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"Any and everyone can be involved in the movement to support more women in music."
From pay gaps to the relative dearth of women in senior management roles, there is significant inequality in today’s workforce. The music industry is no different and the stats are even more harrowing: According to the Recording Academy's Women In The Mix study, women represent only 21 percent of artists, 12.6 percent of songwriters, and 2.6 percent of producers.
Despite some of the most impactful music artists and songwriters being women — from Beyoncė (seven No. 1 albums) and Joni Mitchell (notably credited for influencing Prince, Chaka Khan, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond, Herbie Hancock, Annie Lennox, among others) to Carole King (who wrote 118 Billboard 100 hits) and Taylor Swift (11 No. 1 albums and the only artist to sweep all top ten spots in the Billboard 100) — 57 percent of women in the industry are forced to work more than one job to make ends meet. Twenty-four percent of Women In The Mix respondents worked over 40 hours a week, and an additional 28 percent log over 50 hours a week.
Music permeates every aspect of our lives. It’s a vital way in how we express ourselves and connect with others. It’s long past time that women got an equal say in that conversation. "Any and everyone can be involved in the movement to support more women in music on various levels" says Girls Makes Beats Founder Tiffany "Delilah" Miranda.
Miranda's organization is one of many dedicated to developing professional opportunities, including mentorship, for women and girls in the music industry. "Providing the tools needed goes a long way towards successful career paths," she says, adding that consumers "can support women in music by listening to, sharing, and supporting female creators."
There are a number of organizations supporting women and girls in audio engineering and production who are working hard to change this narrative. Here are six such orgs that empower women and gender-expansive people to create the future of music.
Girls Make Beats is passionate about helping young women have successful, sustained careers in music. Since 2012, Girls Make Beats has been dedicated to increased female representation in music production and empower the next generation of producers, DJs, and audio engineers by "creating real-world opportunities."
Influenced by jazz greats, like Nina Simone and Etta James, with their larger than life voices, Founder Tiffany "Delilah" Miranda had grown tired of being stifled by male producers. "This inspired me to create my own music," says Miranda. "I quickly realized how male-dominated most of the creative control spaces were and wanted to create a safe space for girls to find their own sound without having to face many of the challenges I had to overcome."
Through their various programs and initiatives, Girls Make Beats emphasizes the tenets of sisterhood, empowerment, mentorship, access and opportunity, leadership, and social-emotional learning. They recently opened an official Girls Make Beats Academy in Los Angeles and also have scholarships available, globally, for their year-round programming.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) will soon be celebrating its 20th anniversary. WAM offers training and mentorship for the "advancement of women and gender-expansive people in music/audio production and creative technology, fields in which they are critically underrepresented."
Founded by Terri Winston while she was a Professor and Director of the Sound Recording Arts Program at City College of San Francisco, WAM resides at the intersection of creativity and technology, weaving "art and music with science, technology, and computer programming" in an effort "to close the critical gender gap in creative technology careers."
WAM’s goals are twofold: Increase the number of women and gender-expansive people in the music industry (who make up less than 5 percent of its workforce), and to combat the 70 percent drop in women and gender-expansive people entering college STEM programs since 2000.
Throughout its storied existence, WAM has worked with over 22,000 individuals; been declared the "Best Hope for the Future of Music" by San Francisco Weekly; placed over 1,000 students in jobs throughout the industry (in companies like Dolby Labs, Sony, Pixar, Disney and Google); worked with award-winning artists (such as Sheila E., Kronos Quartet, Neko Case, Angélique Kidjo); and has been recognized by the White House for its innovations in education.
Legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Perry of the 4 Non Blondes has teamed with philanthropist and activist Alisha Ballard to create EqualizeHer, a new initiative and organization working to help bring gender equality to the music industry.
EqualizeHer is focused on four actionable goals: Release and distribute music produced, written, and performed by women; host live music events produced entirely by women; provide opportunities for young female artists to perform in front of live audiences to gain experience and be heard; and work with existing organizations to fill the gaps and join forces.
