Change The Beat (formerly 23by23) is a not-for-profit (NFP) founded by Canadian DJ and producer Sydney Blu, was created with the help of Native Instruments and partnered with Beatport. Its aim is to assist record labels in discovering and signing women, trans, and non-binary producers to help foster a supportive and inclusive community, helping amplify diverse voices in the dance/electronic community through access to music programming, creative mentorship, and facilities for emerging artists.
The campaign is a call to action for all record labels in electronic music, regardless of size and stature, to help boost the percentage of women, trans and non-binary artists signed and discovered by various dance music imprints.
On Wednesday 20 March they will be hosting their inaugural Miami Music Week event, launching a series of events around the world this year with some of the biggest female artists in the electronic music industry.
The main event runs 6pm-2am and features some of the most prominent figures in the dance industry. In addition to the main party, from 5-6pm they will be hosting a free workshop with some of our headliners to discuss building your career in the music industry which will concentrate on guiding emerging artists through the necessary steps to transition into touring artists.
Ahead of the event and with a remix competition with Mau5trap recently announced, we thought it was about time we caught up with Sydney to find out what 2024 has in store for the initiative.
What inspired you to found Change the Beat, and how does it reflect your vision for the electronic music industry?
Back in 2021, Beatport asked me to talk about something in the industry I found to still be unequal for a video on International Women’s Day. I decided to do a video about the lack of equality on dance record labels. I found it really odd that everyone was talking about equalizing DJ lineups and not talking about how less than 5% of people signed to record labels were women. From there I decided to start a campaign called 23by23 and after 2 years we’ve become Change the Beat.
With Change the Beat focusing on supporting women, trans, and non-binary artists, what challenges have you faced in promoting diversity within the dance music community?
A lot of people say ‘it should be about the music, not your gender’ …I think they are right! The music should come first. But if you go to an event and it’s all males Djing or there are zero women signed to a record label I think this is an outdated way of being for the industry. There are a lot of reasons why women have felt unsafe or unwelcome in male-dominated situations and Change the Beat provides a safe place for women to get involved in music production and we partner with historically male-dominated labels to help them discover more women and equalize.
How has partnering with organizations like Native Instruments and Beatport influenced the impact of Change the Beat?
Native Instruments has partnered with us since day one and we are so grateful for their support. They provide massive prizes to all the women who win our contests. Beatport supports us in many ways and they helped fund us with a grant last year. This allowed us to pay our staff and launch our events by hiring an event booker.
As the founder of Change the Beat and a celebrated artist signed to Drumcode and HE.SHE.THEY, what advice would you give to emerging artists aiming to break into the electronic music scene?
Make music. That is one of the most important keys for any artist. It’s a long road so get used to making a lot of music. Also networking in person and online (social media) is important…whether you like it or not!
The Change the Beat free workshop focuses on transitioning artists into touring professionals. What key topics will be covered, and why are these important?
We will be discussing the key things it takes to cross over into a touring artist. Like at what point do you have to get to to become a touring artist or when will an agent or manager sign you? This all has to do with a certain ‘Tipping point’ when key people are noticing you and talking about you. This usually is also when you have multiple records signed to one or more Alist dance labels
With the inaugural Miami Music Week event set to launch a series of global events, what are your aspirations for Change the Beat in 2024 and beyond?
This year we have launched our events and will be touring the event all over the world. Our next stops are Ibiza and then Dubai. We’ll be doing this everywhere and I’m so excited about our shows. It’s also really important to bring the educational aspect to our organization as we go so I’m also really excited about helping as many new aspiring artists as possible.
The lineup for the Miami Music Week event features a remarkable roster of female artists. How did you curate this lineup, and what do you believe these artists bring to the event?
All of these artists have done things in their careers we can take something from to inspire other women. They are signed to various a-list labels, they are vocalists and radio presenters, and we’re so excited to be working with each of them. We curated the lineup with our new booker JoJo Walker who is also the booker for Defected, Glitterbox, and DJ Mag events. She believed in our cause and we were able to bring her on board when we won the Beatport Parity Grant. It’s been great having her work with us because she is a talented booker!
As a pioneer for women in the electronic music industry, how do you perceive the current landscape and future opportunities for female artists?
I think the future is finally bright. When I started only 2% of Djs were women. The percentage is definitely rising every year. Last year’s IMS Business report women made up over 16% of touring artists and it’s continuing to go up. I think we still have a long way to go but the needle is being moved faster than ever.
Can you share the significance of choosing Rosa Sky Miami’s panoramic rooftop for the Miami Music Week event?
Rosa Sky normally books female Djs so they were the perfect venue to do this event. Also being in Miami at a beautiful rooftop venue with incredible female acts from all over the world is the perfect setting for a Miami Music Week Party!
How does the collaboration with Label Radar and major labels for remix competitions further the goals of Change the Beat?
Label Radar have also been great to work with because they make it really easy to run the remix contests as they have a great platform. We work with them on all of our remix contests and this is literally what makes us who we are. We have worked with and signed artists to labels like Drumcode, HE.SHE.THEY, Insomniac, Realm Records, Toolroom, Club Sweat, Mau5trap, Circus, Desert Hearts and many more.
Looking back on your career and the establishment of Change the Beat, what has been your proudest moment or achievement so far?
It’s always really special to me to be able to tell new female artists they just got their first big break with a signing. I get to do it 3 times a month now and it feels really good to make someone’s day like that. I just want to make things easier than when I had it. I was one of the first women to have a top ten record on Beatport and nothing came easy for me. I don’t think things should be easy but it doesn’t have to be as tough as it was for me with as many road blocks as I had. Leave it better than you found it. That’s the best motto I think.
For more information on all Change The Beat initiatives and events, head to: https://www.23by23.com
