«VI just want to say to women who work in music that sometimes, when you’re in the studio with a group of men, it can be difficult. Never stop listening to each other and fight for your ideas, for your music». These are the words of Lady Gaga on stage Grammys 2026 while he withdrew well two prizes: best vocal pop album and better dance pop recordings. An invitation to expose yourself and take up space.An encouragement to abandon what Michela Murgia he defined «voiceless thought», or thinking without expressing oneself, remaining as silent as possible, because this is what is allowed and appropriate for a woman.
The women in music have arrived, as in many other sectors, elbowing, risking, exposing oneself and often shining brighter than would ever be required of a man. Over time the music industry has changed along with society and today the outlook towards the future is positive, but still limited. After conquering the rankings – Today more and more often also dominated by female artists— the main difficulty is to free oneself from retrograde stereotypes that they continue to consider women in the music of the “wonderful exceptions”. Today it is no longer just a question of presence. It’s a question of power, influence, credibility and possibility.
Singers, authors, producers, DJs, sound engineers, sound technicians and managerial figures they exist in the music industry. The knot remains access to decision-making roles and the possibility to influence really on the dynamics of the sector.Behind the scenes, in fact, the music industry remains profoundly unequal. The path of Giulia Giampietro, country manager Of Altafonte Italyfits perfectly into this scenario. Altafonte And an independent record company born in Madrid In the 2011 as first digital music distributor in Spain. The company entered the Italian market in 2020 and, in the summer of 2022, inaugurated its first headquarters in Milan under the guidance of Giampietro. His professional experience is – and must not be – any more the story of an exceptionbut the concrete demonstration that female leadership in the world of music exists and deserves to be recognized and valued.
Giulia Giampietro, the “trouble” towards music
Before getting to the guide of Altafonte Italy, Giulia Giampietro he faced a long journey, made up of detours, attempts and moments of crisis. She herself defines it bluntly: a “labor”. He attended classical high school, then Bocconi University and then obtained several master’s degrees. The first entry into the job market takes place in the world of business consultancy. A structured, rigorous environment, but profoundly distant from his nature. Whole days of analysis and processes, intense pace, office work: a context that highlights an increasingly evident fracture between what he does and what he is. «I thought it was the company that wasn’t doing well. Then I realized that I wasn’t suited to that type of work». The latest consultancy firm she works for leads her to face one of the most important and difficult moments of rupture in her life: unemployment.
«What we consider failures are opportunities. I learned more from the layoffs”
Giulia Giampietro copes well two dismissals. The hardest comes during Covid: «The worst moment of unemployment of my life. I was really obsessed, if I didn’t solve this thing, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy life». Fear, guilt, uncertainty and isolation. «At a certain point I said enough. I have to do something for myself». This is how he approaches volunteering with the Italian Relief Corps of the Order of Maltatransforming a moment of crisis in an opportunity for growth. «I thought I was helping others, but instead they helped me more. The arrival as a guide to Altafonte arrives shortly after. «To this day I think that if I hadn’t gone through all this ordeal I wouldn’t have gotten here». Behind this resilience there is also a personal story made of empathy, sensitivity and humanity transmitted from the family context: a generous mother, a sister with Down syndrome, a family that taught her to resist and not give up. “It takes motivation, sensitivity and perhaps even the toughness that my parents gave me.” It is precisely in these passages, between falls and restarts, that his story takes shape way of being a leader: authentic, empathetic and built on experience.
Access to the music industry Gender Pay Gap
«The only one who has always been part of my life, who accompanied me in all my emotions, good and bad». Music enters Giulia Giampietro’s life as an extra. At the beginning he writes for one webzineattends concerts, coordinates an editorial team. All without compensation. «I worked to earn money and be able to afford that passion». Giampietro tells it with great clarity: choosing music meant giving up higher salaries and “safer” paths. THE’access to the music sector it often requires unpaid time, personal investment, and a willingness to work for free. A condition that affects women differently. According to research Mu-De women: gender inequalities in the relationship between women, music and moneyconducted by the researcher Alessandra Micalizzi, 61% of women in music perceive they are paid less than men. And not only that: the widespread feeling is that of having to constantly demonstrate that you deserve your own space. «I have to be five times better» is the most recorded cutter among the interviews conducted by the studio.
“If I were a docile person, they would have already eaten me”
Giampietro does not define himself as a «active feminist», but clearly recognizes the existence of sexist dynamics, often subtle, sometimes explicit. When he talks about his career, he doesn’t insist on direct discrimination, but on the energy needed to stay inside the system: «If I were a totally docile person, they would have eaten me already». This is where the data still takes shape. Because that “five times better” is not just about skills, but resistance. According to the study by Women in Music, women often arrive in the music industry through more structured paths – studies, master’s degrees, continuous training – while for many men access remains more informal. The result is a paradox: greater preparation, but less immediate recognition.
Credibility as an invisible obstacle
A fundamental point that determines some of the big differences between men and women within the music industry is the credibility. «While I work I don’t think about the fact that I am a woman – says Giulia Giampietro – But there are times when they remind you. Like when you realize that if a man said the same thing, he would be listened to immediately». It is not a constant barrier, but an intermittent one. Precisely for this reason it is more difficult to recognize and report. It is a dynamic that also influences the way we conceive leadership at work. Giampietro describes his approach as direct, competitive, she herself defines it as almost “masculine”. An automatic association that opens from a broader reflection: how much leadership models still remain linked to male parameters, even when they are adopted by women.
More care and fewer numbers: the culture of the “record boutique”
Despite the risks, the ordeal of the personal journey, and the energy required to exercise leadership, is right there Altafonte that Giampietro finally finds a space in which to fully express herself. Unlike the big majors, Altafonte it is a small recording company that is based on a broader approach sensitive and human. She herself defines it as a «record boutique». A model based on care, attention and close relationships. «Artists are not numbers, but people. We work together and it is important for me to learn what it means to stay even in times of need». According to Giampietro, the risk that other more industrial companies run is that of building fragile careers, based on sudden peaks and difficult to sustain over time. «Talent always has ups and downs. The point is to be there even in moments of down».
A system that changes, slowly
The example of Altafonte proves that when skills are recognized, women come and lead. «Almost all country manager that come to mind here are women». An interesting fact, which in its small way also represents the current picture of the sector: if in the past the objective of women was to enter the system, today the real challenge is to remain there and influence it. «Although today there is undoubtedly much more talk about equality and inclusion than before, our perception is that the change is still mostly symbolic», he claims Equality (association for gender equality in the Italian music industry) ad Alley Oop, the blog of Il Sole 24Ore. There are women, «but they continue to be perceived as few».
