Woman's Hour

Female artists dominated the 2023 music scene. New figures from the British Phonographic Institute reveal that Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Raye, Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding and many more - spent a record-breaking 31 weeks in the number one spot in the UK Singles Chart. But that’s not all... they had seven of the top 10 singles and even took the top vinyl album spot. Why was 2023 so good for female artists? And will it continue? We ask global music business lecturer and podcaster, Karlyn King, and music journalist Jo Kendall.Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs says new Government plans to get rid of shorter jail sentences in England and Wales put women at risk. The new sentencing bill currently making its way through Parliament aims to give what are known as suspended sentences where people may have instead been given jail terms of 12 months or less. Estimates from the Office for National Statistics show around 2.4 million people - 1.7 million of those being women - suffered fr