In the first article of (remastered) we shed a light on DJ Minx and her female DJ collective; Women on Wax. But what are these collectives and why are they important in the electronic dance music scene? In this week’s (remastered) article we will be delving into the importance of these collectives and why they are an essential part of upholding women and their careers in the live music community.

Earlier this week, we looked into the top five household name house DJs. Something that occurred to me while researching this list was the vast majority of male-only lists. When looking up the most famous (house) DJs, female DJs take a seat on the backburner for most of the curated lists made by music journalists based on exposure and overall streams. A lot of articles are set on addressing this issue by mentioning it in writing, but none make the effort to tackle it directly and look into why this difference in perception exists. Female DJs themselves have taken action to directly address and improve their position within this problem for decades through a music union.

Female DJs in the industry

You may know of a few local female DJs, but overall, they are underrepresented. CareerExplorer states that a mere 32% of DJs is female, with the average female DJ playing 23 gigs per year as opposed to male DJs who played about 13 in 2023. This shows the sheer determination of women to put themselves on the map in this male-dominated field, but also how they struggle to break through the mainstream, despite the average female DJs putting herself out there almost twice as much than the average male DJ. Statistics even indicate that women earn 102% as much as male DJs in local communities.

The highest paid female DJ at $300 million a year is surprisingly Paris Hilton, who is not famous for her DJing skills and is viewed as a novelty act within the DJ community. Whilst other female DJs struggle to put their name out there, the industry would rather focus on a woman who is more renowned for her reputation than for her music to seek female representation on the big DJ stages of the world.

Paris Hilton DJing

Though there is much to say about the way Paris Hilton is treated by her fellow DJs, its abundantly clear that this does not set a good president for other female DJs looking to make it big in the community. Hilton’s reputation as a novelty act perhaps being symbolic of the overall view of female DJs in the highest ranks of the live music industry, leading them to take action in the shape of female-only collectives.

What are DJ collectives

DJ collectives are groups of DJs, often united by location or a marginalized identity, looking to expand their reach. These DJs come together to support one another and gather general exposure for their work in an industry that favors giving a platform to pre-established names and white male DJs. Generally, people within these collectives make music together and look to implement change within the industry they love through their work. Considering the position of female DJs in their workforce, it only seems natural that female DJs from all over the world have started uniting to get their work out there together.

Women on Wax Recordings
Women on Wax Recordings logo

Back in December of 1996, DJ Minx founded Women on Wax (Recordings) to form a union between the female DJs working in the Detroit area. Through this collective, she connected with several promoters across the country to ensure the women within the collective got adequate attention and gigs to sustain themselves in a scene where men are generally favored. This made them stand out at the time of formation due to the "unfriendly" and unaccepting nature of the area at the time. This may not seem exceptional to us now, but DJ collectives that consciously boost minority groups have only recently seen a big surge in formation, making the formation of Women on Wax all the more impressive.

Female DJ collectives have helped boost the reputation and exposure of local female DJs, the mainstream live music industry has yet to follow suit. Through uniting women and making people aware of the lack of support they receive on the big stages, these collectives, and the support these women provide one another, may be the key to giving these women the stages they deserve.

Want to check out some female DJs from all around the world after reading this article? Check out this Spotify playlist here!

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