Why Aren’t There More Female Music Producers?
cis white man explains 4 u!
Thank you, Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bennjordan
Or stalk me: https://linktr.ee/BennJordan
A blog post from myself and a fellow researcher with citations, references, notes, and suggested reading will be available soon on Medium.
0:00 – Intro
2:00 – Prologue
3:35 – Biology and BS
12:00 – Music Education
13:47 – Homophily
19:00 – Negging
24:40 – Gatekeeping
26:20 – Me Finally Grasping Rape Culture
32:40 – Let’s Do Better
36:14 – Thank Yous and Byes
Musicians/YouTubers in this video:
Bad Snacks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBCI_QCAMe1hx8UNyvJlM_Q
Maddie Jay: https://www.maddiejaymusic.com/
Moshun: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAo5FhFbROFIYqZUASNrppA
Sarah Longfield: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCebyBCG2i893i9hbo1mImpQ
Spirah: https://soundcloud.com/spirahvocals
and Adam Neely: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkp4xDOwqqJD7sSM3xdUiQ
Huge, huge thanks to Cordelia Fine: https://www.cordeliafine.com/
Her Books: https://www.amazon.com/Cordelia-Fine/e/B0034O0AGS/
Videos with the production-value cranked up like this one are made possible with Blackmagic Design’s help.
Gear used:
ATEM Mini Pro
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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera
DaVinci Resolve 16 (100% FREE!)
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Links, citations, timestamps, etc coming soon.
@ariharris9221
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I played cello since middle school, despite originally going for drums when I was little. we sold the drums, and I played cello until I went to summer camp at Berklee senior year, when I sold my cello and now play electric bass full time in college. I am a man (for now)
@nikeisagreekgoddess4135
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
10:00 – Can't believe I'm still listening after the disgusting levels of ideological bias. Still, quite interesting to hear again about Cordelia Fine's anti-science books. A quick google search not just shows the lack of support and citations for her work, but also goes to show just how RADICALLY IDEOLOGICAL her ideas are. There are biological essentialists and then there are Judith Butler and her.
Cordelia is as much a scientist as William Lane Craig is. No research, no responsibility to demonstrate anything they claim. Just sit there and say "nah, it's more complex than that".
I am done now. The laziness with which this fa9 approached the biological argument, for someone like me , who wanted to see a genuine deep dive into it, is an absolute obscenity and serves as YET ANOTHER piece of evidence on how the fucking Right out of all people has been serving as white blood cells against this fucking viral infection.
Fuck you so fucking much. You are making the Left even WORSE than it is already. I think this is my shortest subscription span.
@nikeisagreekgoddess4135
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
2:17 – First bias alert: Imagine thinking you could simplify any movement against women's liberation as "misogynist" but can't find in your own vocabulary a little word called "misandrist" to do the same for the people (men included) who hate men.
How convenient of oversimplify one group and grant nuance to the other.
Terrible start. Although quite expected in such a gynocentric society.
@penta4568
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
40 minutes of whining🙄
@Commandelicious
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
You are a good ally, Benn.
It all boils down to "Schrödingers Woman"
A woman is beautiful and will get unsoliced advice and flirtations until the male in question is rejectey by her. Then she suddely is fat, ugly and unattractive.
Been like this forever.
@The.EatMe.BeatMe.Lady.920
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I dont know why and i feel bad but oddly justified in thinking theres no way Grimes wrote the music that made her famous. Bcuz she and every other female is too … it’s like the reason a hysterectomy is called a “hysterectomy”.
@tom.bstone
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
On the plus side, they get punched in the face less frequently, so that's something
@ultimatedrive990
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
When I see a woman playing some instrument doing music, if I like their work, I feel like she is awesome, but I don't want to be like her in any way cause I don't see myself in her. But if I see a man doing that, I can. So that's my point of view in it.
@AN-717
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Did he say he "polled" a bunch of women?🤔
@bonatoc
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Another advantage of being a Prince fan : we’ve known since Purple Rain and Wendy’s intro that female musicians kick ass!
Of course Sly Stone and Fleetwood Mac fans knew it even before. Janis? Ella? Aretha? Joni? Kate?
Men can be such dorks, and I should know, I’m one of them.
@MikJames-d1g
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Okay, so you had the obvious feminist in your video… Now let's hear from the other side, let's hear from Jeremy Soule on how women have affected his career…
@MikJames-d1g
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
"I feel like my time is valued more than yours"…
Yeah as a relatively successful composer, the majority of male composers time is worth $0.
And compare the value of your time to the value of Amy Lee's time…
And if women can't make it as musicians, their time is valued far more in one industry in particular…
Yeah that's right, I'm talking about the common house wife, what did you think I was referring to the world's oldest profession? 😆👍
@MikJames-d1g
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Why are there so few female anythings?
Sales/retail, answering phones/reception, Fans Only, or stay at home mom, why do anything else when you already have easy options?
Most women just aren't all that creative.
The ones who are creative though, the works they create resonate with me just as much as any man's work. And to be fair if we men had easy options/opportunities in life we'd be taking them too.
The good news for female composers is the lack of competition. It's far easier for a female composer to stand out in the crowd among a sea of dudes.
