"Spotify: Mic Check" Latest Episode: EQUAL Opportunities For Female Musical Artists

I have a confession to make. If it weren't for the Spotify: Mic Check podcast, my playlists might include five artists in total. And three of them would be The Beatles. That's just sad. But thanks to Spotify: Mic Check, I get the opportunity to listen to music from around the world and from U.S.-based artists who have gotten exposure from Spotify's EQUAL program. 

 Spotify has released the newest episode of its original podcast series, Spotify: Mic Check, focusing on several voices from Spotify’s EQUAL program, which is committed to extending resources and generating more impactful opportunities for women in music. 

You can listen to the full episode here.

In this episode, Spotify: Mic Check sits down with a few artists/ambassadors who have seen first-hand success from the EQUAL program, including Mickey Guyton, Silvana Estrada, Margaret, JOPLYN, and BruSes. The talented group of artists covers important topics including gender equity, advocating for other female artists, tapping into vulnerability to write music and more.

Available to stream for free exclusively on Spotify, please see below for interview highlights in the episode.

 Mickey Guyton on uplifting other rising female country artists and making an impact. “If I see an artist and a woman that's talented, I'll pick up the phone, and I'll call my A&R, and I'll be like, “Hey, I met this girl. I'll send her music over”, whatever, because that's how you pay it forward. And that's the only way that I believe things will get better in this industry for women as a whole.”

Silvana Estrada on how music has helped her find her place and voice in the world. “I grew up in a family of musicians. My parents, both my mom, she’s a clarinet player and my dad, he’s a double bass player. And they also make instruments. I also grew up feeling like music is a beautiful tool, like to create community and to create identity. And I learned through music kind of my role in this world. And because of that, I'm super grateful every day.”

Bruses on tapping into deeper pain and vulnerability to create her music. “Um. I had a bad car accident when I was 20, about five years ago. And I died. I actually died. I went into a coma and I woke up and that just changed my entire life. I knew that I wanted, or at least I had to try, to be an artist, and I had to write about this stuff that I was feeling, you know? And I was, I was ready to talk about my issues, my real issue, which is living with depression and anxiety…”

Margaret on equity and advocating for women in music. “Sisterhood is really a big thing in my art, in my songs. But sometimes when it comes to talking about it, just it's too many emotions for me sometimes. I get very emotional. Have this record label. So I always make sure that amount of artists is equal, so if you have one male artist, then I'm like, okay, so now I'm going to look for a female artist. So it's always like, you know, 50/50, showing that like women are as just talented as men.”

JOPLYN on encountering sexism in the music industry. “…and of course, you tend to get sexualized a lot. Especially as a female deejay, I feel like what happens when you're on stage deejaying, you hear comments from left and right and it's not a good feeling. But I think as, uh, as awful as all of that is, I think it's also like such a chance always to be the odd one out because you always, you know, stand out. You're always, whether you want to or not, part of the movement and getting more women into this world because the moment you put yourself out there as a woman doing what you're doing and like showing how passionate you are about that, you're actively working on more.” 

 You can listen to the full episode here.