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VOL. 11, NO. 1 
SPRING 2022 

 

Advancing Equity in Arts Entrepreneurship  
A Case Study on Gender Equity and Empowerment in Music 
Production 

Charlie Wall-Andrews 
Toronto Metropolitan University  

Mary Elizabeth Luka 
University of Toronto Scarborough 

ABSTRACT: The authors conduct an empirical investigation of the national Equity X Pro-
gram to understand not just the barriers that women face in becoming producers and 
developing business skills to move their career forward as artist entrepreneurs in Canada 
but also how emerging professionals feel about their perceived opportunities. The au-
thors first situate the study within the literature on equity and inclusion in the creative 
sector and the importance of the music industry in this context. They then use an impact 
assessment framework that incorporates key indicators around equity and inclusion, aes-
thetic goals and approaches, and accessibility measures to help organize six rich clusters 
of data drawn from respondents (N=397). Using iterative open coding of open-ended 
responses to semi-structured questions, as well as critical discourse analysis, the authors 
examine the clustered data to illustrate or address these impact measures and to tease 
out the implications of each cluster of data. The analysis of the six clusters of data can 
help the sector (and their funders and policymaking supporters) better understand prior-
ities for entrepreneurial capacity-building, including professionalization, technical skills, 
self-development, a sense of belonging through networking, entrepreneurial develop-
ment, and emotional engagement in the sector. While the study does not suggest that 
systemic discrimination can be overcome any time soon, it does provide evidence of the 
ways in which women creatives in music believe that becoming more proficient in tech-
nical and business skills will help them; it also illustrates their optimism about being able 
to overcome discrimination. This generates a more complex understanding not just of 
some of the challenges faced by diverse women artist-entrepreneurs within Canada’s 
music ecosystem but also perceptions about how they aim to overcome these challenges. 
The article concludes by outlining future work required to ameliorate system-wide dis-
crimination in arts entrepreneurship. KEYWORDS: small business, artists, equity, music, 
music production, community education, women, gender issues, empirical study, emo-
tional coding. DOI: doi.org/10.34053/artivate.11.1.154 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

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Introduction 
In this paper, we focus on how equity can be created among women and diverse artists aspiring 
to professionalize their careers by learning production and entrepreneurship skills. Music pro-
ducers play a pivotal creative role in the creative economy as entrepreneurs: they have a signif-
icant amount of control over the work that musicians release because they oversee the entire 
process of song creation (Smith, ; Shepherd, ). However, this group continues to be 
dominated by men, as detailed below. Women have historically been underrepresented in the 
music industry and have faced systemic barriers (Smith et al., ). One example is Fanny 
Mendelssohn, a nineteenth century German composer who composed more than  works 
including her  masterpiece, Easter Sonata, which was originally credited to her brother, the 
renowned composer Felix Mendelssohn. It took almost  years for her to receive the recogni-
tion she deserved (CBC Radio, ). 

Given the economic importance of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the music indus-
try (CIMA ; Ontario Creates, n.d.; Statistics Canada, ), it is important to understand 
why women in the industry continue to face barriers, especially those working as producers. In 
this article, we first situate the study in literature and previous empirical research on equity and 
inclusion in the creative sector, then we outline our methodology. As an emergent case study, 
we use an impact assessment framework that moves beyond—but can also include—economic 
and business measures to look at the responses of women involved in the nationally competitive 
Equity X Production Mentorship Program (Yin, ). We then examine six clusters of data 
that provide us with information to analyse using key impact indicators to create equity in Can-
ada’s industry and to better understand the challenges and barriers for women and diverse art-
ists. The clusters of data include professionalization; technical skill-building discourse; self-de-
velopment goals and strategies; the importance of a sense of belonging; the use of 
entrepreneurial and small business discourses; and emotional engagement within the sector, 
including motivation, frustration, and optimism.  

The Equity X Program is an intensive professional development experience intended to 
help remedy the severe underrepresentation of women producers in the sector by providing 
professionalization through mentoring, networking, and skill-building. Equity X is funded and 
hosted by the SOCAN Foundation in Canada. The Equity X Program was developed in  in 
response to the findings of research conducted between  and  by the Annenberg In-
clusion Initiative (Smith et al., ). The program was implemented with the goal of mobilizing 
the strengths of creative hubs, networks, and entrepreneurial incubators as sites of profession-
alization and support. We examined preliminary feedback from program applicants to explore 
their understanding of the music industry as an entrepreneurial or small business environment. 
We found that aspiring participants tend to be keenly aware of their limited business and tech-
nical skills but do not describe themselves as entrepreneurs. They are also fully cognizant of the 
systemic nature of discrimination in the field, but they maintain an optimistic and enthusiastic 
outlook about their own potential, seeking targeted training and business incubation programs 
as a way of overcoming barriers. We conclude by identifying arts entrepreneurship literature 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

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that has not explored how critical or equity theory can be leveraged to better support under-
served and underrepresented creative communities in hope that this paper will encourage fur-
ther investigation. 

Literature Review  
In this article, since we examine the lack of equitable representation in the field of music, it is 
useful to first situate our approach in the broader literature on equity and diversity in the crea-
tive sector. We are then able to contextualize the situation for music entrepreneurs in the 
broader creative economy, specifically the music industry in Canada. The literature on arts en-
trepreneurship has not yet converged on equity or targeted approaches to better serve margin-
alized artists, however, many aspects of the arts are highly inequitable. We explore the creative 
economy in the music industry, state of equity and inclusion, and impact indicators. 

