A
lesbian feminist movement emerged in the 1970s that reacted to the discrimination of women within the
gay rights and
counterculture movements, and
heteronormativity embedded in the
1960s US feminist movement.
Women's music labels such as Olivia contributed to a 1970s lesbian sub-culture by providing a public platform for the expression of topics that were lacking in dominant political discourse, and helped consumers develop strategies to cope with, organize, and articulate their experiences. The heroine and the novel were both called
Olivia. The founders—Ginny Berson,
Meg Christian, Judy Dlugacz, Jennifer Woodul, Kate Winter and five other women—borrowed $4,000 to form the record label. Christian and Cris Williamson were the two best-selling artists signed to Olivia Records. In 1973, the collective released a
45 record with Christian's song "Lady" on one side and Williamson's "If It Weren't for the Music" on the other. The single sold for $1.50, plus mailing costs.
I Know You Know sold over ten thousand copies in its first year, and eventually sold over 70,000 copies for Olivia Records, while
The Changer and the Changed became one of the top-selling albums on any independent label. But Olivia's business philosophy ultimately contributed to financial problems and internal conflicts among staff and artists contributed to its restructuring and ultimate demise. Olivia Records echoed the philosophy cultural production of lesbian feminist separatists. But although Olivia Records claimed to benefit all women, the business was primarily led and promoted the interests of white middle-class American lesbians. In 1977, after attacks on municipal gay rights ordinances spearheaded by
Anita Bryant, Olivia put out
Lesbian Concentrate, a collection of songs and poetry with part of the proceeds going to benefit the Lesbian Mothers National Defense Fund.
Sandy Stone was Olivia's
sound engineer from ca. 1976-1978, recording and mixing all Olivia product during this period. She resigned as the controversy over her working for a lesbian-identified enterprise increased because she was a transgender woman.
Decline Following a sold-out tenth-anniversary best-of concert at
Carnegie Hall in
New York City, Olivia's idealist and inexperienced business practices led to significant financial hardship. Meg Christian left the record label in 1984. In 1988, the record label restructured and morphed into a broader women-centered social business venture resulted in the branding of
Olivia, a lesbian travel company. Even though Olivia Records released
world music and
salsa records, it was most successful with acoustic solo acts, although sometimes it failed to identify mainstream talent. In 1985, singer/songwriter
Melissa Etheridge, then a struggling Los Angeles artist, sent her demo to Olivia, but was ultimately rejected. Etheridge went on to become one of the most popular female performers of the 1990s and arguably the most successful lesbian musician of all time. She saved the rejection letter, signed by "the women of Olivia," which was featured in
Intimate Portrait, the
Lifetime Television documentary of her life. Olivia Records was unable to adapt to the evolving musical landscape for women—from the
Riot grrrl movement to
Lilith Fair and the rise of
Ani DiFranco—and consequently could no longer sustain operations as a record label. ==Philosophy==