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From September 3, 2016, to September 16, 2017, no solo women scored a No. 1 single in the U.S. Almost coinciding with the beginnings of the Trump era, this was the longest stretch of No. 1 singles without a solo lead woman artist in decades. In September this year, Taylor Swift and Cardi B swooped in to break the streak — but overall this year, the charts have been a very male place.
Before:
- since rock started slipping in the 80s, female legends have reigned
- 90s and above: women scored 40% of the No 1 hits each decade
Now:
- women just 14% of U.S. Top 10 hits in the first eight months of 2017, marking an alltime low.
- In the U.K. Dua Lipa was the first solo woman to get
#1 since Adele in 2015.
Reasons for lack of female solos:
- Some of pop’s biggest female acts (Bey, Adele, Rihanna) have been taking a break this year and Swift is just coming back.
- but Katy Perry, Miley, Demi, Lorde, Halsey and Kesha had no
#1s (the highest was Demi at
#6)
- "why aren't more women artists commanding stronger loyalty from fans?”
- lack of new women artists breaking through with chart-topping power
- not a lot of fresh faces getting huge: "aside from the runaway success stories of Cardi B and Dua Lipa, newer artists like Zara Larsson, SZA, and Kehlani are making little impact on the upper tier of the charts, despite massive online followings and streaming numbers."
- streaming means you have to appeal to a global audience right away which is hard
- solo female market is more saturated and there's more pressure
Difficulties with Women of Color:
- even harder to break through
- black women are automatically seen as r&b no matter what and therefore are automatically seen as outdated and irrelevant
- labels don't try to support black women or market them to global audiences
- Cardi B is a success but Kamaiyah shows that women in rap have a much higher bar to prove their commercial worth
- when black women try to be multifaceted with their sound they get held back by labels who don't know how to market them or pop radio that turns their back on them
“Why does Kehlani continue to be ignored for supposedly not releasing strong singles — the same claim that has been made against Tinashe — while Demi Lovato gets kudos for ‘Sorry Not Sorry’?” asked Reeves. (Lovato’s single, and album Tell Me You Love Me, embrace R&B and soul.) “It appears to be a double standard. As a white performer, Lovato gets credit for branching beyond her typical monochromatic pop sound. But we expect Kehlani to make quality R&B because she's black. So even while she introduces several innovations within that genre, pop radio (and its audience) disregards her as just another black R&B singer.”
Rise of Streaming:
- the inclusion of streaming data in the charts means that the songs on the playlists we create — and those created for us by algorithms — are being reflected in the charts.
- so hip hop and EDM are up front and center: 2017 marked the first time that hip hop was the most dominant genre since 1991: these are male dominant genres
- mainstream music: whispery, tropical house trend
- the era of “poptimism” is over: pop, as a genre, is no longer our most popular or critically acclaimed sound.
- streaming is dominated by under 25s but drops off among teens who are pop's largest consumers
- top 20 tracks on Spotify: just 4 or by women (who are all pop)
Different Metrics of Success:
- not just charts but Spotify listeners, Youtube subscribers, Instagram followers
- getting a
#1 on Hot 100 now feels quaint
- “Record labels and artists still rely upon [the charts] to gauge overall music interest — but streaming playlists charts are fast becoming the core currency.”
- it's also now more about the whole album experience rather than getting hits (like Beyonce)
Conclusion:
- charts go through cycles so this may pass
- most likely a short term situation
- Alessia Cara and Camila Cabello are showing signs that they could be coming for the top spot in the near future
- women in pop who once ruled the Top 10 are either out of cycle or no longer interested in playing that game, and nobody else is yet filling their shoes.
- but if the industry puts its support behind those burgeoning women stars we might see more successes like “Bodak Yellow” and “New Rules”
Source:
fader