Creative Economy and the Music Industry 

Over the last two decades, creative industries have seen explosive growth in so-called creative 
incubators and hubs (Essig, ; Gill et al., ). These can be understood as operational in-
frastructures that can help develop, commercialize, and disseminate products. They are also 
used to foster a cultural district and offer coworking or presentation spaces for professional 
creative workers to share skills, networks, and current work. Incubators are especially important 
because the arts sector is a crucial part of our social fabric and the economy. Crosswick and 
Kasynska () recently explored innovation spaces and cultural districts around the world 
and found that in addition to economic benefits, these spaces made important social contribu-
tions by fostering the development and availability of diverse creative work and approaches—
both within the incubators themselves and in nearby public spaces.  

Incubators and creative hubs are sites that can host education in strategic creative practices 
and skill-building for community identity and cohesion. They can make a city or region more 
liveable, not just for creative workers and businesses but also more generally for communities 
of users, consumers, and citizens. Crosswick and Kasynska () found that these sites have 
drawn the attention of creative and knowledge workers as well as investors, funders, and tour-
ists. International research has revealed that investment in the arts and culture sectors creates 
jobs at lower costs to taxpayers and business owners compared to more capital-intensive indus-
tries (Hesmondhalgh, ). In North America, the Canadian Cultural Satellite Account has 
documented the importance of the arts and culture sector to the health of our economy. Ac-
cording to its  report: “Overall, the culture sector—which accounted for . of the total 
culture and sport GDP—rose . in  [. . .]. The culture sector accounted for over , 
jobs in , a . increase from ” (Statistics Canada, ). 

To build towards a more inclusive creative economy, previous research has found that cre-
ative hubs and networks can help communities to grow in sustainable ways, including commu-
nities that are marginalized, dissenting, or underrepresented (Hassan, ; Luka, ; Yung, 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

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). Many studies have used economic measures of success to evaluate sites of activity in the 
culture sector, including large aggregate information such as GDP or more targeted information 
such as recording or merchandise sales, performances, or more broadly diversified revenue 
streams (Dempwolf et al., ; Essig, ). As a result, it is also important to understand the 
scope and potential economic impact of this field of work. According to recent data analysed by 
Ontario Creates, the music sector is one of the key economic development agencies in the coun-
try. And while it was hit hard by the global Covid- pandemic, the sector is poised for growth:  

The Canadian music industry generated US. billion in . It is projected that  will 
mark a significant drop of -. to just under  billion, followed by a dramatic increase over 
the following two years for a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of . between –
. (Ontario Creates, n.d.) 

Previous research has confirmed that entrepreneurs are key economic drivers in Canada. 
In this study, we define entrepreneurs as done by Hisrich (), whereby an entrepreneur is 
characterized as “someone who demonstrates initiative and creative thinking, is able to organize 
social and economic mechanisms to turn resources and situations to practical account, and ac-
cepts risk and failure.” The Canadian music scene is largely driven by the independent music 
industry. The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) is a not-for-profit national 
trade association representing the English-language, Canadian-owned sector of the music in-
dustry. According to its website, its stakeholders consist of small businesses including record 
producers, record labels, recording studios, managers, agents, licensors, music video producers 
and directors, creative content owners, artists, and others who are professionally involved in the 
sound recording and music video industries. The local, global, and commercial successes of Ca-
nadian independent artists reflect the viability of indie music as a small business model. For 
example, in , research firm Nordicity resulted in a report on the independent music scene 
commissioned by the CIMA. The report, titled Sound Analysis, revealed that the Canadian in-
dependent music industry has had a positive and measurable impact on the national economy 
(). In , the industry generated approximately  million in revenues and contributed 
more than  million to the Canadian economy; and it contributed . million to the Cana-
dian GDP for every  million of industry revenue. At the time, it was estimated that more 
than , Canadians were employed in the industry,  of whom are artists (CIMA, ). 
In , , professionals were involved in the music publishing and sound recording seg-
ment of the industry alone, along with a portion of the , live performance professionals 
(Statistics Canada, ). 

Equity and Inclusion in the Music Industry 

While there are different approaches to equity theory (Huseman et. al., ; Leventhal, ; 
Adams, ; Morand & Merriman, ), we ground the study on the understanding that a 
person's beliefs regarding what is fair or unfair can shape their motivation, attitudes, and be-
haviors (Adams, ). Furthermore, unlike equality, the notion of equity recognizes that each 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

5 

person has different circumstances and requires access to specific resources and opportunities 
needed to reach an equal outcome (Kabanof, ; Just Health Action, ). 

Women and gender-diverse artists have historically been underrepresented in the profes-
sional ranks of musicians in the Western world, across genres (Sisario, ). Anecdotally, we 
have seen that the number of women musicians at Canada’s music festivals and women holding 
technical jobs, such as sound engineers, remains low (Friend, ). A  study of Ontario’s 
music industry found numerous issues with regard to gender diversity, including lower pay 
overall, lack of opportunities for executive roles, low exposure, and multiple facets of systemic 
gender discrimination (Women in Music Canada, ; Pelloquin, ).  

In Canada, a study by Women in Music Canada (WMC) showed a similar trend in the 
underrepresentation of women. They looked at organizations within the music industry, in 
terms of representation of women and the roles that women play, which are often supporting 
and administrative roles and rarely senior management positions. Through an online survey of 
 women working in seven different positions across Ontario’s music industry, WMC found 
that in , women were least likely to work in “music production” roles ( of respondents). 
Women in the music industry also receive lower pay overall, and those in Ontario get about 
 of their total working hours from supplemental jobs outside of the music industry, account-
ing for approximately / of their total working time in jobs outside of the music industry 
(Women in Music Canada, ).  

