SoundGirls

SoundGirls is a professional advocacy organisation aiming to empower women working in audio and music production.[1] It was co-founded in 2013 by Pearl Jam’s monitor engineer Karrie Keyes,[2] and audio engineer Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato,[3] FOH engineer for Styx, Mr. Big and Elvis Costello. Their mission is "empowering the next generation of women in audio"[1] and increasing the number of women in the workforce, which is currently at 5%.[4]

Keyes and Sabolchick met when they were on a panel together at the 2012 AES Convention in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women's Audio Mission called "Women of Professional Concert Sound" and was moderated by Terri Winston, the founder of Women's Audio Mission.

Since then, SoundGirls has grown to over 5,000 members and has several chapters worldwide. The organization assists with mentorships, job placement, workshops, and scholarships. The organization is inclusive of all genders and non-conforming genders. Keyes is currently the executive director[5] and runs the organization on a daily basis.[6]

In 2015, SoundGirls started holding live sound camps in the summer for girls.[4] These events are held in California, New York, Philadelphia, and St Louis with signature camps in Los Angeles in 2020.

In 2018, SoundGirls teamed up with Spotify to create the EQL Directory,[7][8][9] an international database for women working in audio and music production.[10] They have also partnered with the SoundGym audio training organisation, to offer subscriptions to women training in audio.[11]

SoundGirls has also hosted events, workshops and mentor meet ups where young aspiring SoundGirls get the opportunity to meet professional recording engineers, music producers, live sound audio mixers as well as pros who work in film & TV and post sound production. Some of the speakers and mentors have included recording engineer Lenise Bent, multiple Grammy Award-winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones,[12] engineer producer singer guitarist Vanessa Silberman,[13] Onnalee Blank,[14] Kate Finan,[15] Anne Marie Slack, Karol Urban, April Tucker[16] and Jett Galindo.

References
  1. "About us". Soundgirls.
  2. "The Sound Behind Pearl Jam". HuffPost. 13 December 2017.
  3. "Michelle Sabolchick: FOH and SoundGirls.org". Mix Online. 15 November 2017.
  4. "Why Aren't There More Women Working in Audio?". The Atlantic. 30 August 2017.
  5. "If You Want To Be Somewhere, You've Got To Occupy It". NPR. 27 February 2018.
  6. "Meet Karrie Keyes of SoundGirls and SoundGirls Productions". Voyage LA. 12 June 2018.
  7. "The EQL Directory".
  8. "Introducing The EQL Directory: A Database for Women and Gender Non-Conforming Audio Professionals". 13 November 2018.
  9. "Spotify Pairs With SoundGirls to Launch EQL Directory to Boost Diversity Across Music Industry". Billboard. 13 November 2018.
  10. Fiona Hope (18 December 2018). "Soundgirls co-founder Karrie Keyes on the recent launch of its EQL directory with Spotify". PSN Europe.
  11. Fiona Hope (23 April 2019). "SoundGym and SoundGirls collaborate to support women in audio". PSN Europe.
  12. "10 Women in Audio Production". music.tutsplus.com. 8 March 2018.
  13. "SoundGirls Presenting Two Educational Opportunities in LA in April". prosoundweb.com. 9 April 2018.
  14. "SoundGirlsOrg: Career Paths in Audio Post-Production". tonebenderspodcast.com. 19 December 2018.
  15. "Kate Finan". radiopublic.com. 25 July 2016.
  16. "2019 Grammys: Women behind the music". CGTN America. 8 February 2019.

Official website

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