Through their combined efforts, they’re rallying artists like Paris Jackson (who played a live benefit for EqualizeHer at the renowned LA venue the Troubadour on Oct. 9 with Aimee Mann, Tinashe, Tish Melton, and more). Billie Eilish and Christina Aguilera have also expressed interest in being ambassadors for this organization.
From industry professionals to songwriters, She is the Music, is devoted to increasing the number of women working in music across. They’ve created an international database of women to help the industry discover, connect, and create with women, all of whom have been vetted and verified.
Spearheaded by the inimitable Alicia Keys, along with a cadre of influential and talented women in the industry, "We want to create a model for change that affects women across all industries," Keys told Essence. "We deserve the utmost respect, and so many of these women across industries are telling our culture that time is up on double standards, and it’s over for pay inequity and colleagues who are at best disrespectful and at the worst unsafe — so it’s over for that."
The organization also hosts songwriting sessions and mentorship programs to develop and empower the next generation of women in music. Participants work with artists and receive pertinent, experiential insight into all areas of production, business, touring, and songwriting.
"We are an independent, global network that operates as a unifying organization for women from across the industry," their website states, "creating strength and impact on a global scale. As an umbrella nonprofit, we also provide resources and support for female-focused initiatives that are working to create meaningful change — both through our own programs, as well as external efforts around the world."
As its name indicates, She Knows Tech, concentrates on bringing talented female-identifying producers and engineers and tech performers to the forefront of the industry. The organization provides a safe space and platform for women to give and receive training in music technology.
"Upon learning of the striking gender imbalance and lack of female role models within the industry, we started She Knows Tech to support each other and find mentors to connect, within and outside the educational space," say Founders Jasmine Kok and Meghan Smyth.
The two have amplified their mission through a series of events, culminating with the She Knows Tech Summit.
Established in 2021, the multi-day event includes workshops, masterclasses, a job fair, showcases, camps, and conversations moderated by GRAMMY-winning engineers, and is presented by 30+ gender expansive audio professionals. The hybrid event "created an empowering experience for our community to learn from role models that represent them in the space."
She Knows Tech has chapters in Valencia and Boston, and maintains partnerships with other organizations, like We Are Moving the Needle, She is the Music, and industry heavy hitters around the world, from the Audio Engineering Society to Spitfire Audio.
Founded by Emily Lazar, Chief Mastering Engineer for The Lodge, We Are Moving The Needle is an "inclusive organization working to create measurable change by empowering women in the recording and professional audio industry with the education, equipment and the mentorship needed to succeed at the highest levels."
Only 2.6 percent of producers and audio engineers are women, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion in the Recording Studio study, Lazar noted. "Iit was a sobering reality, and I knew then that I had to do something to change that. It was hard for me to understand how the music industry at large was failing so miserably at something that, in actuality, isn’t very difficult to address."
"In addition to donating scholarships, equipment, and funds to We Are Moving The Needle," says Lazar, "those in positions of power can simply hire more women. They can make a conscious effort to consider women for producing and engineering roles on every record."
We Are Moving the Needle's advisory board includes an embarrassment of riches in terms of experience, success, knowledge, and accolades. Their members include Alanis Morissette, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Liz Phair, Imogen Heap, Linda Perry, and HAIM.
"I always say," reminds Lazar, "‘if you can see it, you can be it. Representation matters."
Women And Gender-Expansive Jazz Musicians Face Constant Indignities. This Mentorship Organization Is Tackling The Problem From All Angles.
Jillian Jacqueline
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Participants in the creative and innovative incubator came away with fresh confidence.
Songwriting camps have certainly proven their worth recently and from Oct. 17–19, ASCAP and joined forces with “She Is The Music” a new mentoring initiative founded Alicia Keys, to fulfill the promise Keys made last summer toward promoting women-led creativity.
The camp partnered with powerhouses such as engineer Ann Mincieli, and with Mary J. Blige who headlined and participated in the all-female songwriting camp. United in the name of advancement, the program has potential to lead a cultural shift more respectful and nurturing toward women’s musical and creative gifts, as well as career success.