O’Sullivan () compared motivating factors between men and women in the Dublin 
music industry and found that women lack a sense of belonging, and they tend to leave the 
music industry because of insurmountable barriers. These barriers and challenges for women 
in the music industry are not new phenomena, but recent empirical studies, advocacy coalition 
movements (e.g., Women in Music, metoo, / Across the Board), and inclusivity initiatives 
(e.g., UN Sustainability Goals, SOCAN Foundation) are now serving as catalysts; the music in-
dustry is now being held accountable for empowering women and fostering equity. So far, then, 
what we have seen is that economic and participation indicators outline the gaps and absences 
of women in the music industry as a site of small business and entrepreneurial activity.  

Women and female-identified individuals are disturbingly underrepresented in the pro-
duction of music in North America: according to one recent report, only about  of producers 
listed on the top  Billboard charts are female (Smith et al., ). Research has revealed sim-
ilar findings in other lucrative and high-profile industries including finance (Orser, ) and 
media and arts production (Coles et al., ; Women in View, ), but the music scene has 
its own unique reasons for the reproduction of this underrepresentation (Samuelson, ). 
One music producer involved in the Equity X Program commented: 

Finding support and resources to further my learning has been difficult as it is pretty much a 
boy’s club when it comes to producers [. . .]. Misgendering, transphobia, misogyny, sexism, and 
racism are all present in these circles and it is very hard to feel comfortable and safe to work and 
learn in these types of groups. It is often why I choose to work alone at home, but the sheer 
loneliness and isolation of being one of very few QPOC [queer persons of colour] in a local arts 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

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scene is very discouraging for creativity—we need community and support to thrive. (Equity X 
Program, ) 

Women and female-identified producers continue to face barriers, lack access to resources 
and education, and are less successful in terms of evolving financially and creatively in an in-
dustry rife with personal connections, sexism, racism, and other inequities (Snapes, ). 
Many studies have reported that the Canadian musician industry lacks gender diversity in terms 
of leadership; only  of Canadian music companies are headed by women (PWC, Women in 
Music, ).  

The United Nations (UN) has stressed the need for the economic empowerment of women 
and has established several sustainability goals, including one intended to achieve gender equal-
ity and empower all women and girls, noting that “[g]ender equality is not only a fundamental 
human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world” (UN, 
). Empowering women is known to boost productivity, increase economic diversification 
and income equality, and lead to other positive development outcomes (International Monetary 
Fund, ). However, women continue to face barriers and challenges in the music industry 
and are grossly underrepresented in creative and business leadership roles. This brings us to a 
consideration of the broader creative economy, the role of creative incubator experiences, and 
then to the music industry specifically. 

Impact Indicators 

To better understand why this is the case, we can look at three categories of impact indicators 
that reach beyond economic and business measures: aesthetic and cultural, accessibility and in-
clusion, and knowledge-sharing and sense-making (Luka, ). These groupings of indicators 
provide us with a way to frame the emergent coding we undertook and map a pathway towards 
thinking about how goals around equity can be realized in the music industry. For example, our 
cluster—() professionalization, () self-development, and () entrepreneurial discourse—find-
ings address three aesthetic and cultural success indicators directly, such as the ability to: 

develop entrepreneurship and professionalizing networks and practices in the cultural sector; to 
practice leadership, facilitation, and inclusive skills development; [and] to construct or make 
available conditions for new opportunities to a broader spectrum of artists, creative workers, 
and community members. (Luka, , p. ) 

Accessibility indicators emphasize modes of inclusiveness, from physical accessibility to 
social inclusion, starting with “basic proportional inclusion of social groups” (Luka, , 
p.), which is clearly not reflected in the music sector. Our cluster , , and  findings speak 
to this crucial indicator, as we show below.  

Finally, knowledge-making and sensemaking indicators include “information gathering; 
peer-exchanges; ecology growing” as well as “narratives of start-up or experimental ingenuity 
or creative entrepreneurship combined with arts, culture, and creative practices” (Luka, , 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

7 

p. ), each of which were evident in all the cluster findings, as explored below. In the next 
section of the article, we review our methodology before moving on to a discussion of our find-
ings. 

Methodology 
Our analysis focuses on Equity X as a case study (Yin, ) to explore the problems faced by 
women and underrepresented artist entrepreneurs as they try to advance their career in the mu-
sic industry, particularly with respect to producing their own music. SOCAN circulated an 
open-ended survey to applicants, and we were provided with anonymized access to analyze the 
responses. We used an iterative open coding approach (Rivas, ) to tease out emergent 
themes and emotions. The results yielded rich qualitative data with a combination of deductive 
and inductive findings, which are discussed below, along with insider information from the cre-
ator of the program, who has worked with Equity X participants for the first two years of the 
program. 

One of the co-authors of this article was responsible for the design of the Equity X Program. 
They drew from previous work led by the Women Entrepreneurial Knowledge Hub (WEKH) 
(Cukier & Hassannezhad, ). The WEKH helps advance women entrepreneurs from diverse 
backgrounds by serving as an inclusive innovation ecosystem linking micro-, meso-, and 
macro-level factors with the potential to advance women’s entrepreneurship. As noted above, 
previous research has demonstrated that creating an inclusive ecosystem can advance women’s 
entrepreneurship and that entrepreneurship can help drive economic development among un-
derrepresented demographics (Cukier & Chuvashia, ). For example, creative hubs that fo-
cus on the specific needs of arts- and media-based entrepreneurs and practitioners can foster 
success among typically underrepresented demographics (Luka et al., ; Ester, ; Harvey 
& Fisher, ).  

