International Women’s Day is here, the perfect time for Israel’s female performers to put their many talents on full display.

Somehow that’s still necessary in 2021, when most Israeli songs are created by men. Only 1/4 of musical productions in Israel are written and performed by women.

But a passionate group of Israeli creatives are ready to turn the tide. A group of five prominent singers – Keren Peles, Doron Talmon (of Jane Bordeaux), Netta Barzilai, Nasreen Qadri, and Eden Derso – are making it clear that women are on the map.

They’re not just there. They’re on the Israeli music scene with a BOOM.

The new song “Boom” is co-produced by Galgalatz Radio and YouTube. It includes an additional video with the inside story behind the new song – highlighting the need for such a project to be created. Be sure to turn on the English subtitles.

The project is accompanied by a social media campaign that will invite users to choose a female Israeli musician that they particularly like. The goal? To flood the internet with the work of women, under hashtag #creating_the_boom.

Keren Peles: “Thank you for the privilege of leading an empowering and important project that puts our Israeli musicians and creativity at the forefront. All the women who contributed their talent to the song, came to the studio with openness and mutual generosity, out of a love of music and a sense of mission to speak. I went through an inspiring experience and I am proud of the result and my amazing friendships in the profession. Boom on you!”

Reversal of a Trend at Galgalatz?

Over the years, Galgalatz has faced criticism over underrepresentation of female artists at the station.

Galgalatz director Nadav Ravid faced the criticism head on.

“As a balanced radio station in Israel and as a public station, Galgalatz has a responsibility not only to reflect reality, but also, sometimes, to try to correct it,” he said. “40% of the songs we play, or of those we add to the playlist, are songs that women are involved in performing, even though only about a quarter of the songs sent to Galgalatz each week are like that. Unfortunately, whenever the choice of music is in the hands of the audience, as in the annual ‘song of the year’ rankings, we see a lack of representation for female composers and singers.

“Therefore, when YouTube approached us, we were happy for the opportunity to establish a collaboration between the two leading platforms in Israel. Together we can perhaps inspire and balance the field on which the creators operate.”

This is not a problem unique to Israel, however. A 2020 U.S. study found that of the 800 most popular songs in the United States between 2012 and 2019, women made up only 21.7% of the performing community, 12.5% ​​of songwriters, and only 2.6% of music producers.

Proceeds from the recording will be donated to the “Jasmine” organization, promoting social and economic change for Jewish and Arab women in Israel.