"We showed the industry that female artists could attract the same audiences as the big male stars"

Sarah McLachlan’s statement reflects a turning point in the music industry, especially regarding the visibility and acceptance of female artists. By declaring that female performers are capable of drawing the same crowds as their male counterparts, she underscores both a longstanding assumption in the business and her own efforts to challenge it. For a significant period, the music and entertainment sectors undervalued women artists, often reserving their largest marketing budgets, headlining spots, and festival bookings for male acts. The underlying belief was that men were the main draw, able to command greater ticket sales and fan devotion.

Sarah McLachlan, as founder of Lilith Fair, a trailblazing all-female music festival that debuted in the late 1990s, directly confronted these norms. By organizing and headlining events filled entirely with female and female-fronted acts, she provided empirical evidence that audiences were not only open to, but enthusiastic about, attending shows where women were front and center. Ticket sales, media coverage, and cultural momentum proved that these artists could fill venues and sell records on a par with so-called “big male stars.”

McLachlan’s statement highlights not only her own success, but the collective achievements of a diverse group of women performers. Their ability to attract large, devoted crowds demonstrated that the barriers placed before them were artificial, a product of industry bias rather than any lack of talent or marketability. This realization, made visible through sold-out shows and fervent fans, helped encourage record labels, promoters, and media outlets to reconsider and expand their support for women in music.

By breaking these ceilings, McLachlan and her peers opened doors for the next generation of female artists, ensuring that the question was no longer whether women could equal men in audience appeal, but how to build an industry that represents and celebrates talent without regard to gender.