Respondents were recruited by SOCAN using a series of communications and promotions 
organized by the organization and also in conjunction with industry partners (including Able-
ton Canada, Signal Community), promotional partners (including Songwriters Association of 
Canada, Screen Composers Guild of Canada, Women in Music Canada, Music Canada), and 
other music industry associations across Canada: these partners were selected to ensure diverse 
communities across Canada have the opportunity to participate in the program. Successful ap-
plicants who completed the program shared details about whether and how the program had 
taught them new skills and influenced their feeling of empowerment, and they also provided 
feedback for future improvements to the program.  

The qualitative survey included deductive, semi-structured questions related to career 
goals, skill development goals, discrimination, and further support that might be needed upon 
completion of the program. The dataset includes data from two cohorts compiled at two differ-
ent times (fall  and spring ). A privacy officer at a partner organization anonymized 
and aggregated the data and removed any responses that were submitted by an individual more 
than once. The final anonymized dataset included responses from  female-identifying 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

8 

individuals applying to the Equity X Program with the goal of learning to become producers 
and entrepreneurs.  

Our preliminary analysis revealed six clusters of keywords that respondents used to de-
scribe what they were looking for in terms of skill-building, access, education, networking, and 
other areas. The open coding approach generated lists of keywords, which yielded an initial set 
of potential thematic groupings; we then parsed and counted keywords that we subsequently 
reorganized by using discursive context as well as the specific words used; they were then color 
coded. The six clusters provide us with indicators to better understand the challenges and bar-
riers for women and diverse artists in the music sector. These include professionalization; tech-
nical improvement discourse; self-development goals and strategies; the importance of belong-
ing; the use of entrepreneurial and small business discourses; and emotional engagement in the 
sector, including motivation, frustration, and optimism. 

Findings 

Arts Entrepreneurs  

Many respondents would be regarded as arts entrepreneurs. We used critical discourse analysis 
(Cukier et al., ) to explore how artists operate as small businesses, including how they ar-
ticulate themselves as entrepreneurs, how they talk about their own businesses and careers, and 
what types of conversations could help mitigate systemic and other forms of discrimination. 
Woronkowicz and Noonan () examined self-employment behaviour among artists in the 
United Kingdom based on census data from –. They found that those working in the 
arts are generally freelancers and have a unique entrepreneurial profile as artists. Becoming an 
“artrepreneur” (Essig, ), i.e., learning to be more entrepreneurial, is arguably necessary for 
artists to generate a livable income. However, in another empirical study, Haynes and Marshall 
() found that while artists are precarious and are generally involved in entrepreneurial ac-
tivities, they tend to be resistant to being labelled as entrepreneurs. This resistance to the entre-
preneurial mindset could serve as a barrier to success and thereby prevent artists from reaching 
their full potential. We explore these issues and others below. 

In the study we conducted, all our respondents identified as women. Of these, . self-
reported as Francophones; . as an Indigenous people; . as Black, Indigenous, and ra-
cialized; and . as Deaf or Persons with Disability. There may be overlap among the group-
ings. They lived in Ontario (.), Quebec (.), British Columbia (), Alberta (.), 
Eastern Provinces (.), and other locations (.). 

Cluster : Professionalization 
The first cluster (n=  mentions) involved terms related to professionalization, i.e., profes-
sionalization, work, experience, career). The professional needs of entrepreneurship clearly 
emerged as a theme, even when respondents did not use terms commonly related to entrepre-
neurship or to conducting business. For example, we observed little to no discussion of basic 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

9 

business skills such as incorporation, copyright, accounting, budget, resource management, etc. 
 

Table 1: Professionalization Discourse 

Term Number Cumulative 

Professional    

Career    

Experience    

Work    

 
While respondents spoke in more depth and with more confidence about building tech-

nical skills (see cluster  below, n= ) to support creative production, the frequent iteration 
of the desire to improve professional skills in this context (whether articulated as “professional,” 
“career,” “experience,” or “work” skills) suggests that respondents were keenly aware that they 
did not yet possess the language to articulate specific business development and sustainability 
language, although they might (or might not) have already been using entrepreneurial or busi-
ness tools and approaches in the development of their production, distribution, and marketing 
efforts. Examples of respondents that shared terms pertaining to professionalization include:  

Producing will advance my career because I have studied a broad range of music from World 
Music to all things Classic Pop. I'm able to make exceptional music as a musician & vocalist in 
the traditional context of how artists create. However, in order for me to progress I need to learn 
how to create more advanced material using modern technology and engineering. (Equity X 
Program, ) 
 
Building my skills in recording and music production will elevate my career and help me to 
become a better and more knowledgeable producer. Not only will it help me to produce my own 
music at a more professional level, it will also open up opportunities to record and produce other 
artists as well as be a better mentor to up and coming artists. (Equity X Program, ) 
 
I need more access to tangible resources and learning spaces to continually exercise and develop 
my skills. I have developed a fear and anxiety around teaching myself technical music skills so I 
need the space to thrive with my accomplishments and build proactive from my mistakes, with 
unwavering opportunity for career growth. (Equity X Program, ) 

