Leveling The Playing Field: A Conversation With Gable Music Ventures CEO and Ladybug Music Festival Founder Gayle Dillman
It’s no secret that the music industry has been male dominated both behind the scenes and on stage for decades. Women have been used for their beauty, talent, and attention to line the pockets of industry heads while often given bad deals and receive mere scraps of the fortunes they help to create. As a new dawn in the music industry and artists like Taylor Swift and Kesha raise their voices to stand up to major labels, more music industry workers have opened their eyes and are creating positive change and opportunities for women in music.
Amongst these trail blazers is Delaware’s own Gayle Dillman. As owner and CEO of one of the state's largest event companies, Gable Music Ventures, Gayle saw an opportunity for the women artists in her region and beyond. In 2012 she co-created Ladybug Music Festival, the country's largest female centered music festival. Over 10 years later the festival is still bringing thousands of music fans together to celebrate women in music. We sat down with Gayle to discuss the ins and outs of running such a large event and the importance of continuing to champion for women, girls, and female identity artists.
(Gayle Dillman; photo credit Moonloop Photography)
"Our event provides a platform for showcasing the immense talent of female musicians while aiding their journey within the music industry..”
- Gayle Dillman
Name: Gayle Dillman
Title: CEO
Current City: Wilmington, DE
What inspired you to create a women centered music festival?
Supporting Original Music! Music serves as a potent tool for self-expression, connection, and transcending barriers. Our event provides a platform for showcasing the immense talent of female musicians while aiding their journey within the music industry. That’s the SM description but there is another side. When I started in the music industry, it became apparent that women needed to work harder to achieve a level of success. Offering a level field was something that I knew I could do and should do.
What has one of your biggest challenges in producing this festival year after year been? What do you do to overcome each year?
The biggest challenge we face every year is to keep this festival free, so MONEY. Everyone must be paid if we are to continue to value the arts and the creative economy, festivals are expensive to produce. Finding new sponsors every year is a challenge
Some of the strategies: Developing advocates in the City and the business community is an active process to help secure the future of keeping ladybug Free! As well as working to capture the economic impact of bringing an event like Ladybug to the city.
How do you approach artist selection and curation? What factors do you consider when choosing the lineup for your festival?
First, every artist that submits is listened to and looked at. This is why it is so important to choose what we see carefully. When we are reviewing submissions, if a video is grainy or the sound is not great, it may negatively impact our choice. So remember that is what we see and that is what we use to decide.
We look for genre diversity and want to celebrate as much musical diversity as possible while choosing the best talent available. Stage size in the literal sense affects our decision too, meaning, some stages only fit smaller duos/solo artists, and some can fit full bands, so we must take that into consideration in filling in the ‘3D puzzle’ that is the schedule.
“I wish people understood that every artist is a small business.”
-Gayle Dillman
What is something you wish music fans knew about live music that you think would grow their appreciation for music and festivals?
I wish people understood that every artist is a small business, each has worked to create their music. Many times artists have been at this for years, it didn’t happen overnight, it is the product of many hours of work. You hear and see 45 min, that artists may have spent 10 years getting there. Enjoy it, savor it. Festivals are a collaborative effort of many, musicians, event planners, production to name a few. We come together to create an experience, not just a bunch of songs.
What impact do you think inclusive festivals like Ladybug Music Festival, will have on music fans, artists, and society at large?
We are changing the narrative, showing that women can bring the crowds together, can fill a complete line up. Everytime we have a festival, we shift how people view women in the music industry. We demonstrate the power of music in bringing communities together. The overall health of any community is dependent on not just having a lot of businesses, but a complete ecosystem that nurtures and creates art for all.
What can people expect from The Ladybug Music Festival in the future?
Ideally, we are looking to bring ladybug back to 2019 levels, 2 days. Additionally, we are actively looking for a 3rd home for the festival. This is a process that takes a lot of time, we are hopeful that 2024 we will bring these enhancements.
Find Gayle amongst the many music lovers supporting women in music at The Ladybug Music Festival in Milford, Delaware on Saturday September 30th, from 4-9pm.
