PRESS

(NEW YORK – DECEMBER 18, 2023) – We Are Moving the Needle, a non-profit organization that aims to empower women producers and engineers, will present its first annual awards during Grammy Week in Los Angeles. The invite-only Resonator Awards will take place Tuesday, January 30, 2024 and will showcase the top echelon of female and gender-minority producers and engineers.

Resonator Awards will be presented to several outstanding producers and engineers, as well as an executive who has made equity a priority throughout their career, according to the announcement. Additionally, this inaugural ceremony will include the first inductees to the Resonator Hall of Fame, which recognizes a class of legendary producers and engineers who paved the way and made significant contributions that have shaped the recording industry over their careers. Honorees are selected by a committee of their peers based on their technical integrity, artistic excellence, innovation, and impact. 

“This event embodies our commitment to inclusion and advocacy in the recording industry. While the Resonator Awards are a celebration of technical excellence, they are also an opportunity to elevate the studio roles whose contributions are often unrecognized and unrewarded. I believe it is vital to acknowledge them, to honor them, and to celebrate them as we promote conversations on equity in the recording studio. The impact of these awards will go well beyond the accolades by creating new opportunities that will continue to unite our community.”

Alongside the evening’s award celebration, We Are Moving the Needle is launching the Unity Gain Sessions – the first of a touring series of think tanks aimed at bringing together top artists, producers, and engineers for their perspectives on the future of the industry. This first session will take place on the afternoon of Jan. 30 in Los Angeles, prior to the awards. Additional sessions are planned for Nashville, New York, and London in 2024. The Unity Gain Sessions are made possible by a grant from Beatport’s Diversity and Parity Fund.

“In the midst of the celebrations of the biggest week in music, the Unity Gain Session offers a space to unravel the intricacies of how and why we create and how we navigate this ever-evolving music production landscape,” said Lazar. “This roundtable discussion invites us to pause, reflect, and dive into the essence of our craft.”

(LONDON, UK – OCTOBER 5, 2023) – The Beatport Group announced today the recipients of its second annual Diversity + Parity Fund, which will distribute grants totaling $150,000 to accelerate gender parity and diversity across the music industry. Change The Beat, Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, ONE OFF TRAKS, Other Village People, Saffron, and We Are Moving The Needle are this year’s grantees. Established last year, The Diversity + Parity Fund underscores Beatport's commitment to reshaping the music industry into a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable space for all.

The selected organizations represent a broad range of initiatives, including: festivals, conferences, writing camps, and queer film screenings. Over the next year, The Beatport Group will support each recipient with strategy, community outreach, editorial and social media support, and more.

The Diversity + Parity Fund, represents Beatport's desire to foster a music industry that reflects the diverse tapestry of talent and voices within it. In its inaugural year, The Beatport Group awarded $100,000 to Future Female Sounds, Lady of the House, and #FORTHEMUSIC. This year’s recipients emerged from a pool of more than 150 submissions spanning the globe.

“The electronic music community is filled with vibrant groups of creative people who want to make our industry and world better,” said Sofia Ilyas, Chief Community Officer of The Beatport Group. “The recipients of our second annual Diversity + Parity Fund exemplify the spirit of positive change, and it is our hope that their endeavors will resonate in powerful ways across our industry.

About The Beatport Group

The Beatport Group is the worldwide home of music for DJs, producers, and their fans.  Founded in 2004, The Beatport Group's family of companies includes Beatport, the preeminent store for electronic music DJs, Beatsource for the open-format DJ community, Loopcloud and Plugin Boutique for music producers, ampsuite and LabelRadar for streamlining label management and demo submissions, and Beatport Media Group for brands and fans of DJ culture. The Beatport Group’s portfolio of products includes an array of high-quality audio solutions to choose from, including full song downloads, exclusive content from leading labels, a streaming music service seamlessly integrated into DJ software and hardware (Streaming), and exclusive sound packs and plugins.  All of the content is expertly curated on a weekly basis by a global team that helps define DJ culture. With headquarters in LA and London, The Beatport Group’s teams reflect the culture they serve. A passionate collective of music professionals and technologists who serve the DJ and producer communities with pride. Follow Beatport on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

We Are Moving the Needle Appoints Skye Landgraf as Its First Director of Partnerships and Programs

Nonprofit working to close the vast gender gap in the recording studio will expand programming

New York - August 15, 2023 – We Are Moving the Needle, the nonprofit organization working to close the vast gender gap in the recording studio, has appointed Skye Landgraf (she/they) as its first Director of Partnerships and Programs. The announcement was made today by GRAMMY Award-winning mastering engineer and We Are Moving the Needle Founder, Emily Lazar. Skye is based in Washington, D.C.

In this newly created role, Skye will oversee the growth of WAMTN through the expansion of its core programs, including WAMTN’s pillar Scholarships Program and College/University Chapters, as well as its annual Fix The Mix Report. Skye will also grow WAMTN’s impactful institutional partnerships to drive change.  

“In just two short years, WAMTN has already made a difference in the careers of women and non-binary individuals pursuing careers behind the boards, but we still have much work to do,” said Lazar.  “Bringing in Skye, whose decade of experience in the nonprofit world, deep knowledge of music, and commitment to gender inclusivity and equity, will allow us to make an even bigger impact on our industry.”

Skye comes to We Are Moving The Needle as an experienced non-profit leader with more than a decade of experience in fundraising, ranging from alumni engagement and individual giving, to corporate and foundation partnerships. Prior to joining WAMTN, Skye served as the Director of Institutional Advancement for American Association of University Women, as well as the Associate Director, Foundation Relations at The George Washington University. Skye’s work has spanned education, the arts, research, and advocacy, with a deep commitment to institutions and programs that advance gender and racial equity.

In addition to being an experienced non-profit fundraiser, Skye is also a popular music studies scholar whose work explores cross-racial musical histories between Black and White artists in American music and aims to amplify under-told stories of Black female artists. Skye holds a Masters in English from The George Washington University. Recent work includes “Odetta Sings Dylan: The Sonic Labor of Black Female Musicians,” which appeared at the Pop Conference hosted by NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, and “‘Hurricane’ and Bob Dylan’s Protest Music Renaissance on the Rolling Thunder Tour,” which will appear in the anthology Play a Song for Me: The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances (Routledge, Forthcoming).

About We Are Moving the Needle

We Are Moving The Needle (WAMTN) is a nonprofit organization that is radically reshaping the future of the recording industry. WAMTN works to create inclusive spaces for women and non-binary individuals in music production and technology, and to provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed in these fields. More information at wearemovingtheneedle.org.