In the run-up to Women's Day on 8 March, Gramex has published new data on the gender distribution among Danish performers. The figures show a slow but positive development for women in the industry. The artists' spokesperson is pleased that women are becoming more prominent in the music industry, but also that Gramex can now contribute important figures that we can't get anywhere else. 

More women are joining Gramex and more music is being released with both male and female performers on the same track.

"The new data from Gramex shows positive trends and a gender balance where women are slightly more prominent than before. We must continue to stimulate this development, and it must benefit both new and experienced artists," says Sara Indrio.

"The numbers are just so important. It shows the beginnings of progress and is very encouraging, but there are many more nuances we can delve into and understand better in depth," says Sara Indrio.

Gramex statistics are based on radio, TV and in-store playback statistics.

Five women and five men in the top ten for payouts

Among the ten Gramex members in the top ten most played artists and musicians, the gender distribution is for the first time completely equal: Five women and five men. That's one more woman than in 2023.

More women among new members

Although men still make up the majority of Gramex members, there are signs of change towards more equal distribution. By 2024, women will make up around a quarter of members. Over the past five years, the proportion of women among new members has increased from 19 per cent in 2019 to 31 per cent in 2024, which we assume means that more young women are getting involved in the music industry and recording music that gets played on the radio.

Women lift as headline performers

Looking at the distribution of Gramex's payouts, there is also a slight movement towards more gender balance. In 2024, 27 per cent of total payouts went to women - an increase of two per cent from the previous year. The increase is mainly due to female featured artists, or headliners, who received 31 per cent of the payouts last year.

However, the situation is different for performers who are not on the album cover - the group of non-featured artists mainly includes session, concert musicians or band members. Here, 89 per cent of payments still go to men, which shows that women are still significantly underrepresented among non-featured musicians.

More tracks with both men and women

Another positive movement in the statistics is the increase in the number of tracks with both male and female performers. In 2019, 33 per cent of released tracks in the Gramex database had a mixed crew - by 2023, this had increased to 39 per cent.

Those tracks are also getting more airplay: 58 per cent of total airplay in 2023 was music with both men and women, compared to 54 per cent the year before.

Age plays a role

There is also a clear age difference in payouts. 38 per cent of Gramex's payouts to women in 2024 went to women under 30, while the share for men in the same age group was only 19 per cent.

But in the later age categories, earnings decline. This suggests that female artists are finding it more difficult to maintain stable earnings on plays over many years compared to their male counterparts. The figures may support the problem that a number of female artists have pointed out, which is that interest in music declines at radio stations when a female artist is over 40 years old.

Small steps towards equality

"The figures from Gramex show that there is a positive trend for women in the music industry. Although more young women are finding their way into the industry and getting more airplay, there is still a long way to go towards a more equal distribution of income and airplay in radio," says Sara Indio.

"It seems that female artists and band members are more prominent in the music we hear in the media, and I think that's encouraging, although we're not there yet. But we have to say that there are many nuances to delve into to better understand the entire music landscape. Factual knowledge, such as Gramex provides here, is very valuable for creating healthy development."

Read the full report from Gramex here.

GRAMEX

Gramex is the organisation in Denmark that ensures payment to performers and music producers when their recordings are played in public.

Gramex pays for the public use of music releases - on radio, TV and as background music in shops etc.

The new data only concerns radio playback. Gramex receives reports from a large number of Danish radio stations, providing information about what music they have played, when and for how long.

Read more here: More figures and statistics from Gramex