Steven Braines on why balanced lineups start years before the poster, and why “fewer women DJs” doesn’t hold up.
Debates about representation in electronic music tend to get heated fast. Comment threads and panel soundbites distort arguments that deserve more space, whether that’s about lineup balance, studio access, mentorship or safety.
With that in mind, Attack is starting a four-part series that gives people working on these issues the room to discuss the situation in greater depth. At the heart of the series is a simple question: can we close the gender gap?
The questions remain the same for each interviewee. No one is asking for consensus; that’s impossible. But by opening the floor, we can build a broader understanding through other people’s perspectives and experiences.
Steven Braines is co-founder of HE.SHE.THEY., the global club night, festival and platform that’s spent the best part of a decade pushing for genuinely diverse, LGBTQIA+-inclusive line-ups across the electronic music world. As one of the industry’s most outspoken voices on representation, he’s never been afraid to call out lazy excuses from promoters or push the conversation past the usual talking points.
Attack: If there are simply fewer women and gender-diverse DJs in the talent pool, is it fair to expect more balanced lineups – or are those two things not mutually exclusive? In other words, does that argument ignore why the pool is smaller in the first place?
SB: The pool is still huge – there are many, many women to book from, in the thousands. The stat is that like 15% of the world’s professional DJs are women.
Also, more and more women will DJ because more and more female stars show it’s possible. More women have also been doing it longer and building fanbases. We’ve never had a problem finding quality, gender balanced line-ups at HE.SHE.THEY.
In 30 countries now, so I don’t really accept the argument that it’s difficult. If you’re doing your job, and have a good ear and YouTube, you can find a huge amount of diverse talent.
imposter syndrome is high for women, LGBTQIA+ peeps and people of colour. Which is insane when it was queer Black/brown folks who invented the music
Some promoters would argue that their job is to sell tickets, not to fix structural inequality. What would you say to that?
I think you can both sell tickets and not be a shitty person.
If you never give women, NB, trans people the same opportunities as cis men, then they won’t sell as many tickets – if you level the playing field, we’ve seen from Amelie Lens,Honey Dijon,Peggy,Sara Landryet al., women can sell; the more stars there are, the better for every promoter.
More women means more female clubbers, which means more tickets. Same on sexuality, race, etc. People like to see themselves reflected on line-ups. Diversity isn’t a problem; it can be powerful if you embrace it.
Can you share a story or example that shows how inclusion – or the lack of it – has affected someone’s confidence, career path or creative output?
I think imposter syndrome is high for women, LGBTQIA+ peeps and people of colour. Which is insane when it was queer Black/brown folks who invented the music.
A lot of my artists have battered down class ceilings, which has been amazing to be part of but also frustrating to watch because it’s often easier for the ones after, but not for themselves, who paved the way. SYREETA,Maya Jane Coles, and Bradley Skeng are all examples of that. You see that with Black female pioneers like Paulette, Hot Waxxx Hale, Smoking Jo, and Minx, among others, who have had to fight to be written back into the history they created.
What is the creative cost of a narrow industry? If the same people keep getting the same opportunities, what sounds, scenes, ideas, or communities never get the chance to develop?
I think sonically it hurts. Different backgrounds give different sounds to the scene. I also find the dance floor a social melting pot, and dancing with just gay people or just white men is not really of interest to me.
My people are always the ones who like other people of all races, genders and sexualities who strive for equality. The dance floor is political even if subconsciously.
Сlubbers are often treated as ATM’s rather than humans, and that hurts my heart
What does accountability look like beyond saying the right thing publicly? What should promoters, brands, venues, media or platforms actually be fairly measured against? And who should judge ‘fairness’?
It’s always difficult when someone is like, “Why isn’t X or Y playing for you?” Like we had an Ibiza season and it was still diverse but not as diverse as we usually are. The number of offers from people from diverse backgrounds we couldn’t get in peak summer on a Friday night was really frustrating.
Who we offered on vs who we booked was very different. So people don’t see the full story. I think if you judge people over time, you see positive or negative patterns – I also think it’s important to realise people aren’t perfect and to allow them the grace to learn from their mistakes.
There is no manual, and it’s very difficult being a promoter with rising costs and a declining ticket-buying crowd outside of super shows and festivals increasingly (and often they struggle too).
Where do you think responsibility currently falls through the cracks, and who needs to step up?
Everyone needs to step up and support their scene. I hate it when people complain a night or venue stops, and it’s like, “When did you last go? And did you pay for a ticket or ask for the guest list, just?” The audience/clubbers also need to play their part. Same with actually buying rather than pirating music.
It could be argued that lineups are only the visible end point of a deeper problem – that before someone is even considered for a booking, access to gear, mentorship, studio spaces, confidence, safety and industry networks may already be restricted. Are lineups simply a billboard for deeper issues further down the funnel?
I think that’s true. UK government could do a lot more to support what is a billion-dollar industry in the UK, especially from travel and tourism.
These spaces are also a powerful tool for social change. We all need to play our part, from the promoter to the talent to the agent/manager/venue owner, etc it’s not one person’s responsibility – I think there is too much diffusion of responsibility.
If a DJ is getting paid £100k for a set, they can’t be like, “Those nasty promoters made the tickets too expensive,” but at the same time, DJs should benefit from the money they generate. In general, I do think clubbers are often treated as ATM’s rather than humans, and that hurts my heart, as I started as a clubber who would queue up and dance all night long.
It was important to me and not just a transaction. I think that’s one of my biggest gripes – pricing out working-class / low-income people from nightlife and then wondering why no one dances and the vibe’s gone.
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Read Part One with Martha Bolton here.
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