Promoter and venue giant Live Nation has established an early-stage investment fund focused on female-led live music businesses.

Available to female-led festivals, events and promotion companies on a worldwide basis, the Women Nation Fund will provide access to the company’s resources and capital. It will offer strategic advisory, industry contacts and mentorship across lines of business and functional areas.

Making the announcement today, Live Nation’s President and CEO, Michael Rapino said the fund was created to address gender parity in the live sector.

“As the leader in live entertainment, we want to meaningfully address this issue, change the dynamic and widen the playing field,” Rapino said. “The Women Nation Fund is a first step towards empowering new entrepreneurs and creating more opportunity for women in this sector of the live music business.”

Dr. Stacy Smith, the Founder and Director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California, added:

“Women are underrepresented across the entertainment ecosystem, but we see this particularly in the music industry.  One crucial way to kick-start the effort towards gender parity is to fund female entrepreneurs.

“I applaud Live Nation for their leadership and for committing its resources in a way that can affect real change.”

To be considered for the Fund, entrant businesses must be female-founded and oriented around concert promotion, festivals or live venue management.

Each application will be evaluated by Live Nation female executives, including Anna Sjolund (Co-Managing Director/Head Promoter, Live Nation Sweden), Amy Corbin (Promoter, C3), Virginia Davis (Founder, G Major Management), Amy Howe (COO, Ticketmaster), Lesley Olenik (VP, Touring), Maura Gibson (President, Front Gate Tickets), Kelly Chappel (VP, Touring) and Carrie Davis (Chief Communications Officer).

To apply to the Women Nation Fund, please visit: womennationfund.livenation.com

The article was originally published on The Industry Observer