Cluster : Technical Improvement Discourse 
The term tech came up frequently as it relates to self-production and control over production, 
including skills, produce, training, tech[nology]. Access to opportunities to develop necessary 
technical skills was not only framed as an aspiration, but lack of skill was articulated as a barrier 
to taking control of creative output and professional goals 

 
 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

10 

 
Table 2. Technical Improvement Discourse  

Term Number Cumulative 

Skills   

Produce   

Production   

Training   

Record   

Tech   

 
Respondents were determined to build their professional technical skills and felt that 

within the industrial environment, enough skill could potentially transform them into expert 
producers. However, most were already highly technically proficient. For example, one appli-
cant noted: 

When I arrive in a bar to play my music with my friend (he’s a man), the technicians always ask 
him about our needs for our gear and other technical stuff, but it’s me that is in charge of that. I 
always feel like I have to prove to others that I have my place. When people talk to me about my 
band with my friend, they always assume I’m only singing and he composes, produces and plays 
all the music by himself, but we do it all together. (Equity X Program, ) 

Another applicant noted: 

In my career, I have absolutely felt discriminated [against], compared to my male colleagues in 
the music industry. When I would play shows, I would always hear comments from the male 
sound tech or stage hands, when I would be in the music store buying equipment, I would always 
feel judgment from the staff, and when I would talk to other musicians, producers, sound techs, 
etc. it was always like they were speaking down to me, and it was like I was barely even there. 
(Equity X Program, ) 

As reflected in these excerpts, women experience barriers articulated as presumed technical 
proficiencies—even when they are observed working in roles that require superior skills that 
leverage technology. This issue is complicated by another obstacle to professional work as music 
producers: software costs. According to the Canada Council for the Arts (), the typical in-
come for an artist in Canada is ,, about  lower than the median of all workers 
(,). The purchase of professional music production software, such as Ableton (about 
,), is therefore a significant investment, potentially cost prohibitive. Even if artists are ca-
pable and motivated to learn technology and production skills, access to the appropriate tools 
and resources is an additional barrier for female-identified artists, given the existing power im-
balance as outlined in the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Additionally, affordability and access 
can be further complicated by lack of confidence among female producers. The term learn came 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

11 

up frequently (n=) in multiple contexts, including this cluster of technical improvement 
discourse, the self-development cluster, and the sense of belonging cluster of data. More re-
search is needed to clarify and address which forms of resistance are involved in making the 
sector less welcoming to women. 

Cluster : Self-development Discourse 
The self-development cluster (n=  mentions) included terms such as hope, self, confidence, 
and grow. A good example is an applicant’s following excerpt: 

I think my biggest challenge has been standing my ground and trusting my own knowledge and 
style around male-identifying music creatives when it comes to working on recording and mix-
ing [. . .] I guess that could be something everyone is working on, but I feel like women have to 
kind of be extra sure of themselves in the creating music and the music industry in general. 
(Equity X Program, ) 

Table 3. Self-Development Discourse 

Term Number Cumulative 

Self   

Confidence   

Grow   

Dream   

Hope   

Inspire   

Learn   

Improve   
 

Based on their experience with Equity X as a community-based learning experience com-
mitted to sharing knowledge and achieving equity in the sector, the self-development cluster of 
data embodies the old adages that women (or racialized people, e.g.) need to be twice as capable 
as men for half the recognition. The capacity-building impulse is articulated here as the need 
for self-development and (below) as a sense of belonging based on networking and mentoring 
to foster and support self-development. Previous research has revealed that female small busi-
ness owners prefer the kind of informal learning that was generated in the Equity X Program, 
especially networking and mentoring (Sharazfized, ). But the perception of needing to be 
the “best” (technically, and in terms of self-development), potentially undercutting self-confi-
dence, also speaks to the lack of support for women in this business, and it helps explain the 
perpetuation of discrimination. This becomes clearer in the fourth cluster: sense of belonging. 

Cluster : Sense of Belonging Discourse 
This cluster included terms such as mentor, collaboration, community, and networking. Re-
spondents were very aware of the need to build community by sharing ideas and professional 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

12 

practices. However, the lived experience of many respondents was disturbed by resistance from 
some segments of the established field. One applicant noted:  

As a female producer I find that it is difficult to have access to important production tips without 
either contacting other producers who are usually male or taking classes. I find that many male 
producers do not want to share techniques that they have learned in music production in order 
to remain competitive. (Equity X Program, ) 

Table 4. Sense of Belonging Discourse 

Term Number Cumulative 

Collaboration   

Community   

Network   

Mentor   

Support   

Connect   

Share   

 
Many respondents commented that establishing a sense of belonging and feeling empow-

ered through peer support is a challenge for women interested in becoming producers and de-
veloping technical skills in the music industry, in part because there are so few women and, as 
the quote above suggests, that men tend not to share information with women (and potentially 
with other men). Many women simply leave the music industry due to a lack of support and 
this sense of belonging. Based on the responses to the Equity X Program that we examined, the 
program seems to have been perceived as one of few opportunities for meaningful networking 
and collaboration to foster bonding and trust. Programs such as Equity X, which create net-
working and community-building opportunities, may serve as an important pathway to help 
more women evolve and sustain their careers as producers. This brings us to another issue of 
concern that comes through clearly in cluster : the degree to which, in an industry that is highly 
entrepreneurial, women producers do not describe themselves as businesspeople or entrepre-
neurs. 

