Dominating the Charts, Challenging the System: How Women and LGBTQ+ Artists Redefined Music in 2024
by Savannah Bowie | December 29th, 2024
This year, women and LGBTQ+ artists dominated the charts and began redefining success in the industry. While breaking records, sweeping awards, and lighting up global stages, they helped reveal a stark truth: Despite their undeniable impact, the music industry continues to favor male artists in visibility, opportunity, and positions of power. Regardless of their cultural and commercial success, the fight for true representation continues–and 2024 helped prove why it’s more urgent than ever. The question is no longer whether these artists will change the industry, but whether the industry is ready to change.
For the first time in history, women claimed all top eight spots for the most-streamed albums globally on Spotify Wrapped. Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, Ariana Grande, and SZA each deserve to be recognized. Swift, who holds three of those spots, became Spotify’s most-streamed artist for the second consecutive year. Her album, The Tortured Poets Department, topped both Spotify and Apple Music’s charts, cementing her place as the global powerhouse we know her to be.
Queer icon Billie Eilish took home Song of the Year at this year’s Grammys and was named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year, freinforcing her impact in music. Alongside her, queer artists Victoria Monét and Miley Cyrus celebrated a long-awaited milestone by earning their first Grammy wins after years of shaping the music industry. These victories go beyond awards; they represent an important shift in an industry that has often excluded queer voices from mainstream media.
his year also marked a key moment for queer representation in the music industry. Renee Rapp, who previously identified as bisexual, publicly came out as lesbian during her Saturday Night Live debut and Maren Morris wished her fans happy pride when she came out as bisexual. While Khalid, who had been outed before he could come out on his terms, opened up about his sexuality on social media, embracing his love for who he is. This openness to discussing sexuality challenges long-standing social norms and gender roles, while also creating a path for others to follow.
Despite the impact women and queer artists had and will continue to have, their success exists alongside blatant biases. Women made up less than 25% of performers at major music festivals in the U.S. this year, including Coachella and Lollapalooza. In contrast, festivals like All Things Go, often dubbed “All Things Gay,” showcased over 50% women and LGBTQ+ representation in their lineups this year, proving that lineups with equal representation remain the exception, not the rule.
These disparities extend beyond the festival stage and into production and creative roles where women remain underrepresented. They make up less than 20% of songwriters and less than 10% of music producers, reflecting the systemic barriers that prevent them from fully participating in the power structures of the industry. While women and LGBTQ+ artists were at center stage this year, redefining commercial success, they are still fighting for equal representation and opportunity across all aspects of the industry.
Looking ahead to 2025, the 67th Annual Grammys will make history and showcase the power women and LGBTQ+ artists had on music this year. For the first time, no men were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, marking a pivotal shift in who is shaping music today. Women also dominated across major categories with six of the eight nominees for Album of the Year and Record of the Year being women, including two queer artists in each: Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish. Further, five of the eight nominees for Best New Artist are women, two of whom are queer – Chappell Roan and Doechii – signaling a shifting landscape in representation at the highest levels of the industry.
While we saw major milestones this year–such as Taylor Swift having the highest-grossing tour in history and Chappell Roan’s iconic Lollapalooza set–the paradox of 2024 is crystal clear: while women and LGBTQ+ artists have achieved unmatched cultural and commercial success, the music industry remains male-dominated, failing to celebrate these artists’ achievements to the same degree, limiting their visibility across all aspects of music. The time has come for the music industry to truly acknowledge and embrace its most diverse voices. If the industry wants to make real progress it must first confront its biases and ensure that the women and LGBTQ+ artists, executives, producers, etc., that are driving its future are not only celebrated but also empowered behind the scenes.
If you want to learn more about the inequalities facing women and LGBTQ+ artists, organizations like Amplify Her Voice, Impact, and Book More Women, and all great resources!
