Women's Music - Record Labels, Distributors, and Publications

Record Labels, Distributors, and Publications

Olivia Records, the first women's music record label, was created in 1973 by a collective including artist Meg Christian. Starting with a single that was successfully sold by mail order, Olivia was able to release Meg Christian's I Know You Know and Cris Williamson's The Changer and the Changed. The Changer and the Changed was "one of the all-time best selling albums on any independent label" at that time, and was also the first LP to be entirely produced by' wome,;,n. "Changer" is the all-time best-selling album to come out of the women's music genre.

Several other independent labels were created by artists such as Kay Gardner with the record label Wise Woman/Urana, Margie Adam with the record label Pleiades, Ani DiFranco with the record label Righteous Babe Records, and Holly Near with the record label Redwood Records in 1972. Redwood records expanded the scope of women's music recordings to include women of color by recording Sweet Honey in the Rock, an a cappella group of African-American singers founded by Bernice Reagon in 1978. As these record labels grew so did the music genres represented, and the ethnic and social diversity of the artists expanded. Several other labels were also formed by artists; Berkeley Women's Music Collective, Woody Simmons, and Teresa Trull were distributed by Olivia through their network.

With the growth of independent record labels and increasing demand for women's music, an organized system for distribution and promotion became necessary. Goldenrod Music was formed in 1975 to distribute for Olivia records, and later expanded distribution to include other labels. Ladyslipper, a non-profit organization formed in 1976 to promote and distribute women's music. Olivia's informal network formed WILD (Women's Independent Labels Distributors) formed in 1977 to distribute music into different regions of the United States. The organization had two purposes - to formally network and educate distributors on sales and business issues, and to bargain with Olivia while Olivia's financial pressures in turn pressured the distributors. In 1978, a national booking company, Roadwork Inc. was formed to promote women artists.

Between 1984-1994, HOT WIRE: The Journal of Women's Music and Culture was created and published in Chicago by a large group of volunteers. It was founded by Toni Armstrong Jr., Ann Morris, Michele Gautreaux, and Yvonne Zipter. The publication focused exclusively on lesbian feminist musicians, festivals, venues, and various topics pertaining to writing, theater, dance, comedy, and the arts. HOT WIRE came out three times/year and each 64-page issue included a soundsheet with at least four songs by lesbian and/or feminist artists. It had international distribution and a website is in the works to provide downloadable articles from all of the back issues. Former editor Toni Armstrong Jr. has continued to be involved in women's music as a performer, concert producer, and currently edits the "Long Time Friends" e-newsletter "for veterans of the women's music industry."