Student Org Spotlight: Women in the Music Industry
Women in the Music Industry (WIMI) is a student-run organization for aspiring music industry professionals. WIMI aims to establish career-building skills and lifelong relationships by leading industry women through mentoring sessions, workshops and live showcases. We welcome all who identify as female, including genderqueer women, trans women and non-binary people.
The music industry has been a notoriously male-dominated area. Most music produced, distributed and listened to is created and recorded by men. Our goal is to give women and non-male identifying people a way to connect and network by creating a platform where they can feel empowered.
Mentorship
Mentor sessions with successful industry professionals are held throughout the year. Mentors spend their sessions with us explaining their story, giving advice and suggesting ways we can stand out in such a competitive industry. Mentors including LJ Malberg, Hannah Gold and Erin Tonkon have shared their stories and knowledge with hopes of empowering the next generation. The mentoring sessions also give WIMI members the ability to learn about ourselves and our own personal goals. Participating in the sessions allows us to see where our strengths lie and how we can better prepare ourselves for the future. The mentors also share their email addresses and contact information with us so that we can network and maintain relationships that may help us land internships or even jobs after graduation.
Professional development workshops
We also provide and explore professional development by hosting workshops to help our members learn about and improve cover letters, resumes, Linked-In profiles and elevator pitches. The executive board uses their own personal experiences, as well as resources such as the Ohio University Women’s Center and CLDC, to provide insightful advice and feedback to help our members establish themselves as professionals.
Events and showcases
WIMI also works alongside Ohio University’s annual Music Industry Summit where we sponsor and volunteer our time to welcome music industry professionals from around the country to campus. This is a crowd favorite, and it truly gives us hands-on experience working an event of this capacity and interacting with many incredible professionals. In addition to the summit, WIMI hosts an annual fundraising event at Donkey Coffee. The showcase provides women musicians with a platform to share their talent with the Athens community. A very exciting program that WIMI is integrating as an annual event on campus this January is a special Backstage Showcase at Memorial Auditorium in partnership with Ohio University Performing Arts. More details and information will be announced soon.
Our goal with WIMI’s events, showcases and sessions is to open the world to aspiring music industry professionals and provide a safe space to learn and grow with a community of people who share similar dreams and goals