Unfortunately there is a glut of women music producers in the industry, but the upside is that there is definitely room for growth. If you are a young female looking to get into the production side of music then the sky is the limit, as there are few big name women producers. You could easily power your way to the top by simply producing high quality records. Both men and women have access to the various digital audio workstation software (DAW) and hardware options available to beat makers, and therefore it is up to a person’s creativity, hard work and skill to create sick sounding beats.
Some of the more well known lady producers are DJ Pam the Funkstress of The Coup, Missy Elliot, Muhsinah, Josie Carr and Jean Grae. Of these few names it is likely that you have only heard of Missy Elliot, as she has had several big hits over the past decade. DJ Pam the Funkstress is more of a turntable master than producer, but she does have a few production credits to her name. She was one of the few, if only female Dj’s during her heyday in the 90s. This lack of female producers surely must bring up the question of why, and how can a talented and hungry woman producer become successful?
Follow Your Passion
Making it as a producer can be a long road, but the number one most important thing is to follow your passion. If you really love to craft sick beats and don’t care whether you are paid to spend time putting together beats or not, then you know you are following your passion. The good news is that if you have the desire and work ethic to become a top female record producer you can inexpensively grab your own copy of a solid piece of software. There are numerous options for up and coming producers, but you have to keep several things in mind when choosing which DAW to purchase.
Choose Software Wisely
How much can you afford? Do you want a simpler interface to get your feet wet, or something more complicated? There are very expensive DAWs that can go for close to $800 or ones that will only cost you thirty dollars. Guess which one is also more complicated to use? Again, if you have the time and patience to figure out how to use all of the detailed functions of a Reason or Ableton Live software then definitely go for it. Read about beat making programs to see the top options. However, if you want to jump right in to making sweet beats then I would recommend DUBturbo beat making software.
Use the Internet’s Power
Another advantage for a new female producer in today’s technology driven world, is the fact that anyone can build a loyal following online, for free. There are countless free websites that only require your time and effort to share your beats with the world. Think about Soulja Boy, who came from obscurity on YouTube to become a household rap name, raking in millions of dollars and solidifying his legacy. Dondira Nicole and Brandon Hines are two other YouTube stars who got signed to record labels after building an online resume.
There is no reason that you can’t utilize YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and even MySpace to show the world how good of a lady record producer you are. As a beat producer you can also set up an account at one of the top beat selling websites (rocbattle.com as one example), upload some of your latest beats and start to not only cash in on your beats but to also build a reputation. You can utilize the many social media websites to send fans and followers of your music to your beats page as well.
Networking
Networking is a huge component of breaking into the music industry too, so make sure and connect with as many people as possible. Enter beat battles on and offline, and get to know some other male and female producers, because you never know where those relationships could lead to. In fact, I heard a story of a young producer who bought beat software for under one hundred dollars and eventually sold one of his beats to a major artist for $20,000. The only reason he was able to make the connection with the artist was because one of his friends introduced him.
You don’t need to go to an expensive school to learn how to put together beats, instead work on your own computer based DAW. Try to get an internship at a recording studio for experience, exposure and networking but keep on laying down those tracks. You could be the next big woman producer, and prove that men aren’t the only ones who can produce hit songs.