The one panel I got to sit in on during the four days was Changing the Tempo and honestly it was the right one to catch. Rach Brosman from Support Women DJs, Elaine Huang of Neon Owl, Paulette Varelas of MLENNIAL, and artists Wenzday and JVNA were all on stage and the conversation was real from the start.

The thread running through everything was simple: there is enough room for all of us. Women in dance music are not competing with each other the way the industry has historically tried to make them. They are building community, sharing platforms, passing the mic to the next generation, and calling on the men in the industry to show up as allies. And a lot of them are doing exactly that.

I got a few minutes with both Wenzday and Rach after the panel. I asked Wenzday how we can actually amplify women in dance music as a community.

"As a whole, it's just recognizing there's more of us out there than we think. I think for us as women who already have an established platform, it's so important for us to make sure we're bringing up that next generation, having that line of communication open and not gatekeeping, and just really being an open book and just really being supportive. There's room at the table for everyone to eat and competition is going to be our biggest enemy at the end of the day." — Wenzday

I asked Rach what she sees in her network that separates the female DJs who actually break through from the ones who stay stuck on getting booked.

"Obviously it's very competitive, so you really have to go the extra mile of being the person who's putting in the work every single week to make the next steps to grow your career and also making really great connections. Especially making community with women in the industry." — Rach Brosman, Support Women DJs

Two people, two different roles in the industry, the same answer underneath it all. Show up. Do the work. Build each other up. Women in this industry are on the rise and the room that day made it clear they are not waiting for permission.

Shift Miami proved that the access artists have been asking for is possible when an event is built with intention. The people who showed up ready, stayed curious, and put in the work during those four days walked away with something real. That is what this week was about for me and it is exactly why Amplify EDM keeps showing up.

Episodes from Shift Miami are dropping now on Redefining Music. Subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you do not miss any of them.

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