- Deezer’s global streaming data shows just 4% of top 100 electronic artists are female, with only 7% in hiphop and rock
- New “Women’s Voices” initiative helps champion female musicians with exclusive Originals Sessions, curated playlists and shareable facts and data on women in the industry
- Mzansi’s most streamed female artists revealed
Johannesburg, 2 March 2021: Female artists represent a small proportion of the top 100 charts for electronic, hiphop and rock music. New data from global audio streaming service, Deezer, reveals that just 4% of the top 100 streamed electronic artists are women. Hiphop (7% of the top 100) and rock (also 7%) continue to fall short when it comes to gender diversity.
Deezer wants to help shine a light on the many challenges women still face in the music industry ahead of International Women’s Day. Highlighting the data* and launching our new exclusive women’s content series is part of our work to consciously support female artists. Pop is the most diverse genre on Deezer today, with 42% of the top global streamed artists being women. However, it still falls short of a 50/50 gender split.
Percentage of female artists in top 100 songs of key genres:
- Pop – 42%
- R&B – 39%
- Soul – 26%
- Alternative – 15%
- Country – 15%
- Jazz – 14%
- Classical – 11%
- Hiphop – 7%
- Rock – 7%
- Electronic – 4%
Starting from March 8th, Deezer’s users will find valuable insights in the app. This will include information around some of the issues around female representation in the music industry, plus interesting facts about female artists. Swipeable cards will reveal hard facts based on real streaming data. This includes how last year there were three times less women than men in Deezer’s top 100 songs. All of this is of course easily shareable by music fans who want to be part of this important conversation.
Across March, Deezer will launch a new “Women’s Voices” collection with Originals Sessions and curated playlists to help support female artists this International Women’s Day. The Originals Sessions lineup includes Birdy’s rendition of “A Case Of You” by Joni Mitchell and The Staves performing “Cloudbusting” by Kate Bush. LP performs “Hello” by Adele and Foushee gives us “Drew Barrymore” by SZA. Later in the month, Dodie will also release a special cover of “Oh, What A World” by Kacey Musgraves.
Deezer’s new “Women behind the music’” playlist series will also promote the songwriters, producers and musicians who wrote, produced or performed on international hits. Each woman will have her own playlist that features some of the most known tracks they contributed to. Meet the hugely talented artists including Tayla Parx, Julia Michaels, Diane Warren and WondaGurl who are behind your favourite tracks by Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, BTS, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Linkin Park, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Drake and Rihanna.
Electronic music will also get a prominent place on the channel with a “100%” playlist series to champion female electronic music artists. In addition, global female stars like Celine Dion, Sia, Olivia Newton-John and Sharon Van Etten have created exclusive playlists for our high fidelity listeners. The playlists, called “HiFi Gold”, include tracks that sound supreme in FLAC quality.
“We all know the diversity issues in the music industry and how much work still needs to be done. Women are not only under-paid, they’re also under-streamed, and represent less than 20% of listening in over half of our most popular genres. We want to champion female artists and give them opportunities to shine on our platform. That’s why the “Women’s Voices” collection will have a permanent home on Deezer moving forward,” said Kim Weaver, Deezer’s Head of Global Music Programming.
You can help support female artists and content creators by heading to the “Women’s Voices” Collection on Deezer from 8th March.
The top 20 most streamed South African women locally of 2020 were:
- Elaine
- Demi Lee Moore
- Ami Faku
- Kelly Khumalo
- Simmy
- Ntokozo Mbambo
- Juanita Du Plessis
- DJ Zinhle
- Karlien Van Jaarsveld
- Hlengiwe Mhlaba
- Thabsie
- Lady Zamar
- Andriette
- Rebecca Malope
- Sho Madjozi
- Leah
- Brenda Fassie
- Janie Bay
- Tasche
- Berita
The top 20 most streamed international women globally of 2020 were:
- Billie Eilish
- Dua Lipa
- Lady Gaga
- Ariana Grande
- Aya Nakamura
- Tones and I
- Rihanna
- Beyoncé
- Sia
- Taylor Swift
- Doja Cat
- Ava Max
- Céline Dion
- Anitta
- Katy Perry
- Shakira
- Adele
- Lana Del Rey
- Selena Gomez
- Alicia Keys
The top 20 most streamed South African tracks by women locally of 2020 were:
- Elaine – You’re the One
- DJ Zinhle – Umlilo
- Elaine – Risky
- Kelly Khumalo – Empini
- Thabsie – Sphesihle
- Ami Faku – Ubuhle Bakho
- Demi Lee Moore – Neon Moon
- Elaine – I/You
- Elaine – Changes
- Simmy – Ngihamba Nawe (feat. Sino Msolo)
- Elaine – Say It
- Sho Madjozi – John Cena
- Elaine – When We’re Alone
- Elaine – I Just Wanna Know
- Leah – Ek Noem Jou MYNE (Cross My Heart)
- Lady Zamar – Collide
- Ntokozo Mbambo – Interlude-Zulu Worship Medley Live
- Ami Faku – Inde Lendlela
- Janie Bay – Die Heelal (feat. Early B)
- Thabsie – Finally
The top 20 most streamed international tracks by women globally of 2020 were:
- Tones and I – Dance Monkey
- Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now
- Billie Eilish – bad guy
- Doja Cat – Say So
- Dua Lipa – Physical
- Nea – Some Say
- Billie Eilish – everything i wanted
- Dua Lipa – Break My Heart
- Ava Max – Kings & Queens
- Lady Gaga – Rain On Me
- Aya Nakamura – Jolie nana
- Billie Eilish – lovely
- Lady Gaga – Stupid Love
- Aya Nakamura – 40%
- Cardi B – WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)
- Anitta – Combatchy (feat. MC Rebecca)
- Ava Max – Salt
- Sia – Cheap Thrills (feat. Sean Paul)
- Ariana Grande – 7 rings
- BENEE – Supalonely
* Deezer streaming data of the top streamed 100 male and female artists worldwide in the last 12 months. The analysis of genre representation included female-only bands, female artists, and excluded mixed-gender bands, across key genres worldwide.
About Deezer
Deezer connects 16 million monthly active users around the world to 73 million tracks. Available in over 180 countries worldwide, Deezer gives instant access to one of the largest and most diverse global music streaming catalog on any device. Deezer is the only music streaming service with Flow, the unique mix of all your old favorites and new recommendations in one ever-changing stream. Based on an intuitive, proprietary algorithm and created by people who love music, it’s the only place to hear all your music back-to-back with fresh discoveries tailored to you. Deezer is available on your favourite device, including smartphone, tablet, PC, laptop, home sound system, connected car or smart TV.
