Robyn: I have been working in the music industry for 20 years, in talent buying, event management, fund development and organization direction. I am currently moving from my role as the Executive Director if the Western Canadian Music Alliance to Executive Director of Women in Music Canada. I am passionate about supporting young talent and seeing their dreams come true, about making connections between folks to see business grow and connecting with like minded partners to build relationships. In a personal level, I am a heart disease survivor, a mother of 2 boys, Jasper (11) and Ty (3) and an avid traveller and knitter.
Kayleigh: My journey in music started 10 years ago as an artist. Whilst trying to navigate the industry as a creator, I took on an entry level role in music rights management - I never thought it would be forever but learning the ins and outs of business became my passion. Since then, I’ve worked with some of the world's biggest artists & songwriters and their teams in a variety of roles, all whilst doing my best to empower underrepresented talent within the industry, through committee work & collaboration with great as organizations like shesaid.so. With a two year old daughter, and another one on the way, life is certainly a different type of hectic than it was 10 years ago, but making time to support accessibility and inclusivity within the industry has become more important to me than ever.
Cristina: I currently lead two parallel careers, in tech and music. At Google I work for the Brand & Reputation marketing team in Milan, driving brand equity and reputation to position Google as a loved brand among Italian users and institutions. As a side job, I am a DJ and producer; I have released music with Crosstown Rebels' Rebellion, Bondage Music and host regular mixes on radios like Ibiza Global, Data Transmission and Sonica. This summer you can find me at Hï Ibiza one Saturday per month, opening for Damian Lazarus and guests in the club room, and a bit all over the world.
shesaid.so: What made you want to join the shesaid.so parenthood committee?
Cristina: I started DJing during my maternity, and since then I have been leading two careers while being a mother. I think that initiatives like the parenthood committee are strongly needed in an industry where there is very little support for parents, women tend to wait to have kids because of lack of job security and support and, especially for DJs, there is a general misconception that being an artist and having kids are two incompatible things. Back in early 2020 I had a chat with Andreea Magdalina about this topic and we convened that setting up a Committee to safeguard the interests of parents would be strongly needed to pave the way for a more inclusive and family-friendly industry.
Robyn: When I joined, I was just off maternity leave with my second child, now 3, and also have an 11 year old. As a mom in the industry almost every decision, be it with traveling, taking leave, staying out late or generally when to have children to begin with. I have learned that family balance needs to be a priority at all times and I want to be a support to other parents or prospective parents who also have careers in music.
Kayleigh: I became a mum two months into lockdown 1.0. It was a time that felt very isolated, especially as not many of my peers (least so those in the industry) had even thought about having children yet. I think the pandemic forced the industry somewhat to recognise family needs as everyone was stuck at home homeschooling and managing life as best they could, but in May 2020 (when we all still thought things would be back to normal by the end of the summer) I really struggled to find a community to lean on, which is when I came across the shesaid.so Parenthood Committee.
shesaid.so: What have you seen as some of the major or common issues for parents in the music industry?
Whether you are a creator or working behind the scenes, lack of flexibility is a huge factor, and barrier for entry into music. In an industry where the line between work and personal life is often blurred, work life balance is something that’s been spoken about a lot in recent years, especially in regards to mental health, but we’re still struggling to see the industry respond in a way that takes into consideration the specific needs of parents and caregivers. As Kayleigh mentioned earlier, the pandemic forced the industry’s hand in a lot of ways to adapt to a more flexible way of working, but coming out the other side there’s still a lot to be done in all sectors of the music business to ensure that parents can maintain a healthy and successful work and home life.
shesaid.so: How do you think the music industry could do better for parents?
Whilst there is now an open discussion about Diversity and Inclusion themes, parenthood is a topic that is currently being left out of the discussion; we need more awareness and acknowledgement that parents do exist. So often we are made to feel like we need to hide that part of our lives for fear that it will be detrimental to our career development, which often means our basic needs are not being met. If we take the live sector as an example, so many parents have to choose between sacrificing their family life or their career once they have children because the sector is very inherently un-child friendly. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Better managed tour schedules, riders that include suitable family accommodation and budgets that cater for childcare are all things that could be the difference between someone giving up a lifelong career and thriving as a parent and working musician.
