Industry leaders talk workplace sexism, discrimination at prairie music summit | 24CA News
Music trade leaders from throughout Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba gathered in Regina this weekend for the Very Prairie 2022 Music Summit.
Focused on constructing careers, companies and the native trade at massive, the fifth version of the convention had stakeholders and artists sharing experience and taking questions on matters like distribution, cash administration, team-building and making a extra inclusive trade surroundings.
It was held on the University of Regina — College Avenue Campus. Panels centered on girls in music, the way forward for music and protecting areas in music ended the summit on Sunday. The Saskatchewan Music Awards adopted at Darke Hall.
The awards featured performances by artists together with Ariel, Etienne Fletcher, Dump Babes, Jesse Brown, People of the Sun and extra.
Katie Sahlu, is an unbiased music marketing consultant who provides folks within the music trade steerage about the way to get get began with their careers or maintain them.
She mentioned, “There’s actually a lot of opportunity for funding in the province that sometimes gets underutilized. There are various programs throughout Saskatchewan that will help artists and allow artists in different genres access funding. They can take the support the province has given them to further their careers.”
katie Sahlu is an indipendent music marketing consultant primarily based in Regina. She was attending the Very Prairie Music Summit as a panelist.
Aishwarya Dudha
Sahlu mentioned the recommendation she provides musicians and artists is to believe to stroll into areas like they belong there, understanding they’re gifted and that’s that they’re in that room.
“Not being afraid to tell people, ‘hey, this is me and this is what I do,’” she mentioned. “Getting overlooked in a room full of men where somebody walks in and greets everyone, then skips over you and continues to greet the other men in the room, and how to navigate those waters and assert yourself.”
Rhonda Head, a recording artist attending the occasion. She moved from Manitoba to Toronto when she was in Grade 12 and began finding out classical music. Being an Indigenous girl in that style isn’t the norm in response to her.
“My challenge was being Indigenous in that genre — go to choir or rehearsals and looked at like ‘what are you doing here?’ And so from that, I learned to create a bubble and create my own space. And I thought, you know what? I’m here. I’m here for the same reason you are, that’s music, my love for the music kept me going back, even though I was looked at differently.”
Rhonda Head an artist attending Very Prairie Music Summit in Regina on Dec 11 talks in regards to the challenges she confronted on her journey as an artist.
Aishwarya Dudha
She mentioned she needed to undergo many voice lecturers as a result of she mentioned they’d decide her on her accent and mechanically assume that she couldn’t sing.
“I would just continue to move on till I found a teacher who didn’t care about my accent or my skin colour.”
Head feels issues haven’t modified a lot within the trade. She is at present 55 years outdated and has been concerned since she was a teen.
“We need the men to come and protect us. We need warriors out there to step up and keep us safe. That’s my experience anyways,” she mentioned.
Singer, songwriter, videographer and photographer, Andrea An, acquired concerned in music from an early age. In her twenties she began working with different music producers in Saskatchewan and took her music to the subsequent degree.
An turned part of SaskMusic and was requested to be a part of the board.
“As a racialized person, there’s just not a lot of voices that can speak out for other Asians or racialized people, because on the board, there’s a good amount of white people. There’s also indigenous people, but I’m literally the only Asian one on the board.”
Andrea An a singer, songwriter, photographer and videographer took a second to reply a query about how she feels about being nominated for the Best Saskatchewan Album Award of the Year.
Aishwarya Dudha
Her newest full-length file was nominated for the 2022 Best Saskatchewan Album of the Year and positioned at quantity seven.
She talked about how she establishes boundaries.
“Getting messages from certain people after a certain time. I have cut-off times when I work. And I don’t appreciate getting a message at 2 in the morning. If it’s something business oriented, they can just message me the next day.”
She mentioned folks could be very clear with their intentions, “like, my work hours are from this time to this time, I will respond to your message after. For example Sundays are my family days. So oftentimes I won’t even reply and if someone is really adamant about getting me to answer their message on a Sunday, I’ll just say, ‘Hey, I’m spending time with my family today. Can I message you tomorrow?”
“If you feel uncomfortable and you feel like a line has been crossed, then chances are it has. It’s up to you to assert yourself and draw the boundaries, to let people know how you will and won’t be communicated with,” Sahlu mentioned.
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