Cluster : Entrepreneurial Discourse 
As in cluster  (professionalization), the terms used in cluster  (e.g., business, entrepreneur, 
money, knowledge) rarely referred directly to specific business skills: entrepreneurship, copy-
right, accounting, budget, resources, etc. One exception is the following excerpt: 

Learning to produce music will advance my artistic career since it would allow me to become a 
female producer, mixing engineer and master engineer in addition to already being a composer 
as well as a singer and artist. Since my female colleague and I would like to start a music pro-
duction business together in Ontario and Quebec, learning how to produce music is 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

13 

fundamental to the success of our business. Learning how to produce music will also provide us 
with the opportunity to collaborate with other female producers and artists. (Equity X Program, 
) 

Table 5. Small Business Discourse 

Term Number Cumulative 

Business   

Resource[s] [management]   

Money   

Entrepreneur   

(Record) Release   

Knowledge   

 
Most respondents instead referred to entrepreneurial aspirations without using formal 

business terminology, which signals the critical need to build familiarity and comfort with such 
discourse among artists who run small businesses:  

Learning to produce music will help us not only to improve our own songs, but also to help 
produce songs that meet industry-production standards for other Canadian artists [. . .]. (Equity 
X Program, ) 
 
It will help me connect to my artistic voice in a deeper way and allow me to take more creative 
risks. The idea of producing alone has been calling me for a long time. Perhaps for a lack of 
representation, I didn't believe it was something I was "allowed" to do, but deep down I know it 
is the key to me creating my very best work. Moreover, being able to communicate more clearly 
with other producers and songwriters will help me to contribute significantly more to any mu-
sical project I am a part of. (Equity X Program, ) 

This study, and other emerging research, continues to demonstrate that while artists may 
engage in entrepreneurial or business-related activities, they tend not to consider themselves 
entrepreneurs, which may explain the limited discussion of business skills within this creative 
profession (Wall-Andrews, forthcoming). Examining producer discourse in the responses to 
the Equity X Program aligns with other critical discourse analyses of artists as small businesses 
in case studies conducted by WEKH (Cukier et al., forthcoming). Nonetheless, artists tend to 
refer indirectly to entrepreneurial and small business discourse based on descriptions of their 
activities, despite little use of the specific terminology.  

Cluster : Emotional Engagement  
Given the low levels of representation within the music industry—and the perceptions held by 
many of the Equity X Program participants about the need to improve technically, through self-
development, and as businesspeople—we were curious to know how respondents felt about 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

14 

being in the industry and if they felt they could overcome the barriers they themselves identified, 
and if so, how they accomplish such. We grouped phrases related to emotions into six general 
categories, as presented in table : optimistic, enthusiastic, frustrated, focused, optimistic/enthu-
siastic, and frustrated/enthusiastic. The vast majority (N=) used language that suggests they 
are both optimistic and enthusiastic about working in the industry. 

 
Table 6. Emotions Among Respondents 

Code Name  Definition 

Optimistic (n=) The respondent uses language that is suggestive of confidence in their 
abilities, ability to learn and grow and improve their skills 

Enthusiastic (n=) The respondent uses language that suggests they are excited about po-
tential future possibilities, have examples of where they would like to 
learn and grow 
 

Frustrated (n=) The respondent uses language that suggests they have been met with 
challenging external circumstances preventing them from growth or 
moving forward 

Focused (n=) 
 

The respondent uses language that is unemotional, fact based, and goal 
driven 

Optimistic/Enthusiastic 
(n=) 

 

The respondent uses language that suggests confidence in their abilities 
and excitement for future growth. (Note: the high numbers make sense 
given that they are applying to a desirable program.)  

Frustrated/Enthusiastic (n=) 
 

The respondent uses language to suggest they are excited about future 
possibilities and opportunities for growth despite external circumstances 
preventing them from past growth  

 
We analyzed emotions based on the language used by respondents, building on previous 

research involving coding and analysis of qualitative data (Rivas, ). We reviewed specific 
words and their context, frequency, extensiveness, intensity, and specificity. These rich data 
were obtained through our use of open-ended questions, which enabled an in-depth under-
standing of some of the challenges faced by diverse women artist entrepreneurs within Canada’s 
music ecosystem.  

Respondents who used “optimistic” language tended to believe that given the opportunity 
to grow and learn new skills, they would definitely benefit and achieve the goals they had set for 
their businesses. To describe their past opportunities in their businesses, they tended to use 
phrases like lucky or I’ve been fortunate enough to. When they referred to barriers they had either 
experienced or anticipated to, they usually presented these as obstacles to overcome rather than 
doubting their own abilities. Generally, optimistic respondents did not refer to overwhelming 
personal barriers.  

Respondents who used “enthusiastic” language often elaborated on their excitement about 
future possibilities using emotive words like passionate, love, ecstatic, and dream. They usually 
provided examples about how they believed they may be able to learn and grow, and they de-
scribed the potential of their abilities and their future businesses in a positive, energetic, and 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

15 

hopeful way.  
Respondents who used “frustrated” language tended to refer to the need to overcome ex-

ternal circumstances, including lack of opportunity or setbacks, to achieve their goals. Many of 
these challenges were related to gender or racial inequality; these respondents referred to their 
lived experiences, such as having to take a backseat in their own projects or a lack of experience, 
skill, or familiarity with the music business. Most expressed a feeling of inequality toward their 
male counterparts and a lack of confidence in expressing their professional wants and needs to 
their colleagues. Frustrated respondents felt that these systemic and entry barriers prevented 
them from running their own business in the way they wanted. They used phrases such as boys 
club and referred to the “lack of queer and trans spaces”; one commented that “as a woman I 
haven’t felt encouraged to improve my technical skills.” 

