Advice for the Female Musician
The Roles Image, Gender and Skill Play in the Shape of Your Career
by Shannon Kennedy
In the Jazz world, image isn't as important as it is in many of the other music
industries, but appearance still plays an important role in the shape of your
career.
Having "been" in the jazz industry and working with or knowing other
musicians who have been in it longer or have performed in other music
genres, I have concluded that image is very significant - even if it is not in
an obvious way. It could be anything from being in an all girl band (image is
your gender in this case) to dressing up in a suit just to respect the music
and not look like a bum on stage. It is a matter of "looking the part".
However, your skill at your craft/instrument is also important - so you can't
get gigs based on your looks unless you are in pop music and look like
Britney Spears.
Image versus skill in some cases is important, and in others is not.
Depending on the gig, you could get hired no matter what gender you are or
what you look like if you have killer chops whereas another you might be
hired over another person if you dress nicer even if they play better. It is
important that you can be flexible with your wardrobe in a sense and be
willing to look the part for a gig.
Sometimes your image, as far as gender which you can't really change, plays
a role as well. From the female perspective, girls are sometimes hired or not
hired solely based on their gender. For example, music is a male dominated
industry, so music can be seen as a "guy" thing. Part of the appeal of a gig
is the hang (also the money or the music) so guys sometimes feel like they
can't just hang with the guys with a girl there, which can be a reason they
won't hire a girl. Chicks also get hired because they are female. One reason
is for image - a girl in a band creates gender diversity in the group. She also
is sometimes hired so she can be something to look at by the guys in the
band or by the audience. Another reason a girl may get hired is because the
band leader may have a crush and is looking for more than just the girl's
playing (watch out for this one). Whatever the reason for a girl being hired
or not hired is just another example of the role image plays in the shape of
one's career as an artist.
The importance of image as opposed to skill changes within each music
genre - the extremes are jazz where you actually have to play as opposed
to pop where you don't really need to be able to sing as long as you are
cute and can shake your butt a little. It is all about what the art is trying to
do. Jazz tries to create legends and is artists trying to express themselves.
Pop tries to create teen idols and "superstars" - which are all about glamour
and money. Finding which shape your career takes is up to you and which
direction makes you happy.
