Gender inequality continues to shape the structure and dynamics of the cultural and creative industries, where access, recognition, and representation remain deeply uneven. Within this broader landscape, the music industry emerges as a particularly revealing site in which issues of visibility, authority, and creative legitimacy intersect with mechanisms of production, distribution, and consumption.
Despite the increasing attention to diversity and inclusion, the music sector still reflects
persistent gendered asymmetries—both in its labour practices and in the symbolic production of cultural meanings. Women, non-binary, and gender-diverse professionals often encounter structural barriers, from access to resources and leadership positions to the reproduction of stereotyped narratives within artistic and media discourses.
At the same time, music functions as a cultural factory where gender models are constructed, circulated, and contested, making it an essential site for analysing how power and representation operate in contemporary cultural economies.
Aims of the Edited Collection
This volume aims to explore the intersection of gender, media, and the music industry, bringing together interdisciplinary contributions that analyse the gendered dimensions of music as both an economic system and a cultural field.
We invite scholars to examine how gender operates within the production, mediation, and consumption of music, as well as within the infrastructures, technologies, and imaginaries that sustain the industry.
The goal is to foster a critical dialogue between gender studies, media studies, and music industry research, and to highlight how emerging practices, policies, and technologies can contribute to reshaping the cultural and economic geography of the sector.
Possible Topics
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following:
Cultural and Media Perspectives
- Representations of gender and diversity in music journalism, streaming platforms, and social media;
- Gender performativity and visibility in music videos, live performance, and fandom practices;
- The role of digital platforms in shaping gendered authorship and audience dynamics. Economic and Organisational Dimensions
- Gender gaps in music labour markets, entrepreneurship, and creative leadership;
- Structural inequalities in access to funding, production, and distribution opportunities;
- Data, algorithms, and AI in the music business: bias, inclusion, and innovation.
Policy, Legal, and Institutional Frameworks - Gender policies in the creative industries and the role of professional associations;
- Intellectual property, authorship, and recognition from a gender perspective;
- Labour rights, representation, and advocacy in the music ecosystem.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstract deadline: 28 February 2026
- Full paper deadline: 30 September 2026
- Length: up to 8,000 words (including references)
- Language: English
- Submission and inquiries: please send abstracts and correspondence to the editor, Alessandra Micalizzi – a.micalizzi@sae.edu
- All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review. The edited volume will be published as part of the new book series, Contemporary Debates on Gender and Media, edited by Karen Ross and Valentina Cardo and published by the University of Exeter Press:
Gender inequality continues to shape the structure and dynamics of the cultural and creative industries, where access, recognition, and representation remain deeply uneven. Within this broader landscape, the music industry emerges as a particularly revealing site in which issues of visibility, authority, and creative legitimacy intersect with mechanisms of production, distribution, and consumption.
Despite the increasing attention to diversity and inclusion, the music sector still reflects
persistent gendered asymmetries—both in its labour practices and in the symbolic production of cultural meanings. Women, non-binary, and gender-diverse professionals often encounter structural barriers, from access to resources and leadership positions to the reproduction of stereotyped narratives within artistic and media discourses.
At the same time, music functions as a cultural factory where gender models are constructed, circulated, and contested, making it an essential site for analysing how power and representation operate in contemporary cultural economies.
Aims of the Edited Collection
This volume aims to explore the intersection of gender, media, and the music industry, bringing together interdisciplinary contributions that analyse the gendered dimensions of music as both an economic system and a cultural field.
We invite scholars to examine how gender operates within the production, mediation, and consumption of music, as well as within the infrastructures, technologies, and imaginaries that sustain the industry.
The goal is to foster a critical dialogue between gender studies, media studies, and music industry research, and to highlight how emerging practices, policies, and technologies can contribute to reshaping the cultural and economic geography of the sector.
Possible Topics
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following:
Cultural and Media Perspectives
- Representations of gender and diversity in music journalism, streaming platforms, and social media;
- Gender performativity and visibility in music videos, live performance, and fandom practices;
- The role of digital platforms in shaping gendered authorship and audience dynamics. Economic and Organisational Dimensions
- Gender gaps in music labour markets, entrepreneurship, and creative leadership;
- Structural inequalities in access to funding, production, and distribution opportunities;
- Data, algorithms, and AI in the music business: bias, inclusion, and innovation.
Policy, Legal, and Institutional Frameworks - Gender policies in the creative industries and the role of professional associations;
- Intellectual property, authorship, and recognition from a gender perspective;
- Labour rights, representation, and advocacy in the music ecosystem.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstract deadline: 28 February 2026
- Full paper deadline: 30 September 2026
- Length: up to 8,000 words (including references)
- Language: English
Submission and inquiries: please send abstracts and correspondence to the editor, Alessandra Micalizzi – a.micalizzi@sae.edu
All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer review. The edited volume will be published as part of the new book series, Contemporary Debates on Gender and Media, edited by Karen Ross and Valentina Cardo and published by the University of Exeter Press: