Women have always been integral to popular music's development, yet were often overlooked.
The new anthology, How Women Made Music, explores the historical underrepresentation of women in music. The book is a collection of contributions from women involved in all facets of music, from public radio hosts and music critics to musicians like Margo Price — all writing about other women who have made a major impact in the industry.
With sections like "Tradition Bearers and Breakers" and "Shape Shifters," the book is organized into categories by thematic content rather than chronologically. Key figures like Bessie Smith and Dolly Parton are mentioned throughout the book as foundational artists who have shaped the music landscape.
NPR music critic Ann Powers is one of the book's contributors, and she said the anthology is not meant to ignore the importance of male musicians.
"This is no shade on Northern Minnesota's greatest son, Robert Zimmerman. But you can tell the story of the folk revival, of the rock era, of every era that Bob Dylan has lived through. And you can make Bob Dylan a footnote instead of making Judy Collins a footnote," Powers said in an interview for KAXE's New Music.
How Women Made Music aims to celebrate and acknowledge women's contributions to music history while challenging the established narratives that have often sidelined them.
Fensterstock and Powers discussed the importance of including diverse voices in music journalism and the changes they've seen in the industry over time, stressing that increased representation leads to meaningful change.
"I've come to believe after many years of thinking about this issue as a feminist, that really the only way to make meaningful change is numbers," Powers said. "You just have to have more women and more queer people. More people of color, more nonbinary and trans people in the room. That is how changes happens and we hope this book kind of is a living testament to that."
