Calling all UK feminist musicians, music fans and event organisers!

I have a new idea for promoting the music of feminist bands and artists across the UK and would love to hear your ideas about whether and how this could work.

In the last few years there seems to have been an increase / resurgence (?) in feminist-inspired music being made in the UK and elsewhere, and I’ve been thinking a lot about ways that independent bands and artists can build solidarity with each other and help each other out. Of course, there are already loads of great club nights, blogs, websites and social media accounts which are helping to get exposure for feminist musicians and build a sense of community, but we can always do more…

I often go to feminist conferences, festivals and events and think to myself that it would be great if independent bands and artists could use these events to share their music with like-minded people. Lately I’ve been thinking about starting up a little collective which would run stalls at feminist events which sell music by independent feminist artists of all genres. It would have an MP3 player and headphones where people could listen to things before they buy them, and of course be run by music fans who are familiar with all the music they’re selling and can recommend punters something they might like based on their tastes.

This wouldn’t be a profit-making enterprise – for me it’s more an opportunity to meet great people and share great music. There are some details to work out: for example, I would want all profits to go to the artists, but in some cases we would need to cover the costs of holding a stall, and so would need to work out a fair way to do this without becoming just another middle man who eats into artists’ revenues.

This is where you come in: I want to hear your views on whether you think this would be worthwhile and workable.

So, feminist artists/bands: is selling CDs/vinyl still important for you in the digital age? Would you send your music to be sold by fellow feminists at events around the country? Would you like to be part of a small collective running this? Or are there better ways of achieving the same goals?

Feminist music fans, would such stalls be a good way for you to discover new music? Do you still buy music on CD/vinyl? Would you be interested in helping out on the stall every now and then?

Conference/festival/event organisers, would you be interested in having such a stall at your event?

Any feedback would be really appreciated, and I’ll post again in a few weeks to let you know what the response has been like. Please send me an email or contact me on Twitter or Facebook. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Hannah

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