Alicia Keys to Honor Gracie Abrams at She Is the Music Event

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It was announced on Thursday that Gracie Abrams will be honored at a special event taking place later this month at the Peppermint Club in Los Angeles. This event will also recognize 50 accomplished women in the business, and aims to foster a larger community for future generations of women in the industry.

The upcoming event titled “Women Sharing the Spotlight” is scheduled for March 27, and it’s being organized in collaboration with Live Nation Women and TuneCore. The Hollywood Reporter has taken on the role of the event’s media partner. At this event, Dr. Stacy Smith from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative will share insights from this year’s annual Inclusion in the Music Business report alongside TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson.

(In this version, the text has been rephrased to use simpler and more conversational language while maintaining the original meaning.)

To focus on supporting each other, She is the Music encourages the 50 women being celebrated to invite a woman who is starting her career, to join this event. This will help expand their professional networks and create additional possibilities for career advancement.

Our core belief is about empowering women through mutual support. We invited our honorees to nominate promising young women who they believe are future leaders, as part of fostering the next generation of successful women,” Jody Gerson, head of Universal Music Publishing Group and a co-founder of She is the Music, explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “Building genuine community comes from women standing together, championing each other’s growth, and that’s when we can truly bring about significant change.

As a proud gamer, I’m thrilled to be part of an organization that recognizes and appreciates the hard work of its leaders, like Abrams and her predominantly female team. Gerson, a fellow member, has praised Abrams as an artist who embodies our values in every step she takes.

Surrounded by an exceptional group of women, Abrams expressed in a statement, ‘They’ve shifted my perspective on everything. Each one is exceptionally gifted individually, but it’s their intentionality in supporting one another that sets them apart. I am thankful for the chance to learn from each of them. I feel privileged to be acknowledged by She Is the Music, an organization that has made significant strides in recognizing and boosting women within this industry. I hope our team serves as a small testament to the potential when women uplift and collaborate with one another.’

At the upcoming event, fellow co-founder Alicia Keys will pay tribute to Abrams and their team.

Keys expressed in a statement that Gracie Abrams and her dedicated group are a testament to what occurs when women empower one another – when we assert ourselves, we transform the landscape. In an industry where female-led teams are not yet the norm, their success underscores the importance of our presence in every setting, every discussion. She Is the Music is about shattering boundaries, unlocking opportunities, and ensuring that the upcoming generation of women in music don’t just have a place at the table – they construct it.

I’m thrilled to learn that “She Is the Music” event is approaching soon, arriving hot on the heels of yet another Annenberg Initiative report highlighting an ongoing issue: the music industry struggling to promote more women into executive positions. As a fan and supporter, I eagerly anticipate this event as a step towards change in our beloved music world.

Out of 37 music companies scrutinized for this research, only 13% of their top executives (CEOs or presidents) were female, which remains unchanged compared to figures from four years back.

Gerson, who is among a small number of female CEOs within her sector, admitted that progress has been slow and improvement is necessary. However, she stresses that achieving this improvement involves uplifting women rather than undermining men. She also highlighted the importance of patience in the process.

Gerson explains that our event is designed to offer opportunities for accomplished women and provide a supportive environment for them. He’s confident we’re moving forward, as there are many ambitious women now who want to run their own companies compared to when he first entered the business. In his view, it’s crucial for a woman leading a company to actively promote and include more women in their endeavors.

The Annenberg report advocating for business advancement coincides with the Trump administration’s tightening of policies regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), leading some sectors, such as the wider entertainment industry, to downgrade their focus on DEI initiatives.

As a dedicated gamer speaking up, I can’t stress enough the significance of recruiting top-tier talent and investing in their growth. However, it’s not just about meeting the quota or following a diversity mandate; it’s about mirroring the diverse roster of artists that our industry caters to, be it race or gender. The music business should aim for a workforce that truly represents its artistic spectrum.

Gerson emphasizes that it’s more than just fulfilling DEI requirements; we’re influencing culture, and music, being a unifying force, requires a varied team to reflect this. If all our creative sectors only had one type of individual, we would only be promoting one kind of music. Regardless of DEI mandates, as an industry, we shouldn’t conform simply because it’s not required. Instead, we should strive to be the epitome of diversity due to the diverse nature of our outputs. We have a responsibility to our industry to employ diverse teams.

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2025-03-13 19:55