Artist Management Services Ltd

Signs are encouraging for aspiring female musicians, especially songwriters, as the number of women finding success in the industry is officially on the rise.   Although women remain massively outnumbered by their male colleagues, the number of female songwriters signing with UK rights organisation PRS for Music is thought to have increased by 60%, demonstrating the growing appetite amongst listeners for talented acts, regardless of gender.   PRS, which collects and distributes royalties to songwriters, said 1,755 women signed up in 2019, compared to 1,097 a year ago. Interestingly, nearly 63% were below the age of 30, perhaps indicating a trend towards younger acts.   Celebrated pop acts like Billie Eilish (18) and Mabel (24) have made headlines recently, for their musical contribution for the upcoming James Bond film and their well-received live performances at award nights respectively. Eilish is already steaming ahead in terms of the number of Spotify streams her...

We recently sat down with Miriam Price, a music graduate from Durham University, who is embarking on her first year working as a session musician.    What made you choose bass guitar? My school was putting on a Christmas concert and nobody in the school played bass guitar. It seemed like a good way to avoid being given a cringey acting role which would involve me being on stage, so I volunteered on the basis that I could borrow a bass from school to learn. My older brother was a pretty accomplished guitar player – he actually signed a recording contract a few weeks ago – and he showed me the basics. The rest, as they say, is history. What do you need to become a session musician? An open mind is more important than any qualification or degree, in my opinion. Say yes to as many opportunities as possible while you find your feet. Also, being receptive to difference styles of music is going to prepare you for the different situations you’re likely to end up in. Lastly, it goes wi...