Kate Nash has spoken about her plans to run girls-only rock schools around the country.
The rise in British female talent needs to be celebrated. Adele is a transatlantic number one, while La Roux, Florence & The Machine and more have stormed the charts. However according to official figures relatively few women get involved in the music industry.
As a means to counter this, Kate Nash has announced plans to open a rock school for girls. The female-only events are designed to provide an introduction to making original music, and will open later this year.
Speaking to The Guardian, Kate Nash explained: “All last year when my second album came out, I kept being asked about how there were so many young women pop stars, but there was always an assumption that they didn’t write their stuff, even though I always have done.”
“The fact is, only 14% of songwriters who receive money from the PRS are women. And that makes me feel really sad, and really angry and really insecure; that there are so few women being creative in a way that has made me so happy. So I thought I’d do something about it.”
All of which has led to the Kate Nash Rock ‘N Roll for Girls After School Music Club. The British singer admits a debt to Bikini Kill musician Kathleen Hanna, who runs similar schemes in Portland.
Continuing, Kate Nash explained that her own rise to fame was far from easy. “I’ve met so many young women who are interested in being involved in music and I think, ‘Why are you not actually doing it?'” she said. “And I hope that if I tell my story, about the setbacks I had, they might not be afraid. I was turned down by every university, I didn’t feel like I was allowed to be a songwriter. I thought I had to be a really intelligent lyricist, like a poet.”
The Kate Nash Rock ‘N Roll for Girls After School Music Club is set to launch later this year. For more details email: [email protected]