In its almost fifty year history, the “Producer of the Year” Grammy has never once been presented to a woman. A report from USC Annenberg found that an unbelievable 98.1% of all Producer of the Year Grammy nominees have been men. Let’s look at the root of the issue; this glaring inequality, troubling as it is, is in part just a reflection of the demographics in popular music production. From 2012-2021, the same USC report found only 2.8% of music producers from a wide, representatively selected sample of popular works to be women. Women of color can have an exponentially harder time making a name for themselves on top of this. The USC report points out that just ten in the 1,567 production credits were given to women of color. Of the 700 billboard songs analyzed, women of color made up only 0.6% of these producers.
Even with the unfathomable statistics, there is such a vibrant community of women making waves in behind-the-scenes aspects of the music industry today. There are so many women out there helping to bridge the gap in education and representation for the next generation of girls. In this article, I want to highlight eight of these extraordinary women. Each one of them have already made such game-changing advancements and will have an even more undeniable impact in the future.
- Wondagurl
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Notably having worked with Rihanna, Drake, and Travis Scott, Ebony Oshunrinde (professionally known as Wondagurl) has been an audio production prodigy longer than you’d believe. At just sixteen years old, she produced “Crown” for Jay-Z. Oshunrinde was also credited as a producer on Rihanna’s “B*tch Better Have My Money” in 2016. Oshunrinde was featured on the Forbes “30 under 30” list in 2018 and has been one of the youngest women to ever be on the production team of a platinum-selling hip-hop album.
- CJ Marks
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Catherine (CJ) Marks has an awe-inspiring body of work in her portfolio. Marks has worked with so many different artists and musicians, from radio staple The Killers to 2000s alternative band Death Cab for Cutie, to indie sensation Wolf Alice. Even more recently, Marks has worked with boygenius in the production of their multi Grammy-winning album the record. Marks has always been adamant about bridging the gap in music production spaces and including more women in every aspect of the music business.
- teddy<3
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Teresa “Teddy” Geiger has worked with so many different wildly popular musicians and has made an undoubtable name for herself in the music business. She has been on the production team of songs with Shawn Mendes, One Direction, Niall Horan, Lizzo, and The Chicks (just to name a few!). Geiger has production credits on so many well-known hits, including Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” and “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back.” Geiger has made so many advancements as a trans woman in getting more LGBTQ people into the world of music production.
- Caroline Polachek
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While she’s more often recognized for her solo act than her production credits, I will take any chance to talk about Caroline Polachek that I can get. Polachek attended CU Boulder for her freshman year and part of her sophomore year, and it was here that she formed her first band in 2005. Polachek has slowly collected attention and critical acclaim over the years and is known for her signature “escape room” music style. Along with being an integral part of the production on her solo albums and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Sound Engineering on her latest album, Polachek also has production credits on Beyonce’s 2014 “No Angel.”
- Ester Dean
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Esther Dean (going by “Ester” on her socials) is mostly known for her songwriting contributions, but she also has production credits on a vast array of well-known songs and albums. Dean got her start in underground studios in her home state of Nebraska before moving to Atlanta at the age of 20. She has written and produced for some of the biggest names in music today, such as Beyonce, Ciara, Christina Agiulera, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, and Lil Wayne. Dean has contributed so much to the music industry as a whole and given so much hope and representation for women in songwriting and music production alike.
- SOPHIE
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One of the original pioneers of hyperpop, Sophie Xeon has produced her own music and has done production work alongside some of the biggest names in the industry, from Charli XCX to Vince Staples, Kim Petras, and Madonna. Her 2015 song “Lemonade” was used in a McDonald’s commercial and her music exploded from there. Xeon came out as a trans woman at one of her shows in 2017. After her tragic death in 2021, Kim Petras credited Sophie in her recent Grammy acceptance speech for paving the way for her and other trans musicians. Charli XCX debuted a tribute to the world-changing collaborator this year at the Billboard Women in Music awards, titled “So Do I”, an exploration of Charli’s own grief and heartbreak that will likely be seen on her next album.
- Yang Tan
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Yang Tan has worked with a variety of collaborators, including influential musicians like Janelle Monae, J. Cole, and Raveena. Tan has a background of working with orchestral arrangements but has moved on to contemporary pop artists more recently in her career. She is also moving into the world of K-Pop, demonstrating her abilities in such a wide array of genres.
- Kesha Lee
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Kesha Lee has produced for Childish Gambino, Lil Uzi Vert, Migos, and Playboi Carti among so many others. A TIDAL article says that in Lee’s case, “the road to platinum plaques and working with superstars like Migos and Lil Uzi Vert was paved by tears, sh*tty apartments and lifeless retail gigs.” Lee rose to prominence slowly (alongside her retail job in the beginning!) and eventually moved away from freelance production to working more closely with Lil Uzi Vert. More recently, Lee has been featured on the Forbes “30 under 30” and was awarded the Top Engineer Award at Spotify’s Secret Genius event.
While the music business can be cutthroat and unforgiving, representation will only improve as the future generations enter the scene. Here’s to each of these women working behind the scenes and so many more for the advancements they’ve made!