“I’ve joined forces with a group of really powerful female executives, songwriters, artists, engineers, producers and publishers to help reshape the industry that we all love by creating real opportunities and a pipeline of talent for other women,” Keys said speech accepting her Icon Award from the National Music Publishers Association last June. “We’re calling our initiative ‘She Is the Music.'” By mid-month, creative get-togethers to make progress had commenced and the ASCAP songwriting camp is an extension of that summer spirit.
“For the most part, I tend to gravitate towards female writers because there’s no substitute for people completely understanding your experience and your perspective,” said country singer-songwriter Jillian Jacqueline. “If we all get together in a room and break all the walls and the myths and concepts down to talk about what it is to be where we are and describe what we’re going through, bonds happen. Connection happens. Those are the things people can’t take away from you — the human connection. That’s why this is so essential.”
“Songwriting is an art. You have to be transparent in order to get people to look at your art,” said Blige, reinforcing the spirit of openness that made the camp such an exciting creative environment. “It’s very hard for women to come together because it’s such a male-dominated world, male-dominated industry. It makes it hard on us so we’re hard on each other … When you see us actually have the confidence and the courage to come together to do something great like this, it’s a blessing.”
“There is a culture and there is a system in place that says if you’re a woman, you’re either a girlfriend, a wife… you’re an artist, or you’re here for my pleasure,” added songwriter Priscilla Renea. “I think that’s the most encouraging thing about this, women are going to walk away feeling confident.”
Organizers were delighted with the sense of accomplishment that emerged from this October camp and look forward to holding more and inspiring others to follow their lead. Thanks to the vision of “She Is The Music,” it’s likely just a matter of time before songs everybody sings emerge thanks to this women-in-leadership model.
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Get ready for the next BTS solo release — RM's highly anticipated debut album, 'Indigo' — with all the details we have so far, from release date to preorder info.
When global hitmakers BTS announced they would focus on solo music back in June, it gave way to "BTS' Chapter 2." So far, this new era has seen a debut studio album from J-Hope, Jack in the Box — as well as a history-making Lollapalooza appearance — and a solo single from Jin, "The Astronaut." Next up, RM will show off his individual talents with a new solo album, Indigo.
As RM's fans know, he has released mixtapes and collaborated with other artists in the past. He's even branched outside of music on his own, recently announcing his role as MC on the variety show "The Dictionary of Useless Human Knowledge" and serving as an art patron for creators in his native South Korea. But Indigo marks RM's official introduction to solo stardom as a singer, and it comes at a pivotal time for both BTS and its leader.
The beloved K-pop group has been on an unofficial hiatus since June, and their break will now extend until 2025 so all seven members can complete mandatory military duties in South Korea. Luckily for ARMY, that doesn't mean the music is stopping — and for RM, it means he gets to really focus on the music he wants to make.
"Finally, my 1st album will be releasing thanks to everyone," the singer wrote in a WeVerse post. "I worked hard on it for the past 4 years … It will be very different from my past projects."
Fans will soon find out exactly what "very different" means. In the meantime, take a look at everything we know about RM's forthcoming debut solo album, Indigo.
Indigo
2022.12.2.
2PM (KST) | 12AM (ET)#RM #Indigo pic.twitter.com/6xjd0uHdrA
On Nov. 10, RM revealed in a series of Instagram stories that his debut album is slated for a Dec. 2 release. His label, BigHit Music, followed with the official announcement shortly thereafter, sending ARMY into a frenzy of excitement on social media.
RM has previously released two mixtapes, his eponymous project from 2015, and Mono from 2018. He's also released solo singles like 2017's collaboration with Wale, "Change," 2019's "Crying Over You" with HONNE and BEKA, and most recently, he featured on Balming Tiger's song "SEXY NUKIM" in September.
All of the solo music RM has released so far has demonstrated that he can really do it all — from slow crooning R&B, to conscious hip-hop, to moody alternative sounds. As RM teased himself, this album will be "very different" from his previous releases, so fans are likely very eager to see what new sounds he has in store.
A post shared by RM (@rkive)
Although RM nor BigHit Music have revealed what the sound of Indigo will be, BigHit did give some insight into the album's content in a Weverse post.
"Through Indigo, RM delivers his candid thoughts and feelings and showcases wide-ranging music through collaborations with various artists," BigHit wrote. "We hope everyone's excited about RM's latest release!"
