Five female music industry experts gave college students tips on how to break into a “highly competitive business”.

West Herts College, in Hempstead Road, Watford, hosted a Women in Music industry talk earlier in the month.

The line-up consisted of Louise Bartle, a British drummer who is currently performing with band Bloc Party, as well as Becky Richardson, who spent three years at Island Records before moving on to set up the agency Paisley London.

Also on the panel were Aimi Lewis-Mattock, an account director for the Zeitgest Agency who works with festivals such as Reading and Leeds, Clare Maxwell, who spent eight years as senior manager at Raw Power Management and Camella Agabalyan, a marketing manager for MAMA festivals, and has worked on festivals including Lovebox.

They each revealed positive and negative experiences of being a woman in the music industry, which is an industry traditionally “dominated” by men.

Although some of the panel explained how they had suffered discrimination, they all agreed that the industry is now moving forward and that there is a greater push for equality.

Ms Richardson summed up the event by saying: “Certain areas of the industry are still really dated however there has been an improvement in recent years, with fresh new female artists coming along who don’t feel they have to fit in with traditional pop stereotypes.”

Paige Evans, a Level 5 HND Music student, said: “I found the talk really beneficial. The girls were really down to earth and answered my question in great detail.

“Coming out of the talk, I’ve got a clearer picture in my head of my future career path and I can’t wait to get started.”

Tutor Steph Carter, previously a member of the band Gallows, organised the event.

He said: "We had an amazing array of talent on the panel. All the women involved helped to provide such a detailed insight into the music industry, and gave invaluable information on progression opportunities to all the students who were able to attend.”