New Research Shows 98% Of Female Artists Suffer From Performance Anxiety

Pirate Studios conducted a survey that discovered that female musicians were 28 percent more likely than their male counterparts to have performance anxiety – and that many of them listed their gender as a contributing factor to their feelings of nervousness.

According to one female DJ, the perceived need to “compete” with male performers is what causes them to experience increased levels of performance anxiety. Another claims that merely being the only female in a group of men makes them feel uncomfortable.

The women who responded to the study all mentioned the same common factors for performance anxiety as the men who responded to the survey, including fear of unpleasant crowds, apprehension about unwelcoming locations, and concern about technological challenges.

Women, on the other hand, have stated that their gender is an example of this, with 60 percent of them believing they do not have access to help.

Several women expressed their concerns about performing on stage on the Pirate Studios blog: “Being on stage is an extremely exposing and vulnerable place to be, especially if you are atypical in any way (and for live musicians, this can simply mean not portraying yourself as a cis white straight man).”

Female respondents provided suggestions for areas that they believe the music industry can do to be more inclusive and to close the anxiety gap as part of a poll conducted by the RIAA. There are several aspects to this, including more varied line-ups, more safe venues for artists, as well as drug and alcohol policies and protocols.

For a discussion of these proposed changes, Pirate Studios will conduct an online panel on March 30 at 7 p.m. (GMT) with Vanessa Maria and TYSON, which will be broadcast live. For additional information on the ‘Break The Bias Panel,’ please see their website, which may be found here.