Respondents who used “focused” language tended to avoid emotional terms and instead 
expressed themselves by referring to professional facts, past accomplishments, and future goals. 
They tended to concentrate on their business goals and did not express or use emotional termi-
nology, including buzzwords, to describe their personal feelings toward their businesses, goals, 
and projects. Many used lists and point-form notation to express themselves and their goals. 

The majority of respondents used “optimistic/enthusiastic” language, and they tended to 
be confident in their abilities and excited about their future growth and potential to grow their 
business. They usually did not refer to barriers and instead focused on the positive aspects of 
trying to grow their skills, careers, and businesses. They usually had specific goals they wanted 
to achieve, were confident in their ability to achieve these goals, and excited at the prospect of 
growth. This is not surprising given that they were competing for a position in a program, and 
it warrants further investigation in the future. 

Finally, respondents who used “frustrated/enthusiastic” language tended to suggest that 
although they had faced (or continued to face) barriers in their professional growth, they were 
excited about the future and potential growth possibilities. They believed that despite structural 
inequities and poor outcomes of past business practices, things were changing for them and 
their business. The frustrations expressed by these respondents were usually fuel for their 
growth and usually involved areas where they wanted to fill a gap in the industry, such as creat-
ing more space for queer individuals, producing for other women, or developing a different 
kind of business model.  

Discussion and Future Work 

Equity X Production Program  

The Equity X Program was designed to address the severe underrepresentation of women as 
producers within the music industry. The SOCAN Foundation established the Equity X Pro-
gram to provide access, education, and mentorship to women and female-identified individuals 
in Canada to help them learn how to become producers. As with many industry-based pro-
grams, the Equity X Program was created with support from corporate sponsors: Royal Bank of 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

16 

Canada, Ableton (a production software company), and Signal Creative Community (a creative 
hub in Toronto, Ontario). The program’s promotional information reveals that, in its first two 
years, the program has received international recognition for its innovative and equity-based 
efforts to foster success among women in music as producers (Equity X Program, ). 

In our examination of the program, we found that the program aims to foster a safe envi-
ronment in ways such as providing anti-oppression training to all staff and program faculty and 
ensuring that it is accessible. Additionally, participants from outside of Toronto are provided 
with a travel allowance, accommodations and meals are covered, and childcare is provided to 
all participants in need of such support. One core component of the program is a three-day 
intensive workshop in which participants learn to produce music on Ableton software; they 
receive large- and small-group instruction as well as one-on-one learning. The program also 
provides educational sessions on the business of the music industry and offers many networking 
opportunities among a community of diverse producers. Equity X was designed to empower 
more women and female-identified individuals to create a community, feel a sense of belonging 
in the music industry, to own expensive production software that is not affordable for most 
artists, and to provide a series of educational sessions and mentorship opportunities that em-
power marginalized artists to produce their own music or that of others. To date,  people 
have applied to the program, with fifty female-identifying artists (two cohorts of twenty-five 
participants) accepted to the program to improve their entrepreneurial skills and learn how to 
produce music. Their enthusiasm is reflected in their feedback: 

I am already working on projects with the other female artists that I met at the program and 
have other artists inquiring and showing interest in working with female music producers. (Re-
spondent ) 
 
The Equity X Production Mentorship program gave me the confidence and tools to take my 
career aspirations more seriously [. . .]. I left Toronto feeling inspired and capable. (Respondent 
) 
 
This program provided us [with] a solid foundation of knowledge in regard to production and 
a supportive and close-knit community to rely on as we continue to try and break down more 
barriers we face as producers and music creators. (Respondent ) 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

17 

 
Figure 1. Equity as a Central Goal, Intersecting with The Six Clusters of Discursive Indicators of 
What Women in The Equity X Program Felt to Be Important to Achieve Professional Success 

 
The six clusters we developed and have examined in this article provide evidence for an 

interesting combination of aesthetic indicators (professional music) with business indicators 
(professionalization, technical improvements, self-development, entrepreneurial discourse). 
The clusters more closely aligned with accessibility and inclusion (self-development, sense of 
belonging, emotional engagement) speak to the long road still ahead to empower equity creation 
among women (see figure ) and to promote women as artist entrepreneurs in highly male-
dominated and oppressive environments.  

Ameliorating System-wide Discrimination  

Overall, our respondents provided abundant evidence of their desire to become more profes-
sional in terms of both technical and business skills. They were very aware of the need to acquire 
exceptional skills in these areas to help ameliorate the discrimination and lack of an equal play-
ing field in the music industry, which has not just held back individuals like our respondents 
but has also prevented the music industry from realizing its full business potential. The fact that 
our respondents had applied to the Equity X Program demonstrates their awareness of the sys-
temic inequities within the industry, but they were understandably cautious about reporting 
their own lived experiences, which itself reflects the amount of work yet to be done. 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

18 

Some respondents articulated the scope of the work that is required to shift the sector; their 
responses to questions directly related to career goals and what they need in terms of support to 
build their businesses were particularly telling. Overcoming the lived experience of discrimina-
tion was clearly a key defining component around which they prioritized their needed business 
and technical skills. Their comments were consistent with the results of our open coding anal-
ysis and the analysis of emotions discussed above—as well as the findings of previous research.  

