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International Women’s Day: How Women Are Redefining Music Technology in 2024
With the music technology industry experiencing a dynamic transformation, women are seizing equal opportunities to shape it’s trajectory. On this backdrop, female leaders offer their perspectives to We Rave You Tech, shedding light on the evolving landscape of music technology.
The challenges and barriers facing women in the technology music industry are becoming more recognized thanks to the work of a growing number of networks and industry groups that are aiming to empower women creating a more inclusive environment. The music industry has witnessed a shift over the past decade, with women artists steadily gaining mainstream influence and chart dominance. A recent study from the USC Annenberg School reveals that 2022 marked an unprecedented high – female performers comprised 30% of artists on the Billboard Hot 100, up from 22% in 2012. But there is still room to grow where more women get the opportunity in the music technology industry. The industry’s male-dominated culture often sidelines female talent, limiting opportunities for women in technology, production, and engineering roles. This gender imbalance impacts the diversity of music produced, stifling innovation and creativity. As per an influential report by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), women pursuing careers in the music industry face “endemic” misogyny and discrimination.
While the challenges persist in the music technology industry, women are steadily making their mark in the field. By leveraging their artistic visions to develop music software and gear, alongside a spirit of entrepreneurship, women are actively redesigning the tools that redefine the music-making process. On this backdrop, these women leaders share their insights with We Rave You Tech on the evolving landscape of the music technology industry.
Lily, Sound design lead at Arturia said, “The increased representation of women in music tech is a virtuous cycle and can be seen/felt/heard in the last few years: more women than ever are entering roles that used to be pretty much exclusively dominated by men. For instance, there were almost 40% women in my sound engineering program south of Paris a few years ago, and the director of the school even commented on it, saying this had never happened before. I also see more and more women sound designers and sound engineers on LinkedIn than ever as well, and even met some relatively high-ranked women at Superbooth when I last went – including Lillia Betz, head of Max for Live at Ableton.”
She added that the representation of women in the industry has become more natural over time, rather than feeling forced. Women bring unique perspectives and innovative approaches to product design and problem-solving. However, it’s unfortunate there aren’t more women in managerial roles.
“I *never* get any emails from women sound designers, offering up their skills and work for Arturia. There is an underlying confidence and behavior difference between us and men, that has been engrained in our education and upbringing, and has stifled our voice and potential in the workplace and academic fields.” Lily quoted in a statement.
“While there have certainly been improvements in recent years, the representation of women in the music tech industry still has a long way to go, with women oftentimes underrepresented altogether or overlooked when it comes to significant contributions to the industry.” added Katherine Wing, Vice President of Marketing at Roland Americas. When asked about the current representation of women in Roland she mentioned, “At Roland, this has been a top priority since I joined the team in 2016. Now, I have the pleasure of serving as the vice president of marketing on the Roland Americas team, demonstrating the company’s commitment to continuing to build up its team of women.”
“Women’s contributions are oftentimes overlooked across the music industry, when in reality many of the industry’s leading companies include prominent female decision-makers helping to shape company direction and innovation. I think one of the most important things we can do collectively as an industry is to better shine a light on the women behind much of this evolution in music technology we continue to see year-to-year – as well as continue to elevate women, not only in terms of inclusion within a company, but also as decision-makers. Greater representation is hugely important for the continual success of this industry, and a huge first step is to pay credit where credit is due to the industry’s leading innovators—many of whom have been, are currently, and will continue to be women.”, Katherine quoted in a statement.
Further commenting on the evolving role of women in the industry, Lindsey Smith, Brand Marketing Manager at ADAM Audio said, “There is still a noticeable lack in the representation of women in music technology in my experience. I have noticed a visible effort from many companies to make more effort at inclusive representation in their marketing and hiring practices, which is always encouraging to see!”
“Our input helps drive the creation of inclusive products that appeal to a wide range of audiences and their needs. We are also great at building community and support networks, which I think has made a major impact on our industry by promoting collaboration and collective advancement. To empower women in music technology, we need initiatives that focus on training, education programs, and mentorship opportunities tailored to their needs. Doing so sends a powerful message that women in music tech aren’t an anomaly — we belong and excel in this field!“
There has been a notable increase in women’s representation in music technology over time, though more progress is still needed. Piper Payne, mastering engineer for Waves & owner of Physical Music Products noted “There is a lot more support and push for women to get into the STEM education fields and engineering in general. That said, we still have a long way to go. We definitely need to keep pushing because this is a change that will take at least a few generations to see real parity of women and men, and good representation in general of women in the industry.“
Women bring diverse perspectives and experiences that drive innovation in music tech. As Piper stated, “Music tech uses skills and experiences that require a really diverse workforce and contribution field…more diverse experiences coming together to make more creativity is what is going to make the biggest contributions to the industry.“
To further empower women, supporting existing initiatives financially is key according to Piper: “Funding women supporting organizations in the music world is the biggest thing that is going to help…There are already so many great ones like Women’s Audio Mission, Soundgirls.org, Equalize Her, Gender Amplified...The only thing that is going to help is funding them.“
On similar thoughts on building an inclusive environment for women, Idah Turner, Content Director at ADSR said that while progress has been made, there’s still a noticeable lack of representation in certain areas, such as plugin development and sound design.
“We have hundreds of independent sound creators on ADSR and almost none are women, I hate to admit it but those that we have had/do have almost all been in sample packs, I can’t really recall any that were making presets and only a handful in plugin development. To be clear it’s not that they don’t exist, or that I haven’t met women who can create presets but almost next to none who are making their living from it.
“It’s not very promising when having a woman praised for her looks and her marketability is somehow more acceptable and relatable than for her technical ability. It’s a double-edged sword as it’s what sells but it’s clearly not what is going to show other women a path into music tech. It’s not in the interests of the marketing and PR machine to have Beyonce talking about how she stayed up all night geeking out on a single synth sound or nailing a progression” – Idah Turner.
When asked about what initiatives or changes could further empower women in music technology, Idah believes that while women in music technology still face challenges and underrepresentation, the landscape is gradually shifting. Barriers to entry are lowering, allowing women to independently create and sell audio plugins, instruments, and sounds without needing corporate employment. Representation matters, but the media should normalize women’s roles by focusing on their expertise rather than gender.
Women must also self-advocate, confidently claim their space, and realize opportunities exist beyond traditional employment. Some argue the responsibility lies with businesses to actively recruit and platform women creators. Ultimately, as women gain mainstream success as artists, perspectives in music tech will naturally diversify. The discussion should celebrate this emerging representation rather than solely focusing on creating opportunities.
Concluding Note from We Rave You Tech
While challenges persist, from lack of representation in key roles to deep-rooted gender biases, a new generation of talented and determined women are shattering barriers. By leveraging their artistic visions, entrepreneurial spirit, and unique perspectives, they are not just creating innovative tools and sounds, but inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. As mainstream music continues to embrace female voices, the music technology realm will inevitably become more diverse and inclusive – a positive disruption that will ultimately elevate the entire industry to new creative heights.
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