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NEW YORK, Dec 10, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- As the U.S. music industry struggles with falling album sales, the number of women in executive positions to sign new acts for labels is also declining.
Despite the fact that women buy nearly half of the CDs sold, the Los Angeles Times reported, women still don't fill the positions needed to make effective changes in the industry.
There is no woman in charge of any major label's mainstream music artist and repertoire -- A and R -- department and only a select few in other related executive positions, the Times reported, but some music industry officials say changing that trend could result in a positive change in sales.
"If there were more women in decision-making positions, there would probably be more diverse sounds; (radio) would be a little more experimental," Warner Bros. Records exec Perry Watts-Russell claimed.
Many women in the industry have also claimed that the lack of a female presence results in a trend to objectify female artists rather than sign them based on talent, the Times reported.
"You have to look like a model and dress like a stripper and it's sad," Allison Robertson, guitarist for the Donnas, told the paper. "I don't think if women were heading A and R it would look like that."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
