Alicia Keys To Start Music Industry Initiative For Female Advancement

During her acceptance speech for the Icon Songwriter honor at the National Music Publishers Association on Wednesday (June 18), Alicia Keys announced a new initiative that will push women artists forward, Variety reports.

Called ‘She Is The Music,’ the idea was birthed by Keys who joined forces with a group of female music powerhouses, including songwriter, execs, and publishers to reshape the industry and create real opportunities for female talent.

“We want to create a model for change that affects women across all industries,” she said. “We deserve the utmost respect, and so many of these women across industries are telling our culture that time is up on double standards, and it’s over for pay inequity and colleagues who are at best disrespectful and at the worst unsafe — so it’s over for that.”

For now, the details beyond that are pretty scarce. She told reporters, “You’ll be hearing about it.”

Elsewhere in Keys’ speech, she spoke about the renaissance of women’s empowerment and how she wants it to permeate throughout the music business.

“It’s a powerful year, it’s an empowering year, and it’s the beginning of so many things,” Keys said. “And many of us in the music world are working more diligently than ever to showcase and support the work of female songwriters, musicians, engineers, and producers.”