PRS report: women composers earn 70% less than male counterparts

New figures released today by PRS for Music show that, despite increases in women entering the profession, gender balance within the professional songwriting and composing community remains heavily skewed towards men.

In 2020, PRS found that 1,971 women registered as professional songwriters and composers, a 12.3% year-on-year increase on 2019, and a 79.6% increase on 2018.

However, the figures also show that men make up 81.7% of PRS for Music's membership. Furthermore, research shows that the top 10 highest earning female songwriters and composers generated 70% less income than their male counterparts in 2020.

The deficit between the highest earning men and women has increased since 2019, when it was 67%.

Of all songwriters and composers who received a royalty in 2020 from their music being streamed, downloaded, broadcast, or performed, only one in six (16.7%) were women.

This International Women's Day, PRS for Music will be actively encouraging members and staff to support positive change to address current gender bias and inequality, by singing to the tune of this year's theme, #ChooseToChallenge.

Andrea Czapary Martin, chief executive of PRS for Music, said: 'Celebratory moments in the year like International Women’s Day are an important opportunity to reflect on the progress being made for gender equality around the world. PRS for Music and our industry has a long way to go. Initiatives like, Keychange, led by our charity partner, PRS Foundation, are doing incredibly important work to create a more sustainable and stronger music community for all genders. Creating equity and access to opportunity should be at the forefront of everything we do.'

Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter and president of the PRS Members’ Council, Michelle Escoffery, said: 'We are incredibly proud to welcome almost 2,000 women joining the PRS for Music community as professional songwriters and composers in 2020, showing creativity is alive and well.

'Dedication to the craft is still thriving and music creators have shown great resilience through the pandemic. While promising, this number represents just a quarter of our new joiners. We continue to work closely with our members and wider music community to inspire the next generation of music creators from all backgrounds, as we all work together towards a more balanced, representative music industry.'