Let’s hear it for the girl. A NAMM Gallup survey revealed 51 percent of all musicians playing music are females. Although we don’t have any statistics showing what percentage of percussionists are female, anecdotal evidence supports the fact that more females now play drums than ever before. Therefore, that means more females are perhaps buying drum products in your stores. To further promote female percussion, the Percussion Marketing Council (PMC) is launching its “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” campaign as part of International Drum Month in November. “Even in the industrywide advertising, the theme, attitude, and perception is always geared toward drummers who are guys, and the guys get the girls,” wrote Karl Dustman, PMC’s co-executive director. “The PMC’s perspective is to change that equation and make the girls a target of the marketing focus that will make the drumming experience enjoyable—not intimidating—fun, and provide a life experience that is unequalled by any other form of musical or artistic expression.”
But whether advertising primarily is geared toward guys or not, females are still playing percussion products. Just ask Christine Stevens, who facilitates drum circles and is a consultant for Roland, Yamaha, Remo, and NAMM. She has seen a rising female percussion trend firsthand. “One reason for this growth is Vicki Randle, the drummer on ‘The Tonight Show,’” said Stevens. “There are also other reasons, including a Web site called Another Woman on Drums. There’s Melissa Disney, who does famous voiceovers and is a singer/songwriter. She’s a big advocate of drumming.
“But, secondly, I see it with drum circles and Recreational Music Making (RMM),” she added. “What I see is about 70 percent females and 30 percent males attending drum circles. And when we look at drum classes—I’ve been talking to facilitators and African drum teachers—the results are the same as far as how many women attend. When it comes to hand percussion and learning ethnic percussion instruments, women are dominating classes and drum circles.”
But why are women dominating classes and drum circles? “I think there’s a need for women to have something healthy and spiritual,” said Stevens. “Women are ‘connectors,’ they are more motivated by social activities. That along with [female celebrities] molds very well with drumming. We’ve been branding RMM to be about health and stress reduction. That’s what’s really attracting women to this.”.
( continued, next page >> )
[ pages: 1 - 2 - 3 ]
|
you can download this entire issue here >>