FEMIGY is a brand new podcast that champions women and diversity in the music industry.
Set up by Leeds Conservatoire Music Business students Imogen Berry, Roisin Hodgins and CK Smith, the podcasters are keen to use their new platform to discuss problems faced by and experiences shared by women and ultimately reach a wide audience to build a community and inspire change.
We spoke to the FEMIGY trio about their goals and upcoming episodes.
Hello! Congratulations on the release of FEMIGY. What can listeners expect from this new podcast?
Our podcast will include discussions between ourselves and guests in the music industry. We will be discussing the good, the bad and the ugly of being a woman/minority in the music industry.
What do you aim to achieve from your podcast?
We want to share and highlight the experiences of women, most importantly to build a community. We want our podcast to be a safe space for women to talk about their experiences, and we aim to educate our listeners on the issues women face within the music industry.
Can you share any plans you have coming up with FEMIGY? Any exciting guests you can tell us about?
We recently released our introductory podcast in December, which was really exciting! This January and February, we will be carrying on with episodes that will feature some amazing guests, and listeners will get a chance to hear their stories. A couple of our upcoming guests include Mya Craig and Kirsty Almeida.
Listen to the first Episode of FEMIGY on YouTube:
How did you find the podcast making process? Do you have any top tips to share with those interested in starting one?
Recording a podcast is a big job and a lot of responsibility. There's a lot of planning and organising that goes into making each episode, so we'd recommend having a producer and/or sound engineer to arrange the recordings. By having a producer, we can focus on getting great guests and being creative. Hattie Blogg is our producer who also studies at Leeds Conservatoire, and we wouldn't be able to do it without her! Ultimately if you want to create a podcast, the most important part is just getting started and having fun with it!
How has the Music Business course at Leeds Conservatoire helped you develop your skills?
The Music Business course at Leeds Conservatoire has helped us to develop a range of skills. It has given us a huge network of people we will probably work with long after we leave Leeds Conservatoire. We are connecting with many different courses and creating really interesting projects. It has also been great at equipping us with knowledge of how the music industry works and how we can adapt to meet its dynamic, ever-changing nature. We have covered various topics from artist management to copyright and contract law and everything in between.
What's your favourite thing about studying at Leeds Conservatoire?
Our collective favourite thing about studying at Leeds Conservatoire is the support from our tutors. They provide us with many different opportunities and help challenge us in taking steps forward with our projects. Without them pushing us, we'd probably still be in discussions about creating this podcast.
Which women in the music industry inspire you and why?
Collectively we'd say that Rebecca Ferguson has been inspirational as she campaigns for gender equality in the music industry and discusses her personal experiences. We also find Taylor Swift massively inspirational as she is re-recording and re-releasing every song ever made on her last label to gain back her ownership. There are plenty more women we're inspired by, but these are just a couple!
