Hannah Charman, founder of Sister Music, took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about the women owned music agency. The multi award winning company specialises in music supervision, licensing, custom song-writing, music production, sonic branding/strategy, voice production and brand partnerships for all media.

Having worked in TV production Charman decided that music was where she was meant to be. After taking internships at music publishers and completing courses on music business she landed her first job at Sony Records. 

Historically the gender divide amongst composers creating music for media has been heavily weighted towards men and she wanted to change this. “We wanted to make a space where women and gender minorities could really thrive and feel supported. We are lucky in what we do that we can create real opportunities for the underrepresented talent in the music space – because they really are phenomenal! We always have creativity at the forefront of our collaborations and believe that championing diverse talent choices not only helps pave the way for a more equitable industry but also pushes creative boundaries leading to more exciting award worthy work.”

Charman and her team have recently finished working on the new Microsoft game ‘As Dusk Falls’. “We are so excited that now we can discuss the music we worked on for the game. This was our first foray into the gaming world, and it was a huge opportunity. We were so lucky to be trusted with our creative instincts and really let loose on developing the score, procuring the commercial music and commissioning the talent. It really makes a difference when a client comes to you as an expert in your field and lets you have a say creatively as to what makes it into the final product. Gives you the warm fuzzies. Also, the game itself is a real masterpiece and we can’t believe we were a part of such a triumphant project.”

“From experience, every project wants to sound unique and have its own audio world that is recognisable to it. This is impossible if you are consistently working with the same musicians, every composer has their own flare. You wouldn’t hire the same actor for every film. There will be a composer out there who really aligns with the messaging in a communication, could be more authentic to your audience voices or just has something new and exciting that no one has heard before. This is ultimately what anyone would want for their project and we aim to deliver that. Pushing both underrepresented and authentic voices not only paves the way for equality but gives a project a fresh spin!”

Much of the agency’s job is scouring the globe for underrepresented talent. “It would be very easy for us to use the same handful of composers but the real excitement and something we love is finding new people with unique skills and a passion for their craft that we can help source commercial opportunities for. We also showcase this talent via collaborative album releases on our label and posts on our social media platforms to prove that the talent is out there, it’s just not getting the spotlight it deserves. Client side, we also always aim to inform the on the current disparity in this space through analysing and sharing statistics and pushing them to make informed and diverse choices when selecting their partners and suppliers.”

Why does Charman think women in engineering and production remains stagnant? “I think it is all about representation coming from the top. If more young girls who have a slight interest in the engineering and production side of the industry see more women being championed for creative work, paving the way and shouting about it, then they will feel encouraged to follow in their footsteps. Commissioners of music need to be giving these opportunities to a more diverse collection of people in order for their talent to shine and for them to inspire the next wave of amazing women to feel confident putting themselves into these environments.”

So what needs to change in the industry to get it to a more level playing field for women and diverse groups? “It needs to come from the top. We need more women in executive high power positions throughout the industry. We need every client engaging with music suppliers to really think about if they are looking at a diverse cross section of composers. The younger generation need to see more women and diverse groups winning and in order to that they need the opportunities to show what they can do.”

www.sistermusic.co.uk