CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The music industry is apparently hitting a sour note when it comes to women.
A study conducted by faculty at Northwestern University found that despite the success of women like Beyonce and Taylor Swift, females are grossly underrepresented in the music industry.
Looking at thousands of songs released by both men and women over a 40-year period, researchers learned that male singers released more songs and were more likely to land record deals. The study authors analyzed four factors - sonic features, genre, record label affiliation, and collaboration network - to identify the gender of an artist without taking vocal pitch into consideration.
Using the data, they built an algorithm that was able to randomly pick a song and tell with astonishing accuracy (more than 90 percent of cases) whether it was created by a male or female artist.
The study did find one positive for women - the percentage of female artists increased over the 40-year period.
Those behind the study said it speaks to a lack of female representation and role models for young girls.
“This study gives us a chance to reflect on challenges faced by female musicians,” said lead author Agnes Horvat, assistant professor in the department of communication studies at Northwestern. “Ideally, someday we’ll define a ‘female way’ of producing music that could help women advance better in this industry and support a broader range of talent in the global music scene.”