I feel very strongly that the ratios of women to men in many of the areas within the music business should change. Only 16% of songs registered with PRS for Music are by women, 30% of executives are women, less than 5% are label bosses, less than 4% are record producers. 

I have a successful independent record label (Folkstock Records) which I have run since 2013 with no previous exprerience of the music industry and my award winning producer is a woman, (Lauren Deakin Davies) I predominantly release and support/ mentor female artists.

​

I released an all female album in 2015 to draw attention to the stats of women in music, and organised and promoted a series of workshops and gigs with Kal Lavelle and Fiona Bevan in 2015 called Song Sisters and have been supported in that mission by Tom Robinson, our Patron Peggy Seeger, The Sunday Times Culture Magazine and many other blogs and reviewers.

The just published UK Music report (27th September) challenges the status quo on what is an extremely contentious issue.

 

I realise with clarity that I have skills I can share and present which could be of use to the women who are in the music business or which could encourage those who are considering it to explore it further. 

A combination of life visions and communication skills coaching which empower.

They are not Americanised, they are drawn from my 51 years of life experience.

They are heavy on practical application and light on debilitating theory. 

​

I am just re launching an award winning training business, (Thomson Training) which I first started and ran 30 years ago (for about 15 years) and then went into the music business with an arts foundation  for the last few years to mentor emerging acoustic and folk acts, which then progressed into a label, Folkstock Records. 

​

I feel motivated to, and can stand and deliver, on a number of vital skills sets and beliefs which have the power to transform, help women find their voice and live their best lives. 

 

I am fed up of sitting on the fence with this issue. OK so it SHOULDN'T be necessary to even be having this conversation, but hiding away from that and being PC about it is doing nobody any favours.

​

Women need to be equipped with ‘unladylike behaviour’, aspirational and achievable attitudes and the knowledge and confidence to pull it off, so that their strength can bring people on side rather than repel them. Men do it all the time - well some men, the successful ones.

​

We can do it too, we can be seen as strong and successful, dynamic and daring, sexy and sassy. And I want to help this become a reality for more women. There are great role models out there, really inspirational women, but there are so few they must be feeling pretty exhausted! and we all have less inspiring days where the effort to be constantly representative is a challenge. We need to empower more women to do better things with their lives and awaken them to their potential.

I would like to help get the message across which enables women to stand up and be counted. At every stage of their lives. Without having to be seen as aggressive. We all have a lot to learn about being comfortable in our power, using assertive communication and serving the greater good without being taken for granted. Women are natural born leaders, can inspire loyalty and confidence, we need more of them at the top of the music business, but also at every level, especially behind the scenes, we need to equip them and we need to stop minimising ourselves, by trying to fit in, to make people like us, when really the only people we should be trying to like is ourselves.

After that, the rest is a piece of cake.

 

Cake? did someone mention cake??!! 😉

​

Anyone want to join me on this crusade?

​

Please email helenthomsontraining@gmail.com