After eight years of serving as the music festival industry’s watchdog for gender parity, Book More Women has announced its official relaunch as a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, while actively pursuing its own 501(c)(3) status. The strategic shift marks a move from “awareness to action,” prompted by 2025 data revealing the first decline in festival lineup gender diversity in nearly a decade, and coincides with the organisation’s first crowdfunding campaign.
Since its founding in 2018, Book More Women has analysed over 500 festival lineups, documenting a rise in female and nonbinary representation from 28% to a peak of 40% in 2024 for acts featuring at least one woman or nonbinary musician. However, 2025 year-end data showed a reversal, indicating that awareness campaigns alone are no longer sufficient to address systemic inequities.
Initially a solo, fan-driven project by Executive Director Abbey Carbonneau, Book More Women is now managed by a small team with varied industry experience, including Director of Community Nico Mazzeo and Director of Operations Jess Bumsted. The founding Board of Directors includes Sabrina Beaudoin, Kaïa Kater, Terra Lopez, Brandi Waller-Pace, and Dr. Jada Watson.
“We’ve measured the problem, and carried the conversation,” Carbonneau said. “But it’s clear that the pressure is no longer enough. And we are ready to do more. The inequality we’re seeing doesn’t start or end with festivals. Festival posters make it visible, but gender inequity is an industry-wide systemic issue. We are designing programs to work both within the industry and outside it, to uplift artists now and redesign systems for the long run.”
As part of the relaunch, Book More Women is introducing two major initiatives:
BOOKED: An industry partnership program that provides talent buyers and promoters with data and a platform to set measurable goals for improvement, while highlighting underrepresented artists on festival stages. Lightning in a Bottle has already signed on as the first partner for 2026.
MEASURED: An investigative podcast series hosted by Carmel Holt, exploring how power, access, and decision-making operate in the music industry. The series combines data, statistics, and human stories to expose systemic barriers that prevent marginalised voices from appearing on festival posters.
The relaunch crowdfunding campaign will support production of Season 1 of MEASURED, direct artist opportunities through BOOKED, and the personnel, legal, and digital infrastructure needed to transition Book More Women into a full-scale advocacy and accountability resource for the music community.
For more information, visit:
Website // Fractured Atlas Campaign // Facebook // Instagram // TikTok // LinkedIn // Substack
