Celebrating and Supporting Women in Music Production

The mission of the Gender Amplified movement is to provide a platform for the promotion and advancement of women in music production and to identify and motivate the next generation of women music producers. By organizing public events that foster healthy dialogue about the role gender plays in the music making process, Gender Amplified gives voice to a subculture of women who are using music technology to create their own music and perpetuate their unique identities.

From Gender Amplfied founder Ebonie Smith...

The Gender Amplified movement started in my dorm room. Six years ago, I was just another bedroom music producer with big dreams of becoming the next world-known, Top 40 “hit-maker”. But every time I went to buy gear or to a local beat battle, I noticed that I was one of few women aspiring to be a professional music producer. That intrigued me. There was no shortage of women aspiring to become singers and songwriters, so it seemed unusual that there would be so few on the production path. I quickly found that there were a lot of great women doing this work, but that they were often isolated and marginalized within their own field.

That started me on a path of research, organizing, and education. I founded Gender Amplified, a movement to celebrate and support women in music production. I want to help people like me build a community and a pipeline to get engaged in this exciting work. Now, I'm coordinating the Gender Amplified Music Festival. In September, girls and young women interested in music will come together at Barnard College for live performances of works produced by women, panels on music production, education, gender and content, and instructional workshops geared towards high school and college aged youth to encourage them to pursue music production and technology.

What We Need & What You Get

I am turning to the crowd to make this festival the best it can be. I'm thrilled to have some generous funding to bring together several producers and leading academics to discuss music, gender, technology and arts education, and to partially fund workshop facilitators who will bring their wide range of skills. But I need your support to fill in some crucial areas - to help us feed participants, many of whom will be middle and high school students, college students, and educators coming in for the day from around the region. I also want to ensure that workshop leaders and participants have access to the best possible equipment to really be able to try things out in a hands on environment. And finally, I want to bring in independent performers who blend behind the scenes production with their creative work. Your contributions will directly enable us to cover:

• Equipment Rental - $1500

• Balanced meals for festival participants - $2500

• Workshop facilitators and performers - $1000

• Fees and miscellaneous costs - $1000

Though the spotlight is usually on stage, we know it’s the people in the studio and in the crowd that make music festivals happen. To show you how much your contributions mean to us, we are turning the spotlight on you. Contribute at the level of The Sound Technician ($5 contribution) or go in big as The Executive Producer ($250 contribution) and get extra special rewards- from customized shout outs on twitter, to exclusive digital tracks from the festival, to entry for two into New York City's best music venue featuring Jazz and Rock - we need someone at every level to make some music happen!

The Impact

There is power and agency in giving women the tools, technical skill and knowledge to record, playback and transmit their own stories. Women’s voices and ideas can sometimes get lost in the gendered power dynamics of recording spaces. This is one reason why more women should be trained in music production and sound recording. As an artist going into a recording studio, having to hand over expertise to someone else, you risk not being able to articulate your message as clearly as you could with more technical knowledge.

Moreover, knowledge of advanced audio concepts such as digital signal theory, audio acoustics and sound design provides excellent applications for STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). It is my theory that music production can serve as a gateway toward igniting young girls’ interests in STEM professions. My own personal experience is the basis for my hypothesis. When I first began producing, I only wanted to make music. However, I eventually realized that if I wanted to truly be a threat in my field, I needed to dive further into the science of audio production and engineering. Eventually I chose to obtain a master’s degree in music technology. I was able to increase my earning power in the audio field as a result.

Other Ways You Can Help

Contributing financially is just one way to help. You can also:

• Spread the word about the campaign and the festival - you can use the Indiegogo share tools!
• Check out our website, genderamplified.com, for the latest updates
• Mentor and support women and girls in music production
• Integrate discussions abotu music production and music technology into courses on science, technology, engineering, and math
• Make connections between the arts & technology, and make sure girls & women are a part of the equation