RM also shared in a livestream on Weverse that Indigo will be "completely different" from Mono. "If 'Mono' recorded my 2016 to '18, then I think this new album serves as my diary and archive for 2019 to '22," he said. And in a Nov. 14 Instagram post, RM also hinted that Indigo is "the last archive of my twenties."
As part of Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians series, RM sat down with Pharrell Williams to discuss their respective careers — and also to tease that they have a collab coming. While it hasn't been confirmed if that team-up will be featured on Indigo, RM has mentioned on Weverse that "fun friends" are included on the project.
A post shared by RM (@rkive)
RM's Mono featured a white album cover, and his first mixtape cover was black and white. This time, Indigo consists of a photo of blue — dare we say, indigo — fabric. The album title will be bleached in white. Much like the title suggests, this album may be more colorful than his previous releases, as hinted by the change in aesthetic.
If you're looking to hear Indigo as soon as possible, preorders begin on November 15. After RM has put in four long years of hard work on Indigo, the wait will surely be worth it for RM's official solo debut.
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"I was unprepared for how much it would shift me off my axis," Cate Blanchett says of the new musical language and world she inhabited for her starring role in 'TÁR.'
"I was unprepared for how much it would shift me off my axis in a wonderful and deep way," Cate Blanchett says of her work on the sublime new film TÁR. The Todd Field-helmed film centers on the actor’s performance as the titular conductor, a woman navigating conflicted power dynamics and personal struggles while also attempting to write an orchestral masterwork.
As the film delves deeper into her psyche, that dreamlike music seems to consistently ring out just past the edges of her hearing. Paired with a score from Hildur Guðnadóttir (in her first film since her Oscar-winning composition for Joker), Blanchett’s performance allows TÁR to stretch and mold across revelatory levels of realism and tumultuous emotion.
A big part of building to that point came in Blanchett’s quest to submerge herself not only in orchestral music, but in the language of music — an experience which has changed her entire world. "Since completing production, I have felt an enormous orchestral-shaped hole in my daily life," she tells GRAMMY.com.
Where other "music films" relish the big performances, the epic expression, TÁR presents unique look at the other side of musical creativity. As Lydia Tar, Blanchett gives the audience access to the innermost thoughts and feelings that occur in rehearsal rooms and practice spaces. With that unique vantage point, in a world where everything is inherently political, Blanchett and TÁR ask the audience whether they separate the art from the artist. The film, too, asks whether the artist can achieve that feat themselves.
Fresh off the national theatrical release of TÁR, the celebrated actor spoke with GRAMMY.com about how preparing for the film impacted her personal life, the unique communicative skill of the conductor, and the film’s complex study of power dynamics.
The phrase "losing yourself in the art" has almost become a cliche, without thinking about the emotional impact that that kind of commitment will have on an actor. Before you took on this role, did you think about what kind of impact it would have on your day-to-day life and your psyche?
I was ready and hungry for the opportunity to approach the ideas so dangerously alive in Todd Field’s screenplay, but I was unprepared for how much it would shift me off my axis in a wonderful and deep way. I have never had a static sense of identity — maybe that’s why I’m an actor. So I have never feared losing myself in anything.
However, this was such an immersive and electric project, I feel somehow newly minted by it. I’m still tingling from the intensity of it all. You are laid bare in ways through your work that you can’t fully comprehend, but that you should comprehend — and that is often deeply confronting.
What was your familiarity and interest in classical music coming into this project, and how has your understanding of it changed over time?
This was a deep dive for me. Prior to this project I was a classical music tourist. I fear I still very much am, but I needed to understand the map of the canon and the institutional wrestle to bring it into the contemporary listening experience in a way that was deep and authentic. Additionally, [I needed] to be able, as much as humanly possible, to understand the secret language of musicians and composers.
All I can say is, since completing production, I have felt an enormous orchestral-shaped hole in my daily life, so something has certainly shifted. To be honest, it’s hard to discuss as I’m still processing how to incorporate the deep aspects of the musical experience into my everyday life and work.
How did learning the intricacies in the language of music and composing differ from learning an accent or language for another project?
