In celebration of Women's History Month, we had the opportunity to speak with three accomplished women in the music business. We asked them five key questions about the industry, their experiences, and their thoughts for the future. Read on to discover their valuable insights and perspectives.
Temima Shames is a rising entertainment executive and entrepreneur with a core focus of innovating around music artists, creators, and influencers through content, brand partnerships, and more. Originally born in Israel and raised in New York, she’s the Founder & CEO of Next Step Talent – a full service management company that specializes in long-term career growth strategy and capitalizing on organic relationships with the individual talent they work with. Temima’s clients span those in comedy, acting, modeling, dance, among others, with an average social following of 10 million across platforms. Songs, records, and projects she’s been a part of have garnered 25 million streams and viral campaigns with more than 1 million recreates. Temima is an advocate for entrepreneurship and aspires to inspire others to take a chance at any age.
Who’s a woman that inspired you growing up?
My cousin always inspired me growing up as she was always spontaneous with traveling and trying new things. We both did gymnastics and always had a love for new experiences. In a family where being spontaneous and adventurous was out of the norm, this is what inspired me to expand my perspectives, think outside the box and fuel my “inner entrepreneur”.
What would you say are the biggest challenges the music industry is currently facing?
Right now the biggest challenge in the music industry is over saturation and a lack of experimentation, uniqueness. We have seen a shift in focus from albums to singles which means there is a huge loss of development. We are so focused on short term success, that we are losing the storytelling and story building. With this new era of TikTok music, artists are creating songs for virality and less for connection. The music industry needs a reset. It needs something new. A sound that is missing and a shift in focus. TikTok is amazing as it gives opportunities to artists that would never have had a chance before. However, there is a specific sound that the app favors and that limits artists’ creative ability. I’m super excited to see what the next platform will do to level out the playing field.
What do you see as the future of women in the music industry?
I see women taking their power and making the change to create equality within the music industry. Women are beginning to not take no for an answer and set their boundaries from day 1. We are seeing an increase in the amount of female producers, A&Rs and the amount of men working in marketing or publicity which used to be more female dominated areas of the industry. Women are now playing a role of educating the new generation of men about the inequalities and calling out subconscious behaviors as they occur. Instead of women being the “assistants”, there is an increase in female executives. In order to reach this future, women must educate men instead of creating a divide between each other in business.
Is there a particular project or achievement you’re most proud of?
In short, one of the achievements I am most proud of is the viral moment surrounding Brooklynne Webb’s “My Crown” release as this the first time I saw my entire team ban together to execute an idea. Each person used their different strength and brought it to the table. The execution involved a fully packaged plan with over 6 months of work, but not only that, the whole team pivoted the plan week of to react to what was happening in the comments. It was a game time decision with all hands on deck. The result of this was over 20M+ views and streams across platforms and a moment that showed how important building a strong team is. I’m also super proud of our relationship and talent growth on YouTube. Starting from nearly 0, we now have 3 clients over 1M subs and 5 more about to hit that markWe’ve truly expanded our company relationships across platforms.
What advice would you give to other women looking to break into the music industry?
Use others' comments,, especially he “I usually think young women don’t have their sh*t together, but you do” one, as your motivation to push through. You only need a few people to believe in you. Be the disruptor and make that change.
Connect with Temima
Instagram –
Nikisha Bailey is a community-driven entrepreneur, entertainment executive, and philanthropist with a lifelong commitment to music. Professionally, the St. Louis native is General Manager of the Nvak Collective – a next generation record label & artist advocacy collective that embraces web3 to drive change for creators and intellectual property. The two-time Billboard R&B / Hip-Hop Power Player provides creative perspective to the company’s facilitation of A&R, marketing, and label operations across their diverse artist roster. Extending her influence throughout music and culture, she also serves as Vice President for The Recording Academy’s New York Chapter and an Ambassador for the Academy’s Black Music Collective (BMC). On the entrepreneurship front, Nikisha owns and operates Philadelphia's Win Win Coffee Bar – handpicked by Goldman Sachs as a featured vendor at its 10KSB National Summit and adding Nikisha to Forbes’ Next 1000. Prior to the Nvak Collective, Nikisha was the VP / Head of A&R Admin at APG (Artist Partner Group) including additional stints at Atlantic Records and Def Jam Recordings working with acclaimed producers, studios, artists, and more. She now resides in New York and pushes herself to learn, grow, and pay it forward.
