The field of music production has for many years been regarded as male-dominated. Despite growing acknowledgement of this fact, and some evidence of diversification, it is clear that gender representation on the whole remains quite unbalanced. Gender in Music Production brings together industry leaders, practitioners, and academics to present and analyze the situation of gender within the wider context of music production as well as to propose potential directions for the future of the field. This much-anticipated volume explores a wide range of topics, covering historical and contextual perspectives on women in the industry, interviews, case studies, individual position pieces, as well as informed analysis of current challenges and opportunities for change. Ground-breaking in its synthesis of perspectives, Gender in Music Production offers a broadly considered and thought-provoking resource for professionals, students, and researchers working in the field of music production today.

The field of popular music production is overwhelmingly male dominated. Here, Paula Wolfe discusses gendered notions of creativity and examines the significant under-representation of women in studio production. Wolfe brings an invaluable perspective as both a working artist-producer and as a scholar, thereby offering a new body of research based on interviews and first-hand observation. Wolfe demonstrates that patriarchal frameworks continue to form the backbone of the music industry establishment but that women’s work in the creation and control of sound presents a potent challenge to gender stereotyping, marginalisation and containment of women’s achievements that is still in evidence in music marketing practices and media representation in the digital era.

Leonard addresses core issues relating to gender, rock and the music industry through a case study of 'female-centred' bands from the UK and US performing so called 'indie rock' from the 1990s to the present day. Using original interview material with both amateur and internationally renowned musicians, the book further addresses the fact that the voices of musicians have often been absent from music industry studies. Leonard's central aim is to progress from feminist scholarship that has documented and explored the experience of female musicians, to presenting an analytic discussion of gender and the music industry. In this way, the book engages directly with a number of under-researched areas: the impact of gender on the everyday life of performing musicians; gendered attitudes in music journalism, promotion and production; the responses and strategies developed by female performers; the feminist network riot grrrl and the succession of international festivals it inspired under the name of Ladyfest.

In metal, it seems that women are nowhere but gender is everywhere. This title offers a sociological analysis of metal music's historical and global gender imbalance to investigate why this genre is such an impenetrable fortress for female musicians and how it could change.

Pink Noises brings together twenty-four interviews with women in electronic music and sound cultures, including club and radio DJs, remixers, composers, improvisers, instrument builders, and installation and performance artists. The collection is an extension of Pinknoises.com, the critically-acclaimed website founded by musician and scholar Tara Rodgers in 2000 to promote women in electronic music and make information about music production more accessible to women and girls. That site featured interviews that Rodgers conducted with women artists, exploring their personal histories, their creative methods, and the roles of gender in their work. This book offers new and lengthier interviews, a critical introduction, and resources for further research and technological engagement. Contemporary electronic music practices are illuminated through the stories of women artists of different generations and cultural backgrounds. They include the creators of ambient soundscapes, “performance novels,” sound sculptures, and custom software, as well as the developer of the Deep Listening philosophy and the founders of the Liquid Sound Lounge radio show and the monthly Basement Bhangra parties in New York. These and many other artists open up about topics such as their conflicted relationships to formal music training and mainstream media representations of women in electronic music. They discuss using sound to work creatively with structures of time and space, and voice and language; challenge distinctions of nature and culture; question norms of technological practice; and balance their needs for productive solitude with collaboration and community. Whether designing and building modular synthesizers with analog circuits or performing with a wearable apparatus that translates muscle movements into electronic sound, these artists expand notions of who and what counts in matters of invention, production, and noisemaking. Pink Noises is a powerful testimony to the presence and vitality of women in electronic music cultures, and to the relevance of sound to feminist concerns. Interviewees: Maria Chavez, Beth Coleman (M. Singe), Antye Greie (AGF), Jeannie Hopper, Bevin Kelley (Blevin Blectum), Christina Kubisch, Le Tigre, Annea Lockwood, Giulia Loli (DJ Mutamassik), Rekha Malhotra (DJ Rekha), Riz Maslen (Neotropic), Kaffe Matthews, Susan Morabito, Ikue Mori, Pauline Oliveros, Pamela Z, Chantal Passamonte (Mira Calix), Maggi Payne, Eliane Radigue, Jessica Rylan, Carla Scaletti, Laetitia Sonami, Bev Stanton (Arthur Loves Plastic), Keiko Uenishi (o.blaat)

Gender inequality is universally understood to be a continued problem in the music industry. This volume presents research that uses an industry-based approach to examine why this gender imbalance has proven so hard to shift, and explores strategies that are being adopted to try and bring about meaningful change in terms of women and gender diverse people establishing ongoing careers in music. The book focuses on three key areas: music education; case studies that explore practices in the music industry; and activist spaces. Sitting at the intersection between musical production, the creative industries and gender politics, this volume brings together research that considers the gender politics of the music industry itself. It takes a global approach to these issues, and incorporates a range of genres and theoretical approaches. At a time when more attention than ever is being paid to gender and music, this volume presents cutting edge research that contributes to current debates and offers insights into possible solutions for the future.

This book focuses on the role of education in relation to music and gender. Invoking a concept of musical patriarchy and a theory of the social construction musical meanings, Lucy Green shows how women's musical practices and gendered musical meanings have been reproduced, hand in hand, through history. Covering a wide range of music, including classical, jazz and popular styles, Dr Green uses ethnographic methods to convey the everyday interactions and experiences of girls, boys, and their teachers. She views the contemporary school music classroom as a microcosm of the wider society, and reveals the participation of music education in the continued production and reproduction of gendered musical practices and meanings.

She's at the Controls gives a socio-historical examination of the roles of women studio professionals in the UK music industry. At the heart of the book are interviews conducted over six years with 30 female studio practitioners at different stages of their careers and working in different genres of popular music including reggae, hip hop and pop. The edited interviews are followed by an in-depth exploration of the often unseen and unacknowledged gender rules of music industry practice (both personal and technical) that underpin popular music etiquette. A range of supporting material from academic works to technical publications and popular music journalism is used to expand and critique the discourse. She's at the Controls will appeal to everyone interested in new developments in the music industry, as it recalibrates itself in response to current challenges to its traditional gender stereotypes.

Women in Audio features almost 100 profiles and stories of audio engineers who are women and have achieved success throughout the history of the trade. Beginning with a historical view, the book covers the achievements of women in various audio professions and then focuses on organizations that support and train women and girls in the industry. What follows are eight chapters divided by discipline, highlighting accomplished women in various audio fields: radio; sound for film and television; music recording and electronic music; hardware and software design; acoustics; live sound and sound for theater; education; audio for games, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, as well as immersive sound. Women in Audio is a valuable resource for professionals, educators, and students looking to gain insight into the careers of trailblazing women in audio-related fields and represents required reading for those looking to add diversity to their music technology programs.

Presenting a range of ethnographic case studies from around the globe, this edited collection offers new ways of thinking about the interconnectivity of gender, place, and emotion in musical performance.