Rock music's not for girls

[msrisotto]

So, I found out that my preferred radio station (after Kerrang shut down) is relaunching and rebranding to provide: "the first truly male-focused, fully national music and entertainment brand for 25-44 year olds".

It promises the "best fresh rock and guitar-based music", and will launch with Moyles at 6.30am on Monday, September 21.
Article here

Is this real life trolling?

Girls can't listen to rock music? Chris Moyles back on the radio? "Great Britain needs great banter"?

I actually felt a bit gutted, silly though it may seem. It's just so stupid but I like my guitar based music and don't need a bunch of boys pushing me out. It just made my day that little bit worse.

talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face by deliberately isolating 50% of your possible audience! Presumably men who like rock music would listen to it anyway, regardless of it being explicitly targeted towards them (and what does that even mean, anyway, in practice?)

It does appear that rock/indie music in particular is very sexist compared with more populist genres, e.g in the pop charts, for every One Direction or Ed Sheeran you have a Little Mix or Taylor Swift...but rock is just so male dominated. I remember last year or so when there were diagrams going round showing how only 2% or something of all the headliners at the main festivals were women and the comments were utterly ridiculous

Has it always been this bad or was it marginally better in the britpop days with the likes of Sleeper, Garbage etc? Folk music seems pretty good at attracting women musicians.

Its always been bad but I think it did improve, but has slipped back. I think all this business of market segmentation which has driven pink and blue throughout everything is to blame.

Its now proved so successful as a way to market in other areas and to increase sales that its being used here.

I do feel that this is what and why Ofcom should be used for.

Bloody marketing is killing creativity. And I say that as someone who works in marketing! It's so depressing. I can only imagine how it feels as an artist.

Sorry just realised this is the thread in feminist chat and my comments are just general depressiin about the music industry! Apologies.

No need to apologise mewkins, I won't kick you out

Thanks! If it's any help I am a lurker in feminist chat and am very much a feminist in my outlook!

Here, they do all sorts of designs, you'd just have to ask for rock music.
www.zazzle.co.uk/girls_cant_what_tees-235274295517160276

In my late teens/early twenties I liked hardcore punk (still do really) and used to go to shows most weekends. This thread reminded me of an awesome fellow fan who interviewed me for her dissertation on the straight edge movement and sexism in hardcore. At shows (back then at least, but I bet it hasn't changed much) women were there not to enjoy the music but to stand around looking pretty while holding their boyfriends backpack so he could go in the circle pit. She never did send it to me; I'd have found it a fascinating read!

found the article about marketing to actively exclude females as a deliberate strategy

So apparently the first thing that Chris Moyles did on Radio X this morning was turn around and say

"If you've read about Radio X being a radio station being for men only, that is rubbish. Nobody agrees with this except for the one person who put it in the press release." Before insisting that Radio X is "not a radio version of a Yorkie bar".

So do we think the marketing has worked (in that it was a headline seeking thing) or is that a massive backtrack as they have realised they have pissed a lot of people off?

As for the music, it was 30 minutes of chat before he played the first record - Love Machine by Girls Aloud to dispel the fact Radio X is aimed just at men.

Well as a woman I hate Love Machine, and I don't quite get how that proves anything other than Radio X is going to play shite music I don't like and indeed suggests that I would like Girls Aloud when I'd rather poke my own eyes out than buy a Girls Aloud record.

I love Girls Aloud

It sounds like a two fingers up at valid criticism. Kind of like this

Love machine? Wow, okay, it really is bye bye xfm. I'd rather shoot myself in the head than listen to that.

I thought it got better after moyles finished (by better I mean more music).

Massive backtracking I reckon, I doubt only one person saw the press release before it was sent out.

As a man I love love machine

I look at the crap CDs being advertised for mothers day, and want the fathers day ones

Music is for everyone.

Music is for everyone.

Chris Moyles agrees: www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/chris-moyles-radio-x-is-for-male-female-gay-straight-black-white/