Three years ago when student Miami Golde noticed that most prominent media companies were created by cis white men, she realized that she had to do something about it. There was a lack of a space created just for women within the industry.
So, this March, only two years out of college, Miami launched the digital publication Féminin Rör, which in Swedish means “Feminine Touch.”
I had the opportunity to talk to Miami in May to learn about why she created her publication and the music industry’s overall need for better female representation.
One of the first things we spoke about together was the sexism within the industry. Miami said, “If you look at [male-owned media companies] articles when they write about women, they’re all written by men. How can you talk about our experiences when you’re not experiencing what we’re going through?”
Miami was further inspired to start Féminin Rör after working for Diddy’s Revolt Summit two years ago. The Revolt Summit annually brings together Black and Brown people to “empower and inspire the next generation of leaders” in a variety of industries including entertainment, activism, and business. She learned that despite Diddy being the face of Revolt, all of his companies were led by Black women behind the scenes.
“I was like wow, I have to start my own company, I can’t just leave it as an idea. I want to actually bring this to life.”
Living in the DC area, Miami spoke about how there weren’t many opportunities to get involved in the music industry. “Not everyone can afford to go to New York for an internship, so why not create an opportunity for people to still get connections in the music industry while working in their home states and countries? Some of my interns work in Mexico, they still get to have that industry network.”
“It all goes back to representation and trying to level the playing field for everyone,” she stated.
Since March, Féminin Rör has given their paid interns the opportunity to interview numerous women in the music industry, ranging from Nicole Barsalona who is the founder of the nonprofit organization Women in Music, to Grammy-nominated recording engineer Mary Mazurek.
One of Miami’s favorite interviews she’s done was with Suzanne Rogers, who was Prince’s recording engineer.
Though Féminin Rör isn’t focused solely on Black women, Miami highlighted the importance of being a Black female owned organization during my interview with her. “It’s very important to me that I started to bringing on more Black women, because I noticed when I put out hiring ads, no Black people would apply. There aren’t that many Black women in our field.” Representation matters behind the scenes, and Miami emphasized that she hopes to encourage more Black women to become interested in writing about and creating music.
There’s still so much of a need for female voices in the music industry, especially at the executive level as CEOs or COOs. “You want [women] to be your muse, no, we want to be the decision makers. That shift needs to happen.”
Féminin Rör is just getting started. Miami and her team have plenty of plans for the upcoming months and years, especially her goal to go beyond a publication and continue to educate people through monthly workshops. Miami also wants to create a formal mentorship program to give women access to more solid connections within the industry.
When I asked Miami for some lasting advice to Black women who want to get started in the industry, or more broadly start their own organizations, she answered without hesitation. “Don’t wait on anyone to start your own thing. Don’t doubt yourself either– and always know your worth,” she said.
Dear Dark Skinned Girl 