Beyond the stereotype of the knob-twiddling bloke are brilliant female producers, but gatekeeping, toxic masculinity and a lack of concrete support are holding them back
A good music producer facilitates a studio environment that allows an artist to plunge into the depths of their soul, and cleverly shapes the sound of their music – a bad one, meanwhile, can halt a promising career. But in 2023, 70 years on from the dawn of rock’n’roll, this tremendous power still lies in the hands of an overwhelming majority of men.
Women and non-binary people claimed less than 5% of producer and engineer credits across the top 50 streamed songs of last year, according to a recent report from Fix the Mix. Dated stereotypes have framed producing as the preserve of nerdish knob-twiddling blokes – despite there being ample historic evidence to the contrary.
