Alicia Keys Says Music Industry Is Still an ‘Old Boy Network’ Where Women Aren’t ‘Given an Open Door’
"Rather than just being pissed off about that, it was time to create opportunities," she says.
Black News 
Alicia Keys has been working in the music industry for more than two decades, but according to her, it’s still as much of a boy’s club as it was when she first started out.
Related
In a recent interview with The Times, the 17-time Grammy winner opened up about the inequality she’s witnessed as a woman who writes, sings and produces. “The music world becomes a good old boy network, and all the incredible women working as engineers and producers are not given an open door,” she told the publication. “Women make up 2 per cent of the entire business. I’m a producer and here we are, doing a bunch of work, killing it, so it’s shocking that the number is so small.”
Merriam-Webster defines “old boy network” as an “informal system in which wealthy men with the same social and educational background” help one another advance professionally. “No one tells you these things,” Keys continued in the interview. “You deal with all these executives and lawyers who love to take their percentages and overcharge you, but they never say, ‘How can we ensure you’re here to stay?’”
“Rather than just being pissed off about that,” she added, “it was time to create opportunities.”
The four-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping musician is referring to She Is the Music, a nonprofit she cofounded that facilitates songwriting sessions, mentorships and educational opportunities for women in music. In February, the organization hosted its second annual Women Sharing the Spotlight event, where Keys honored Megan Moroney and her all-women team.
“Tonight’s event is about being able to say, ‘Wait, I do have this position, and I can open the door,'” Keys said at the ceremony. “It’s one thing when you’re banging on a door to be let in; it’s another thing when someone opens the door and says, ‘Come in and join me.’”
The multi-hyphenate last dropped an album in 2021, with Keys reaching No. 41 on the Billboard 200 — a chart she’s topped five times. She told The Times that she’s currently working on a new LP.
“The music is very close to being cooked, and I’m excited,” she said. “There is a craft, an ability to write songs that mean something to people, which has given me longevity and you’ll hear that in the new album.”