For example, more than one applicant made comments like: “As a female in the industry, 
it is more difficult to get recognition for my work” (Equity X Program, ). They tended to 
go on to describe the technical and business skills they wanted to acquire through the Equity X 
Program and then made comments such as: “It is a challenge to feel respected as an artist, [since] 
many male producers don’t respect female artists and we are not always treated as equals” (Eq-
uity X Program, ). Their awareness of the business skills needed was consistently linked 
with the observation that the structure of the industry itself needed rethinking, including at the 
peer level. One applicant detailed specific examples: 

As a woman in the studio, it’s easy to find myself in a situation where I constantly have to put 
my foot down or repeat myself for my ideas to be heard. I am often surrounded by men who are 
a lot more experienced and the typical fallback is to want to move quickly instead of me stepping 
in and trying things on my own time. Not knowing all the proper producing lingo has [also] 
stifled my ability to communicate what I want. I’ve sometimes had to settle for an idea simply 
because I couldn’t produce it myself and the guy I was working with didn’t exactly understand 
what I was trying to get to. In my + years of music, I have never, not once, worked with a 
female producer. There is something definitely wrong and disconcerting about that [. . .]. (Eq-
uity X Program, ) 

Many respondents referred to the importance of increasing the number of skilled female 
producers, which is the core goal of the Equity X Program. They provided examples and details 
that provided a clear picture of the discrimination they faced as well as possible solutions. For 
example, applicant C noted: “I often send instrumentals to rappers and they always systemati-
cally refer to me as ‘bro’ [or] ‘man.’ It feels like they don't think for a second that a ‘girl’ could 
produce a song. An idea that I can't wait to change.” Applicant C also noted that when gender 
identity is concealed (inadvertently or otherwise), the work speaks for itself, but she went on to 
comment that: 

As a female producer who also self-performs the vocal part of my work, I've experienced dis-
crimination going to the studio and having producers and sound engineers there arranging my 
music and not valuing my opinion. They often saw me as a young girl who was after fame and 
thought she could get there with good looks, totally omitting the fact that I put a lot of work in 
my music as I do everything myself with the little knowledge I have and that doesn't stop me 
from creating really nice things. (Equity X Program, ) 

It is important to note that while such strategies may serve as a temporary stepping-stone, 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

19 

these are not long-term solutions. These experiences become even more complicated when in-
tersecting identity markers, such as non-binary genders or race, are added to the mix, as illus-
trated by the following excerpts: 

I have felt that the resources available in my city have come with barriers. I have faced discrim-
ination because of my gender, race and sexuality. Absolutely. Everyday. I am one of very few 
Black women in the electronic music scene or producing world in [major Canadian city] and it 
is important I elevate so that I can help others who have faced this and to also [prevent] this 
from happening to others who are on the come up. (Equity X Program, ) 
 
It's common for women to feel discriminated against in this industry for a number of reasons, 
whether it be not being taken seriously, to being looked [at] as a threat, or being looked [at] as 
an object [. . .]. As a woman who is queer and masculine-presenting it’s often hard to not be seen 
as a threat and in turn being excluded from things my male peers have no issue being involved 
in. (Equity X Program, ) 

The consistent use of the term discrimination in survey responses clearly illustrates that our 
respondents know that it will be extremely difficult to shift these sets of practices. Indeed, it took 
 years for Fanny Mendelssohn to be credited for her work. The modern music industry has 
been shaped through centuries of discriminatory structural conditions, and this structure needs 
to be taken apart systematically. The six clusters of data we have analysed support the need for 
future investigations of ways to foster equity among women in the creative production roles; we 
plan to continue to explore emerging trends among participants in the Equity X Program. The 
Equity X Program is simply one step, and we will continue to assess its effects and implement 
changes as needed to ensure its effectiveness. While this study is limited by focusing on the role 
of the music producer, there is evidence that gender equity exists among other specific roles in 
the creative industries (Tuckett, ; Sakoui, ; Wall-Andrews et al., ). We’re hopeful 
that this case study will serve as an example for other industries that involve inequitable settings 
and that it will help marginalized and underrepresented individuals establish entrepreneurial 
capacities and acquire skills to build their careers. 

Conclusion 
While this study focused on how equity can be created among women and diverse artists aspir-
ing to professionalize their careers by learning production and entrepreneurship skills, its liter-
ature reveals the historical and ongoing discrimination in the music industry. Arts entrepre-
neurship literature has not explored how critical theory or equity can be leveraged to impact 
underserved and underrepresented communities. More specifically, the lack of women and gen-
der-diverse music producers perpetuates a lack of diversity in the value chain of music creation. 
We empirically studied the Equity X Program, which provided treatment for women and di-
verse gender identities to become producers and strengthen their entrepreneurship capacity as 
artists. The data provided an opportunity to conceptualize how equity can be created for 



ARTIVATE 11.1 

20 

aspiring equity-seeking artists entrepreneurs using respondent data. Based on our findings, in-
cubator and training programs for equity-seeking artists could consider helping participants 
have access to () professionalization, () technical (skills) improvement, () self-development, 
() entrepreneurial discourse, () sense of belonging, and () emotional engagement. We en-
courage future research to further conceptualize and empirically study how this framework can 
be leveraged to support arts entrepreneurship training for equity-seeking artists. While we 
acknowledge that this study focuses on the Equity X Program as a case study, we hope this re-
search encourages arts entrepreneurship research to consider the role of equity and inclusion 
when designing and studying programs. Additional support is necessary for equity-seeking art-
ists. 

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sound_mixing_console_-_left_half_angled.jpg

 


