Heather Lowery is the President/CEO of Femme It Forward. Femme It Forward is a female-led music and entertainment company that centers its mission on celebrating, educating, and empowering women through multi-format, multi-market experiences. Heather sat for an interview to discuss Femme It Forward, the mentorship program Next Gem Femme, her role in uplifting women in music, and tell her story to inspire future women leaders.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
A Legacy Of Women Cultivating Women
Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, the now Spelman College is a prestigious historically Black college known for cultivating some of the country’s most accomplished Black women in entertainment, enterprise, and entrepreneurship. Heather Lowery is among the many women the college has influenced to become industry titans. Attending Spelman College gave Heather the experience and support to ascend through the music/ entertainment industry, becoming President/CEO of Femme It Forward and continuing to pave a path for others.
Stephanie Tharpe: How did attending Spelman help cultivate you and your journey?
Heather Lowery: Going to an HBCU in general and being in Atlanta, seeing an abundance of black people learning and succeeding – it allowed me to see my reflection in them. It also laid the foundation for me to be anything I wanted to be and gave me the confidence to fully walk in my power. Attending Spelman College definitely foreshadowed my future. I center culture and women in everything I do as a creative, executive and entrepreneur.
Stephanie Tharpe: What was your journey to your current position as President/CEO of Femme it Forward?
Heather Lowery: Starting way back in college, I thought I wanted to be an entertainment attorney so I gained experience in entertainment and in music fairly early although it was from a legal angle. I interned in the legal departments at LaFace Records, Fox Television Stations, and for entertainment attorneys while I also held down jobs to help pay my bills. Then my senior year of college, I decided I didn’t want to be an entertainment attorney anymore. Fast forward to me moving home to Delaware, feeling like a failure. I had no plans and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something in music. My first job in the industry was at a recording studio. It was called Larry Gold’s Studio in Philadelphia.
At the time, it was the height of the neo-soul movement. The Roots, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Erykah Badu, all the artists based in or coming through Philly recorded there. I went to the owner and begged him for a job, but he had nothing available. I was willing to do whatever it took to get my foot in the door and learn. Larry Gold ultimately hired me as a receptionist, which became my first job in the industry. Within two years, I slowly changed that environment by working 12-hour shifts and doing whatever it took to get the job done. When I left the company, I was the General Manager.
Stephanie Tharpe: You are not afraid to reinvent yourself. What helped you cultivate that confidence in yourself, and how can other Black women find the confidence to reinvent themselves to achieve their passions?
Heather Lowery: I believe your gifts, talents, interests, and passions are all connected to your purpose. So I always encourage young women to follow the things they’re naturally attracted to or gifted in. You might change your career aspirations five times before you feel like you’re where you’re supposed to be. And that’s okay. It’s all a part of the journey. Those experiences, good or bad, will shape you, guide you, make you wiser, and help you reach your final destination.
Stephanie Tharpe: Femme It Forward has become a movement due to its variety of programming and initiatives. What are the company’s origins? And how did you come up with its current format?
Heather Lowery: I initially created Femme It Forward as a series. It wasn’t supposed to be a full-on company. It was a series to give more women opportunities to perform on stage. At that time, I was the Vice President of Talent and Touring for Live Nation Urban, and most of our initiatives and lineups were male dominated, like most things in the world. I was asked to speak on a panel on diversity and inclusion for a Billboard Live Music Summit. I think it was in 2018. At that moment, I realized I wasn’t doing enough for women in live music. It irked my soul until I did something about it. Five months later I launched Femme It Forward with ten performance lineups and three panels – all women! The way the industry, fans, and artists showed up, I quickly learned Femme It Forward was more than just a series, this was the start of a movement.
The Art Of Pivoting
Among the industries hit the hardest, entertainment was one of the top. Navigating on and off lock downs, social distancing, and regular COVID tests were the new norm for any company looking to bring people together. As a result, businesses had to pivot their approach to stay afloat. According to a Small Business Trend survey, 92% of businesses pivoted in at least one way during the pandemic. Femme It Forward is no different in this regard. Heather used the shifting entertainment landscape to elevate her passions into big cultural and business successes. In 2020 legendary producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland founded Verzuz, a series bringing musicians together to go “hit for hit” with their catalogs. Heather and Femme It Forward helped bring some of the most celebrated battles to our Instagram feed including Brandy vs. Monica, Jill Scott vs. Erykah Badu, Keyshia Cole, vs. Ashanti, and lastly, SWV vs. Escape.
Heather Lowery: Once the pandemic hit, we couldn’t produce live shows anymore. The pandemic gave us the space to build other verticals. The first thing I did was Verzuz. I curated all the female battles via Femme It Forward. We also launched our Next Gem Femme Mentorship Program and our album Big Femme Energy Vol 1 during the pandemic. We recently launched our first award’s gala, Give Her FlowHERS, and have an empowerment summit coming down the pipeline. We keep getting bigger and bigger.
Stephanie Tharpe: There were reservations about Femme It Forward in its early stages. Why do you think they had those reservations? How did you succeed despite this?
Heather Lowery: I think people didn’t feel all women shows would succeed and that women need male artists to sell tickets. We continue to succeed by creating experiences centering women, inspiring and giving them opportunities. Women are yearning to be celebrated and seen. Femme It Forward is shining a spotlight on women, and that’s why we continue to grow.
Mentorship Makes The Difference
When it comes to economic advancement and success, mentorship is the secret weapon that can change the trajectory of your career or business. Black women experienced a 37.4% increase in average salary with mentorship and 52% of women without mentors expressed needing additional help with connecting to other professionals. Less than 40% of Black entrepreneurs in general had access to a mentor. The lack of access to a mentor creates disparities in human, financial, and social capital. As a direct response to the growing need for resources for Black women in the entrepreneurial or professional spaces Femme It Forward founded the Next Gem Femme Mentorship program.
Stephanie Tharpe: Can you talk about Next Gem Femme and its goals for future women leaders?
Heather Lowery: Our goal is to give the next generation of leaders access and opportunities to help combat opportunity gaps and structural barriers that exist for young women of color. We pair top executives with young women for an eight month program where the mentees participate in a one-on-one mentoring experience. We recently launched our third cohort, and I’m deeply touched by the impact this program has made on so many young women. Next Gem Femme is changing lives! Women are getting new connections, interviews, internships, jobs, new confidence, new inspiration, and lifelong sisters.
We also launched a scholarship called Femme It Future in partnership with Google Pixel. I’m excited about the future and the growth of the program. I know firsthand how hard it is when you’re young and need guidance but can’t find it. So I wanted to give these young women the opportunities, access, and the resources I never had, to help make their journey a little bit easier.
Stephanie Tharpe: What is the best piece of advice you’ve gotten?
Heather Lowery: When I was a child, my mother always said, “When there’s a will, there’s a way.” That taught me that nothing is impossible. I didn’t have a lot growing up. I wasn’t supposed to be here. I paid for my college education and was a first generation college graduate. Those words always ring in my head, especially in moments I need them the most, when I want to achieve the seemingly impossible. Some professional advice I heard from a woman producer who recently spoke at the 1500 Sound Academy. Her advice to the students was, “Mind your business!” If we can all have tunnel vision when it comes to our goals and not care about what others are doing, saying, or thinking, we can be so much more productive and successful.
Stephanie Tharpe: What does success look like to you?
Heather Lowery: Success to me is peace. It’s love, happiness, and joy! It’s the internal things you cannot buy or get from a job or career. You have to find it within. It’s looking at yourself in the mirror and loving what you see. Success is my legacy and the impact I’ll leave when I’m gone.
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