Who’s a woman that inspired you growing up?
My mom has always been and continues to be one of my biggest inspirations. As a black woman growing up in Missouri in the 60’s during Jim Crow, I can’t even imagine what she had to go through. She always had such a positive outlook on life and has instilled in me that no matter what your current circumstances in life, through hard work and consistency, anything is possible
What tangible way(s) can women better support + celebrate each other in the music business?
We can have more open, transparent, REAL conversations. The music industry can be an extremely sugar coated industry where we tend to paint the best picture possible and have the all that glitters in gold mindset. The reality is, that this is far from what it is. Women are consistently undervalued, underpaid and expected to be happy with whatever circumstances are presented to them. When we can start having more REAL conversations as to what we all have experienced, I think that can only strengthen the common bond that we all have for the most part.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music? I’ve also loved music.
I’m a former musician myself. In college I had to decide whether or not to be a jazz performance major or audio engineer major and I went with audio engineer! The jazz students were a little too intense for me lol. From there I had a professor that told me in order to really make it in the music industry, I had to either be in NY or LA. My professor was able to help me sort out an internship at Sony Studios that was 6 months out, so for those 6 months I worked 3 jobs and saved up $5,000 and left to pursue my dream in the big city with nothing but two suitcases!
Is there a particular project or achievement you’re most proud of?
My biggest achievement in my career was when I started as intern in a new city, a new industry and now work myself up to a GM position. I’ve also been able to establish such a solid network of industry friends and colleagues that are not only there for me in my professional life, but have been able to be such immense resources to me in my journey as a coffee roaster and distributor through my business, Win Win Coffee.
What advice would you give to other women looking to break into the music industry?
Bet on yourself! Hone in your superpowers and what makes you innately you…and EMBRACE it! What is the one thing that you can do, that nobody does better? It’s the differences that you have experienced in life that bring value to the table. Own that part of who you are all throughout your journey.
Connect with Nikisha:
Instagram – @nikideebee
Ranya Khoury is a rising executive in the music business with a track record for setting trends and being a first-mover throughout several entrepreneurial endeavors. Today, as the first U.S. hire for global dance label Spinnin’ Records, she is the stateside Streaming Director where she has worked tracks for Alok, Timmy Trumpet, The Chainsmokers, Joel Corry and many more. Prior to Spinnin’, her career has been rooted in digital commerce with previously managing Los Angeles-based DJ Kooze, creating new revenue models for Hits Daily Double as Digital Accounts Manager, and being a part of Universal Music Group’s streaming marketing team.
Who’s a woman that inspired you growing up?
I’ve had so many. I was lucky enough to grow up with a mom who was a complete powerhouse, so I’ve always had the impression that success as women, in whatever field, was possible. Hilary Duff was and still remains a big one for me. Rihanna, for obvious reasons. The list really does go on and on.
What do you see as the future of women in the music industry?
As we begin to bring more women in leadership roles, our perception of what’s possible will begin to shift into a much more empowered place. Doorways will open for rising industry leaders. Role models will help inspire those looking to pursue a career in music. Companies will become more inclusive from the start. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re moving in the right direction.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
It initially was ignited through my unwavering passion for the music itself, but it wasn’t until my second year of college that I committed to pursuing a career in music. Once I learned that business and creativity coexisted in the space, I began immersing myself in the industry, where I realized how strong my passion for music really was.
What advice would you give to other women looking to break into the music industry?
Give yourself permission to show up authentically. Don’t try to be one of the boys. Know your worth early on. Speak up. And always lead with passion and curiosity.
How do you balance personal and professional life as a woman in the music industry?
It’s hard. it’s a practice that I’ll probably always work on deepening. Naturally, my personal and professional life tend to overlap. You meet so many like minded people in the industry, that they quickly become a part of your personal life. Your time spent in professional settings molds into what is typically thought of as personal time (there is no 9-5 in the industry). So, it becomes an act of prioritizing and enhancing any personal time you do get. Sometimes it's carving out time in solitude. Other times, it’s dining out with friends, most likely at Sugarfish or Found Oyster. Whatever and whenever it is, I make sure it's time well spent on things that renew and reground me.
Connect with Ranya
Instagram – @ranyakhoury