NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — A new 6-month artist residency is coming to Tallahassee aimed at supporting women in the music industry.
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The Women of Music Business — known as WOMB — is launching the WOMB DreamLab, a residency program that will mentor women, provide industry access, and teach technical skills needed to build careers, under the Institute for Music Business.
Tallahassee musician Dallas Aleea has worked in the music industry since she was 15 and has experienced both its rewards and its challenges firsthand.
"I would say just in general the industry is very challenging as a woman, I think there is a little bit of a pressure to kind of you know seem like you have your stuff together… be confident, be sure of yourself, and so I've been trying to step more into that," Aleea said.
A 2022 Recording Academy study found 77% of women surveyed felt they had been treated differently in the music industry because of their gender.
Among the top challenges reported were low earnings, burnout, unfair gatekeeper culture, nepotism, and sexism.
WOMB Coordinator Ayla Madison said a lack of resources and understanding contributes to those challenges.
"I think a lot of the challenges, from my experience, is just the lack of resources or the lack of understanding and knowledge on a woman's perspective," Madison said.
Madison and the WOMB Dream Lab hope to change that by building a community of support among women in the industry.
"We can help each other and hold each other's hands and hold each other accountable and build and grow so that we can expand Tallahassee as a whole," Madison said.
Aleea, who has previously received help from the organization, believes the women-exclusive program will create a broader impact across the entire industry.
"I think with anything there's, there needs to be a balance, right? Like you need to have men and women, we all need to kind of bring our own things to the table. I feel like women bring a sense of safety and nurturing and a sense of creativity to the table," Aleea said.
Madison hopes the first cohort, starting in October, will serve as a beacon in the community to show what women can offer in the industry.
“I'm super excited about this cohort; it will show that women in business mean business,” she said.
The application deadline for the WOMB DreamLab is June 5th.
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