The Recording Academy has unveiled plans for a new diversity push among those who'll produce and/or engineer future releases.
Friday, the Recording Academy's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion—which counts Common and Sheryl Crow as members—announced the Producer & Engineer Inclusion Initiative. The initiative, as explained in a statement, represents a planned industry-wide push for more women to be hired in producing, engineering, and mixing roles. A USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study last year found that only 2 percent of producers and 3 percent of engineers and mixers "across popular music" were women.
The initiative asks "any entity or individual" tasked with making hiring decisions to only make such decisions after perusing a field of candidates that includes at least two women. As a tool for those looking to hire producers and engineers, the Recording Academy has launched a continually updated site that will help put these entities and individuals in touch with women for producing and related roles.
Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Fall Out Boy, 2 Chainz, John Legend, and Ariana Grande are among the first round of artist to throw their weight behind this new push for an industry that more closely resembles the diversity of its audience.
"I've been very fortunate in my career to surround myself with powerful female figures," Perry said in a statement Friday. "I'm proud to have a female engineer run my own Unsub Studios. I pledge to support this great initiative to provide even more opportunity to talented female producers and engineers."
This year's Grammys takes place on Feb. 10. Cardi, Post, and more are up for the night's top honors.
