BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour have unveiled their top 20 ‘Women In Music Power List’ for 2018 – featuring the likes of Adele, Beyonce, Sia, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and Wolf Alice‘s Ellie Rowsell.

Beyonce tops the list of the music industry’s ‘most influential women’, thanks to her “feminism, activism and empowering musical messages”. Elsewhere, women from throughout the industry and behind the scenes are also celebrated for their dedication and impact.

“It’s a celebration of 40 incredible women but hopefully it doesn’t stop there,” broadcaster and judge Tina Daheley told the BBC. “A lot of the people on the list are coming on to the programme, and I think that’s where the conversation will start.”


Speaking of Beyonce’s top ranking, Daheley continued: “She’s one of those people who’s absolutely in charge of her own destiny and she’s using that platform in a way that makes a difference: empowering black people in America, addressing injustice head-on and championing women.

“It’s not just the lyrics and activism in her music which, you could cynically say, sells music,” she continues. “She puts her money where her mouth is and she’s contributed to Black Lives Matter and the people affected by Hurricane Katrina.”

Check out the full top 20 below:

Beyoncé Taylor Swift Vanessa Reed (PRS for Music) Adele Stacey Tang (MD of RCA Records) Gillian Moore (Director of music at Southbank Centre) Rebecca Allen (President of Decca Records) Marin Alsop Chi-chi Nwanoku Maggie Crowe (Director of events at BPI) Olga Fitzroy Annie Mac Desiree Perez Cardi B Sia Ellie Rowsell (Wolf Alice Sarah Stennett Nicola Benedetti Hattie Collins Dua Lipa

No.16 is @elliecrowsell ? Lead vocalist & ? of @wolfalicemusic ? A self-described ‘female frontman’ she shows women everywhere that you can not only join the boys but lead them too ? #WhoRunTheWorld #Girls #WHPowerList https://t.co/6ds8I1YBtk pic.twitter.com/pkHYOpAiQ5 — BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) September 28, 2018

No.20 is @DUALIPA ? Her ? bangers have sound-tracked our lives since she hit the charts. She was the most streamed woman of 2017 according to @Spotify & became the 1st woman to be nominated for five @BRITs ? We ❤️️ her #newrules #WHPowerList https://t.co/XVsBX1CW7j pic.twitter.com/cWXnoU1Oyy — BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) September 28, 2018


Sarah Stennett, who manages acts like Rita Ora, Ray BLK and Bebe Rexha and came in at Number 17, spoke of how gender is still very much a factor when it comes to advancing in the music industry.

“I never thought consciously of my gender as something that limited me in any way until this year,” she said. “I was just too busy trying to push forward and survive in the cut-throat environment of the male-dominated entertainment business.

“It took an essay my daughter wrote on the effects women face from subconscious patriarchal oppression for me to finally stop and realise that it was that oppression itself which was part of my relentless drive not to fail and which has, in fact, helped me achieve a level of success that has enabled me to be part of this list.

She added: “I hope that any success achieved will help other women close the gap on the gender imbalance of executive roles in business.”