In the post-Weinstein era, after #metoo exposed record company execs worldwide, and the Grammy boss’s “step up” comment, where are women in the industry turning?
It’s a trick question. They’re not turning anywhere. They’re doing it for themselves. Over the past few years independent organisations have been popping up to support women in music. Some are now huge companies but others, which are equally as important, are grassroots DIY offerings that get to the crux of the problem in a way many of their larger projects don’t.
In 2015 Beth White set up Who Run The World (WRTW) after becoming fed up with the inherent and unconscious misogyny of the music industry. Drawing on her own experiences with booking agents and promoters in London, Beth set out to do things differently. WRTW is London’s first promotions company exclusively showcasing women. Three years on, after a sabbatical in 2017, WRTW is back, once again looking to address underrepresentation in London’s grassroots music scene.
WRTW’s roster accepts artists of all genres and includes soloists, female-fronted bands and bands featuring female instrumentalists, it aims to be wholly inclusive, but with a female focus.
Since 2015, they have created shows for Riot Grrrl, DIY, punk, alternative rock, metal, pop punk, indie, grunge and garage rock bands, as well as pop, soul, blues and folk solo artists.
“I started the company in June 2015, mostly from fear because my mum said if I was going to do it I had to make it legit! I didn’t really think about having to start an actual company and do accounts and all that kind of crap I just wanted to do it,” says Beth.
It’s this ‘can-do’ attitude that has spurned her on, after of course, receiving the go ahead from her mum.
Beth hosted her first WRTW show, and notably, her first ever show as a promoter in August 2015 at Apples and Pears Bar in Bricklane.
“That was an acoustic showcase, and I somehow convinced London Live to come down and they filmed it for tv. I was a bit like ‘what the hell is going on’, I’d never put on a gig before, and then I got a residency off the back of that.”
“I got really confident off the back of that first residency, … I was really prolific from then on, constantly putting on gigs and all the way through into 2016 I was trying to get residencies, and then I wanted to branch out into the more queer sort of space too.”
“Being gay, there was nothing for gay women to do, ever. Especially not a live music night, so I got a residency at Muse Soho for [queer musicians] for a bit.”
In 2018, Beth is hoping to bring that prolific feeling back to WRTW. 2017 was a year of down-time, and now she’s back hitting the ground running.
“The plan is to have two bi-monthly shows running alternately. So one is going to be in Brick Lane at Cafe 1001 for the acoustic open mic night kind of vibe and then at The Victoria for full bands. So similar to what we were doing before, but concentrated in East London and in bigger venues. Hopefully it will allow scope for growth too, I want the acoustic nights to become networking nights.”
It’s Beth’s wide-reaching optimism that makes WRTW such a warming proposition. She really is trying to build women up in an industry that loves to tear them down. She is more than just a promoter, she’s one of the guiding lights for women in DIY music.
Beth says the attitude and ethos behind WRTW is collaborative, and about everyone having a level playing field, even when it is within an exclusive space.
