It’s been 20 years since Shira Yevin, lead singer of the punk band Shiragirl, drove a pink RV to the grounds of the Vans Warped Tour, the now-defunct punk rock festival. notorious For the existence male dominated. In response to the festival’s lack of female bands, Yevin’s band crashed the festival and set up a makeshift all-female stage. This led to the creation of Warped Tour’s Shiragirl Stage, which has hosted over 300 bands, including Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Paramore. He was later honored with a Warped Tour exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
After the Shiragirl Stage, Yevin went on a “lifelong crusade to create a space for women in music and other male-dominated industries,” she told TechCrunch. This began with the 2020 launch of Gritty in Pink, a Live Nation-backed platform designed to empower women in the music industry.
A few years later, the company launched its flagship product, InPink, a job market for women and non-binary artists, including music and live entertainment professionals such as tour managers, concert photographers and video editors, and poster graphic designers. Like freelance platforms Fiverr and Upwork, users can post listings to showcase their services on InPink’s marketplace and connect with big brands.
“On the freelance talent side, it’s hard to find opportunities without a network or personal connections. Unless you’re in the “boys club”, most jobs aren’t even posted. And then of course admin headaches, sending invoices, chasing down advances and pricing services fairly are big struggles for all freelancers, but for women especially… Our goal is to build the next generation career platform for talent and help [women] luxury and network,” Yevin said.
In addition to its focus on women and non-binary creatives, InPink also aims to address other DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) needs. with an attribute called “Diversity” tags, which filter creators based on specific diversity criteria: Asian, Black, Native, Hispanic/Latino, Queer, and POC.
InPink has grown to over 3,000 users and has facilitated many dream gigs for people on the platform such as Leanne Bowes (bass player) and Constance Antoinette (guitarist), collaborating with Demi Lovato. Moa MunozMeanwhile, he secured the position of bassist for pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The company has processed $300,000 worth of transactions to date.
Looking ahead, InPink continues to develop new features, including two AI-powered tools: a fair pay scale that analyzes market rates to determine fair compensation for female creatives, and a matching tool to help companies discover talents more effectively.
The fair pay scale is particularly noteworthy as female musicians are still underpaid or unsure of how much to charge for their services. As reported by a study by Recording Academyapproximately 18% of respondents identifying as music performers or creators earned less than $40,000 annually in 2019. Overall, female freelancers According to reports they charge 47% less than men in online shopping.
Yevin explained that InPink’s fair fee feature will suggest how much users should charge based on “location, service and project scope.” The AI will draw from “different” sources to “make sure that it [the price] it’s as accurate as possible,” Yevin said, but declined to share further as it’s still in the early stages of development.
Meanwhile, the upcoming matchmaker helps job seekers discover projects that best match their skills and interests. AI also analyzes past performance to make optimal matches for companies.
“In the future, it’s going to be more of an AI prompt so you can prompt what you’re looking for and get what you need in a faster way,” Yevin added.
AI features are expected to roll out in early 2025 or earlier.
Other ideas on the product roadmap include a paid Pro membership, which will be available to top-level talent who have worked with notable names. The company is also looking to expand beyond the music industry and offer its services to adjacent areas of entertainment, such as sports and live events. Yevin said InPink already works with one sports client, Angel City Football Club (the Los Angeles-based women’s soccer league), to help them recruit talent for shows.
“We’re already seeing the potential with other industries,” Yevin said. “We see InPink transforming the future of work for music, entertainment and beyond, and making it more flexible and fair in the process.”
Gritty in Pink has raised over $500,000 from Alternative Wealth Partners, Gaingels, LiveNation, Long Beach Accelerator and angel investors. The company is soon to close a $1 million pre-seed round and was recently accepted into the Berkeley SkyDeck incubator.
