Women’s History Month Spotlight: Hear from our female music leaders

To round off Women’s History Month, we wanted to shine a spotlight on two of our incredibly inspiring female music leaders, Barbara Pugliese and Naomi Jackson.

Barbara and Naomi are both singer-songwriters and budding music producers, as well as ArtsTrain practitioners. Barbara also received our ArtsTrain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) bursary back in 2022 to further her music production skills as a practitioner and artist. 

Last year, we delivered a music production workshop for students at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley, with the aim to inspire young girls to create and produce their own, original music.

We asked Barbara and Naomi to reflect on what it’s like being women in the current music industry, plus the workshop they led last year.

Naomi Jackson

AT - Did you know just 12.6% of songwriters and 2.6% of producers are women? How do you feel about this?

Naomi: Looking at those figures, sometimes I think it can feel quite discouraging being a female musician/songwriter. It’s always a joy to meet another womxn in the industry but then I’m reminded that there aren’t many of us. Working at ArtsTrain, I’m encouraging the next generation of female musicians/songwriters to step into music. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to show them that a career in music, though at times challenging, is exciting and completely within reach. 

Barbara:  I am aware that female songwriters and producers have been underrepresented in the music industry, and the same has been for non-binary artists and artists of colour.

I feel sad and frustrated about it because it’s unfair for a large number of us.

On my personal level, I can see how this factor has affected my music career and journey as a queer female artist who doesn’t fit the criteria that the mainstream music industry is after. As a musician / songwriter, I have had many adventures filled with success, excitement, rewards and love but it has also been a journey of constantly having to prove my worth and deal with imposter syndrome which is something that I keep on battling with.

I have also been blessed with the opportunity of working as a music leader at ArtsTrain which makes sure that representation amongst music leaders and workshops’ participants is supported and valued. I am very grateful for it.

Barbara Pugliese

AT - If you could change one thing about the music industry to make life better for women, what would it be? 

Naomi: I would ensure there were more inclusive spaces for womxn to network and create together. 

Barbara: I believe that the real shift happens when you change the people who sit at the top of an institution, in this case the music industry institution. The people in power, manipulating the whole game are white upper class men who most probably don’t know much about music but all they think about is how to capitalise artists and their art by turning them into products who need to fit a specific agenda. 

I would want to change those people at the top with individuals who would represent THE PEOPLE. Life would be much better for many of us!

AT - What do you feel you do to champion women and promote equality in music? 

Naomi: I am transparent about my experience as a black, female singer-songwriter in the industry. Sharing my experience, whether that is negative or positive, brings about awareness that I believe promotes and pushes for more equality within the music industry. 

Barbara: I make sure to support the work of my female / non-binary and artists of colour colleagues, as I truly believe that representation in music and art is important. We have to come together as a community to help each other grow and to make changes in the music industry.

AT - You both led a music production workshop at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley last year. How did you find this - were there any challenges or takeaways from the session?

Naomi: I’ve not really seen myself as a producer and have always felt more confident writing music with my instrument (piano) but this workshop pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to jump into producing! It was incredibly rewarding seeing how the girls reacted to the autonomy of being able to create their own music on Logic. It really inspired me.

Barbara: I very much enjoyed working alongside Naomi. I respect her music work a lot and she is a great music facilitator. I think we managed to complement our energies and ways of leading the workshop nicely and smoothly together with focus, teamwork and fun! We helped each other and read the energy of the room with sensitivity and sensibility. I remember I had a moment where I had an issue on Logic and Naomi smoothly stepped in, showing me how to solve the issue: I appreciated her action because I felt supported in a moment of uncertainty. 

The students seemed to be engaged and gave a lot of input and effort into the session. Overall, we had a really lovely vibe going on!

AT - We would love to know your favourite female musician, instrumentalist or artist / band?

Naomi: I’m in awe of Cynthia Erivo - her voice is out of this world and just seems so comfortable in her own shoes! 

Barbara: I have many female music artists I appreciate and respect a lot, including Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse and Skunkanansie to name a few. My most recent ones are Little Simz and Cleo Sol. I love the band Sault which Cleo Sol is part of and Little Simz did a collaboration with.

AT - Lastly, do you have one tip you wish you could give your younger self or young girls aspiring to be musicians / songwriters / producers?

Naomi: Make music that makes you happy. 

Barbara: Remember that there is none like you because we are all different, beautiful and complex planets each with their own magic and signature going on!

Head over to our Instagram to hear more from Naomi and Barbara, plus their tips for young, aspiring female artists and producers!