They are very similar processes. Technical and muscular at first, but then one has to throw away the homework and just converse. Music is a language after all, and as a conductor one gets to express umpteen lines simultaneously and bring them all together. What a powerful skill!
I loved the line in the beginning of the film where your character mentions that the only real discovery is in the rehearsal, never in performance. Does that sentiment resonate with you as an actor?
When I was at drama school, I adored rehearsal and felt too exposed by turning it all out in the performance. Over many years on stage, I have learned to relish the performance — the ephemeral, truly temporal nature of it all. The danger. I love the cut and thrust of being part of an ensemble in dialogue with an audience [that] gets to go out each night to discover something fresh.
The role and the film have a lot to do with power structures, something we don't always keep in mind when we are listening to music or watching a film. Do you think the film would have the same reception or focus if it weren't for its timing in regard to public reviews of people in power?
Art transcends politics, it transcends the quotidian, yet it can work through and beyond these boundaries whilst still touching on both experiences. That is its power. It does, as you suggest, transport us.
The film is, amongst many other things, an examination of power which is much more ancient and urgent than a critique of zeitgeist-y subjects like "cancel culture." I find it very hard to define this film. In fact, I’m loath to. I’d much prefer others to see it open-heartedly and discuss it amongst themselves.
Read more: 'TÁR' Composer Hildur Guðnadóttir On Making Music For A Film About Making Music
Obviously, you worked with a lot of musicians in this role, but how did you interact with Hildur Guðnadóttir's score?
It was integral to my understanding of the character. Lydia Tár is a composer in the midst of a composition while she is more celebrated as a conductor, but passionate about finding her voice in this form. The fact that she dedicates this piece to her daughter — the primal relationship in the film — is an indication of how central the composition is to the understanding of her emotional core. Hildur was alive to this and innately understood the performer vs. composer push and pull.
Was that something that was utilized while you were on set at all, or only something you discovered later?
We discussed what this composition should be at length in pre-production, as I wanted to fold its sound and ambition into my own preparation. I wanted to know what Lydia was reaching for. I also needed to know the piece as Todd had written several scenes where Lydia was returning to the piece, playing it, finessing it, obsessing over a misstep in the composition — finding herself in "pastiche."
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GRAMMY winners Dan + Shay and Cyndi Lauper will perform at the 2023 GRAMMY nominations livestream event taking place Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET. Watch the 2023 GRAMMY nominations livestream live on Live.GRAMMY.com.
The 2023 GRAMMY nominations are happening tomorrow, and the celebration just got bigger — and louder!
The Recording Academy has announced that three-time GRAMMY winners Dan + Shay and two-time GRAMMY winner Cyndi Lauper will deliver special performances and help present the nominations for the 2023 GRAMMYs as part of the annual GRAMMYs nominations livestream event, which this year takes place Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET and streams live from the GRAMMY Museum and Latin GRAMMY Week.
Read More: Where & How To Watch The 2023 GRAMMY Nominations
The 2023 GRAMMY nominations livestream event will stream live on live.GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok channels. The full list of nominees for the 2023 GRAMMYs will be published on live.GRAMMY.com and GRAMMY.com following the presentation.
The newly announced performers join previously announced presenters including: 12-time GRAMMY winner and Recording Academy National Trustee John Legend; multiplatinum-selling recording artist Machine Gun Kelly; three-time GRAMMY winner Olivia Rodrigo; past GRAMMY nominee and five-time Latin GRAMMY winner Luis Fonsi; and past GRAMMY nominee Jimmie Allen.
Read More: Where, What Channel & How To Watch The Full 2023 GRAMMYs
The 2023 GRAMMY nominations livestream event will also include: GRAMMY winner Smokey Robinson, who's also the 2023 MusiCares Persons of the Year honoree; "CBS Mornings" anchors Nate Burleson and Gayle King; GRAMMY winner and Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter President Ledisi; and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. as presenters.
The 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, returns to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.
Follow the Recording Academy/GRAMMYs on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn, and use #GRAMMYs to join the conversation as the 2023 GRAMMY nominations are unveiled on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
GREY GOOSE Vodka is the Official Spirits Partner of the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominations.
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