5 music labels founded and/or run by women

It’s no secret the music industry has been largely run by men since it started. However, there have been a handful of women who have taken different paths to leading individual record labels and putting their fingerprints on careers, genres, or opportunities.

Some follow the “creative” path, starting as a singer or player. Others some from the business side, showing their acumen for commerce.

For me, the list of people below cannot be put in any kind of ranked order, so I opted for alphabetical. Each of these women are or were trailblazers in their own, unique ways. If you don’t know about some or all of them, take a deeper dive on your own to learn more.

Estelle Axton

She was a bank secretary in the late 1950s when her brother, Jim Stewart, asked her to help him run a record company he was starting. That company later became the hugely influential Stax Records, taking the ‘st’ from Stewart and the ‘ax’ from Axton to create the name. Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MGs, Rufus Thomas, and so many other Memphis artists and bands called Stax home. And to help build the Memphis music community, Estelle began the Memphis Songwriters Association and Memphis Music Association.

Phoebe Bridgers

Continuing the tradition begun by some of the other women on this list, Phoebe Bridgers (boygenius) took the word “satisfactory” and turned it into the name of her label, Saddest Factory Records. Her goal is to promote undiscovered artists from all genres, focusing on independent and non-conforming musicians – one of them being jasmine.4.t.

Suzanne DePasse

She began as an assistant to Motown Records founder Barry Gordy, creating the clothes the Jackson 5 wore on tour. When Motown was sold, she took her share and again partnered with Gordy in the 1980s to help Motown move to television with specials like Motown 25. Then last year (2024) she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a non-performer category.

Ani DiFranco

While in her teens, Ani knew she was not a “corporate record label”-kinda musician. So she began Righteous Babe Records, self-releasing her debut at age 20. Her touring and talent have brought her many fans and playing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert for the Woody Guthrie Archives. And Righteous Babe got to release an album of the show with Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, Indigo Girls, and Dave Pirner, among others.

Sylvia Robinson

You can thank Sylvia Robinson for the songs “Rappers Delight” by Sugarhill Gang and “The Message” from Grandmaster Flash. That’s because she was the founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records and she also produced both those songs. Robinson began her music career as half of the singing duo Mickey & Sylvia in the late ’50s. then moved to management and producing in the ’60s. Oh and that’s her playing guitar on Ike & Tina’s “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine.”

Related: Meet Sylvia Robinson, the ‘mother of hip-hop’