Skip to main content

Whose Song is it Anyway? Women in Music podcast and event at Parliament

This project explores the challenges and experiences faced by women in the music industry, and explores opportunities for change and progression. The podcast season interviewed women and non-binary guests about their experience of being in the music industry, as artists, producers, managers and people in leadership positions. The interviews celebrates and shines a light on the careers of the interviewees, as well as discussing topics such as sexism, misogyny, bullying, racism and discrimination in the music industry. The season was launched at an event which took place at the House of Commons in collaboration with policymakers and the music industry.

The first episodes of the season were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The project was funded by the Brunel Univeristy Public Engagement Fund; the Brunel Centre for Law, Economics and Finance; Brunel Public Policy; and Musiio at Soundcloud. The event was also supported by the Ivor's Academy and the Featured Artist Coalition.

Podcast interview guests include:

  • Naomi Pohl, Musicians Union
  • Michelle Escoffery, PRS for Music
  • Sarah Woods, Help Musicians
  • Helen Choudhury, Music Publishers Association
  • Charisse Beaumont - Black Lives in Music
  • Stephanie Haughton-Campbell, UK Music
  • Hazel Savage, Musiio at SoundCloud
  • Grace Meadows, Music for Dementia
  • Vick Bain, The F List
  • Olga FitzRoy, Engingeer
  • Nadia Khan, Manager
  • Artists - Brix Smith, Katie Wassel, Imogen Heap, Cari Quoyeser, Chess Galea, Dyvr Cleaver

The research aimed to hold space for and encourage conversations around sexism, misogyny, bullying, racism and discrimination in the music industry. It also aimed to celebrate and shine a light on successful women in music and the music indsutry.

The event launch the season and brought together over 100 women in music to the House of Commons. There were live music performances, a panel hosted by myself and networking drinks.

Publications/outputs

Podcast season 3 - Whose Song is it Anyway? https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whosesongisitanyway


Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Dr Hayleigh Bosher
Dr Hayleigh Bosher - Hayleigh is a Reader in Intellectual Property Law and Associate Dean (Professional Development and Graduate Outcomes) at Brunel University London, as well as, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Intellectual Property, Policy and Management, a legal consultant in the creative industries, an advisor for the independent UK charity for professional musicians, Help Musicians and sits on the advisory board of We Are The UnHeard, a social enterprise striving for inclusivity in the music industry. Hayleigh was awarded the British Academy Researcher-led Innovation Fellowships 2023-24 for her project 'The Future of the UK Music Industry: Exploring Policy and Practice,' in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Hayleigh is well-recognised in the field of intellectual property law, in particular copyright law and the creative industries, and has attained an international reputation in the field of music copyright in particular. Her work in this area has been cited extensively in academic, practitioner and policy outputs and she is regularly interviewed by numerous national and international media outlets, including the BBC, ITV, Sky News, Channel 5 News and The Guardian, The Times and The Wall Street Journal. Hayleigh researches in the area of copyright and related laws in the creative industries, particularly in context of music, social media, and artificial intelligence and related technologies. Her research always involves public, policy and industry engagement, with an emphasis on helping creators understand their rights whilst at the same time ensuring that those rights are fairly balanced and adequately supported by law. As such, she is widely published in academic peer-reviewed journals, in the press, and has responded to a number of policy inquiries at international and national level. Her recent book; Copyright in the Music Industry, is accompanied with a playlist and podcast which she produces and co-hosts with Jules O'Riordan (AKA Judge Jules). She appeared before the DCMS Select Committee in relation to their Inquiry on the Economics of Music Streaming, the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee for their Inquiry on the Governance of Artificial Intelligence and the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee on Large Language Models. Hayleigh is a member of the UK Intellectual Property Office Research Experts Advisory Group, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence: Social and Digital Innovation, and the Research Centre for Law, Economics and Finance at Brunel. Hayleigh joined Brunel in 2018, having previously held positions at Coventry University, The University of the Arts London and the Academy of Digital Entertainment, Breda University (Netherlands). 

Related Research Group(s)

corporate buildings

Law, Economics and Finance - The Centre for Law, Economics and Finance aims to advance the wider societal impact of our research by engaging with policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholder.


Partnering with confidence

Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.


Project last modified 14/11/2023