WOMEN IN MUSIC GET A SPOTIFY ASSIST

Spotify has partnered with Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato’s nonprofit dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in music, SoundGirls, to launch a global database, EQL Directory.

The directory comprises women working behind the scenes in music and audio. Any person around the world can add their name and claim their space.

In addition, Spotify and Secret Genius have assembled a team of in-demand professionals to create a new EQL Advisory Board, bringing in TRAKGIRL, Lauren D’elia, Jin Jin, Kesha Lee, and Ali Tamposi.

“SoundGirls already had this global directory of women in audio and production, and we came together to help them make it more beautiful, more useful, and more visible within the industry,” says Kerry Steib, Spotify’s Director of Social Impact. “We know that increasing equity for women in these fields is a complex problem to solve. We have to work with great partners across the industry and come together to create solutions.”

Keyes, Pearl Jam’s long-time sound engineer, says it’s a “myth that there are not very many women or non-conforming people working in audio, and because of this people don't even bother to look. The EQL Directory proves that this is not true.”

Visitors to the EQL Directory, which is here, can find resources from initiatives and organizations such as the Audio Engineering Society, Beatz By Girlz, Girls Make Beats, the Women’s Audio Mission and others.