To prioritize progress is to be always thinking ahead. For a musician, it comes down to constantly improving upon your own work; each release is expected to be better than the last, have more impact, be more memorable, and, of course, sell more tickets to the show. And in 2019, it also means hiring more women, diversifying your lineup, and speaking to an ever-broadening range of listeners.
It’s something that artists from this year's Lollapalooza lineup know all too well. And herein lies the future of music: the improvements we make today are the standards we’ll adhere to tomorrow, and so on, until 2019’s most-listened-to singles will be sold on an early-21st-century vintage compilation. We’re not there yet, though — recent research shows that only 17% of popular artists and 12.2% of songwriters on the top charts in 2018 were women — and right now, we’re simply looking ahead to the work we can continue to do tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day) in the name of diversity, equality, and progress. One thing is certain: The future is ours for the taking. Take it from Tayla Parx, who stopped by our Citi®️| Refinery29 Studio built to address gender inequality in the music industry.
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"It’s changing," she says. "Women have had to fight so much harder to get to places of respect. The [future of the] music industry is looking very, very bright. We’re just saying, 'Look, I have something to say that’s worth hearing. I have something valuable, and you guys are gonna listen now.'"
Whether it's at a massive music festival or back home in the recording studio, it's all about opportunity — namely, making sure that it's equal, regardless of gender.
"It’s about getting the same opportunities," says Sigrid. "I think it’s really, really important that everyone who’s working in this industry is always thinking ahead."
Watch the video above to hear from artists and industry leaders who have their sights set on tomorrow, at the Citi®️ | Refinery29 Studio at Lollapalooza 2019.