minded women. And we’ll continue to watch the sold-out Monday night crowds at The Listening Room Café listen, cry and laugh with some of the most talented women I’ve ever met.
Todd Cassetty is a 20+ year music exec with experience at labels, trade organizations and music tech companies along with entrepreneurial endeavors from digital marketing to artist management to television production. He has worked with Taylor Swift, The Chicks and Carrie Underwood to name a few, and is the founder of the only all-female, weekly singer-songwriter showcase Song Suffragettes. He is the father of three, husband to one and believes that diversity always trumps homogeny.
SEE FOR YOURSELF!
To hear some great songs by Song Suffragettes, check out their 2021 Advent Calendar playlist on Spotify here.
Catch Song Suffragettes final show of the year on Monday, Dec. 20th. Tickets available here.
And for more, visit www.SongSuffragettes.com and @SongSuffragettes on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.