Pop Industry Is Finally Going Co-Ed in Executive Suites Too

The rock ‘n’ roll stage isn’t the only place where women are gaining a foothold in the music world. Dramatic progress has also been made by female executives since Calendar’s 1992 in-depth report on sexism in the record business.

Indeed, the industry’s latest bidding war isn’t over a hot band from Seattle or Chicago. The target of the latest chase is talent scout Margaret Mittleman, who is being courted by no fewer than a dozen top record labels, including powerhouses Geffen, Atlantic and Epic.

Mittleman, who is in her early 30s, has impressed the industry with her ability to spot budding stars quickly. Her most notable discovery: Beck, whose “Loser” was one of the most celebrated debut singles of the ‘90s.

“I believe it really doesn’t matter anymore if you’re male or female. The most important criteria in getting a job these days seems to be whether you have talent,” says Mittleman, currently the director of talent acquisitions at BMG’s music publishing division. “There is a new breed of young record executives running the industry now, and, as far as they’re concerned, gender is not an issue.”

The pursuit of Mittleman is the latest sign that the industry is now looking aggressively to women to fill key roles, including being put in charge of sales, promotion, marketing and artist and repertoire departments.

Equal opportunity for women is a relatively new concept in the industry, which only four years ago was rocked by a sexual harassment scandal that focused attention on problems for women, who have long been limited to public relations or personnel department ghettos.

Companies such as Atlantic Records, where nine out of 12 key departments are now run by women, have significantly increased market share and gone on to dominate the contemporary pop charts recently with new releases.

The best example of this turnaround, however, can be witnessed at lucrative Geffen Records, the Hollywood-based firm that paid an estimated $500,000 in 1992 to settle a secretary’s sexual harassment lawsuit that claimed that the firm had tolerated “outrageous sexually deviant behavior” by a former top executive for years.

At Geffen, four of the eight key departments are now run by women, including Jayne Simon, the first female executive to head a label sales team.

“In the same way that music is evolving to where women are in the foreground on the pop charts, we now have women making key decisions for our organization, and it has paid off,” says Geffen President Ed Rosenblatt, whose label’s cutting-edge roster generated $500 million last year in worldwide sales.

“Geffen’s success stems from the fact that we have strong women and men working together side by side. It gives us that extra spark and a comprehensive point of view that could not exist in a male-dominated hierarchy. I think that the guys in positions of power at other companies who are not as open to having female executives are definitely missing out in a big way.”

S exist attitudes are starting to erode as companies with women in power con tinue to increase profits and improve performance in the marketplace. In addition, female executives appear to be more willing than their male predecessors to mentor other women and help them elbow their way up the corporate ladder.

Women are also rising to the top in such music-related fields as cable television, entertainment law, artist agencies and management, helping to orchestrate the careers of artists as diverse as Hole, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Soundgarden.

The success of Sony Music Entertainment Executive Vice President Michele Anthony has helped pave the way for other women to be added to the corporate payroll, including the recent additions of respected executives such as Missy Worth and Polly Anthony.

Warner Music Group U.S. Chairman Doug Morris still holds the record, however, when it comes to empowering women in the music industry. He not only made the unprecedented move last year of promoting Sylvia Rhone to chairman of Elektra Entertainment, but he also named 27-year-old Janet Billig, who helped manage Nirvana and Hole, as senior vice president of Atlantic Records.

“Women are empowering themselves,” Billig says. “I know it’s hard sometimes to ignore the sexist comments that people say, but you have to just battle through and be a loudmouth till you get what you want. I’m optimistic about the future. Look at me. I’m proof that the music business is not just a man’s world anymore.”*