A six-month project, which started out in November last year to support and encourage more female producers in the music industry, has culminated in today’s much anticipated documentary release. Lisa Murphy, a music producer and teacher based in Newcastle, launched the ‘Women in Music Production’ project to tackle underrepresentation of women in this section of the industry.
As part of the project, four aspiring female music producers – Cortney Dixon, Abby Hillyer, Holly Rees and Grace Alexander – were given access to weekly sessions aimed at upskilling, increasing knowledge and aiding development in music production. This included recording and production projects as well as guest workshops with experienced and talented local music producers, including Hattie Murdoch (singer/songwriter/producer), Paul Gregory (guitarist/producer, Lanterns on the Lake) and Sam Grant (Blank Studios owner, producer and guitarist in Pigsx7).
The mini-documentary saw the group team up with Bridgelight Media to portray the six-month journey from the perspectives of those involved. The hope is that the documentary will inspire the next generation of female music producers and showcase this is a viable career path in the industry, irrespective of their gender. It was thanks to public funding from Arts Council England and the National Lottery Grants Scheme that this project could be brought to life on screen.
Lisa Murphy commented: “As a woman working in music production, I felt that there was an opportunity to share my knowledge, experience and contacts with women in the northeast who wanted to learn more and access work in this area. So, I applied for arts council funding to run this project. The intention was to identify, and hopefully break down barriers, to “opening the door” to more women working as music producers in the local industry. The more that we normalize the image of a woman working as an engineer, musician or producer, the more it will be accepted and the gender gap will narrow.”
You can watch the documentary below. Head to http://www.womeninmusicproduction.co.uk/ for more information.