@frankhaugen
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I'm European, (Norwegian to be precise), and the North American gender division is so extreme it's mind boggling…
@4KOWO
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
this seemingly doesn't apply to me. NOW do identify as non gendered, but biologically im still a man. But nontheless I feel none of this. I feel no musical difference between musicians, and that includes genre. maybe thats becuase I grew up with a man and a woman who's musically inclined. so it just feels so weird to hear about this, and makes me feel like im being misrepresented but im not, its just the average man. I think we should begin acknowledge the fact not all men are like this. yea. idk. nice vid btw 😀
@theondono
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I haven't watched the full video (yet), but this is the type of comment that I'll forget to write if I don't do it now, so here it is. You can't just compare those two questions, for comparisons between populations to be comparable you need to control a bunch of things, and number 1 is asking the same exact question with the same exact wording.
Let's assume my beliefs is that most women don't see being alone in a studio for +30 hours a week as an interesting job, I don't even know why, I just don't buy the "blank slate" BS about your whole identity being socially constructed. If I get ask question 1 (the one you asked your audience), I would answer "Women are born different". But with the same exact beliefs, if I see question 2 (the one you asked other professionals) I'd answer "No".
@dinkaboutit4228
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Because women tend to feel like the necessity of gaining technical knowledge in order to develope technical expertise is just one more way that they're being discriminated against. Like you made them not care or something. And that's an empirical observation based on 10 years in IT.
@erindabney2758
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Interestingly, I never considered or thought about this disparity. Playing instruments has always been extremely important to me, but I’ve never really pursued music as a performer or otherwise because I’ve never thought I had the ear, the chops, or the look to make it.
I was married to a musician (classically trained) for many years and it was so fulfilling because he understood me in a way no one else ever has and I really felt I could be all the facets of myself with him… until that Taiwanese woman showed up and the MorMen started influencing him.
Interesting. Makes me wonder if I subconsciously hold myself back because of my lady parts.
@wheredowegofromhere86
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
27:12 and finally, I am with all of it so far kinda already was, but I kept waiting for the truth cringe bomb to drop…Not all Straight Men, but allot of Straight Men I over hear or interact with sometimes with the Woman present, so in real time it’s like slow mo horror for her, yeah WTF it’s constant for Women, so have u only been interacting with her because u think u might get with her? It would make me constantly on alert and anxious to wonder when if that situation is gnna reveal itself and we all know how MEN handle a Woman who is not interested in them that way. Which is a more than OK and plausible outcome response that they should be prepared for and be able to handle themselves in a mature way, how about u empathize with the Woman and the relationship u just confessed to having an anterior motive for, nope that’s already asking too much, it’s always labeled REJECTION, when its so much more and super defeating I would imagine for allot of Women, it’s crazy how Men cannot handle themselves when faced with the reality of allot of things. It’s like u don’t stand a chance if it’s not what they are thinking, well how can u if that’s the only game being played, either be totally into me beyond what we’re doing now or all of this and future interactions will cease to be possible. I’m not a Woman, but I’ve been raised by Women and I see it allot. It just makes it all about something else that never was or wasn’t at the very least a priority for one person. I’m done sorry.
I’m loving this channel, this is a subscribe button experience. ❤
Honestly, Ladies, keep fighting the good fight, but can I say to the Men, hey yo bro we are all so tired of this and at this point y’all MEN need to get together and be accountable for your behaviors, and y need to accept collectively that you are the problem and you are holding everyone else back from so much more, your emotional immaturity is something you need to address recognize and agree to change, because it’s killing the rest of us…our time is better spent, we will price it to you, but it would be so great if y’all could help us get their faster. Men never hold each other accountable, I don’t really see that depth and intimacy in many male relationships, even father son relationships…ugh.
@TheSoremoose
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
25:10 "wtf, you know how to do it and you're STUPID" is the most golden clapback I've heard in a while. Had to pause the video to crack up a moment.
@billysgeo
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
The answer is simple. It’s history. Patriarchy has been the e default for “forever”. So this is the “norm” for men and anything deviating from that feel foreign and weird (to say it mildly).
@Mr850man
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I know we are talking about producers, but I watch Sangah Noona (piano player) on youtube and in the comments nobody gives advice, if anything is a whole bunch of simps
@ChadAV69
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
If I was a chick I sure as shit would choose getting on stage in skimpy clothes for money vs sitting around producing music.
@DurtyCardiologist
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Lol yea…there are no distinct and significant physiological and psychological differences between men and women….it was just a social construct created to capitalize on media!!!!!
🙄🙄
@tomwright9904
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Risk aversion, having children and wanting to work with people?
@R3TR0R4V3
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
Yeah, I don't get the whole 'gear s|uts' thing. I think of it more as an endearing term; one who is passionate about gear. No need to make it into a weird negative connotation, or something that needs to be sexualized. This definitely smells of some woke BS. 🤷🏻
@TNH91
August 23, 2025 at 5:20 am
I like to think of the biological differences between the sexes as just making each one just slightly better at some tasks. But also for a lot of things the variance within each sex is greater than the variance between the sexes. Males seem to have a larger variance in ability, both at the high end and the low end.
So in general there's no good reason that any specific person can't do any specific job. But the current demography of a field usually perpetuates itself through many different mechanisms, both self-selection by the individual who would or could become part of the field and selection by the people that employ people in a given field.
The best we can do for our kids is probably to let both boys and girls play with dolls, action dolls, tractors, hammers, saws, duplo, lego, painting, drawing stuffs, chess, and whatever else. The kids are going to be able to choose which things they actually enjoy better that way, and no specific choice has any specific meaning for their sexuality or philia (love). Let them grow up without trying to label them, it'll give them a better chance at knowing who they are in the end.
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