How women- and non-binary-led music tech manufacturers are navigating a male-dominated industry
Noise Engineering, Manley Labs and Ohma Microphones all have women and non-binary leaders – here are their experiences in the music production scene
Kris Kaiser of Noise Engineering. Image: Ben Clark, Ujin Kim and Britt McTammany via Shoutout LA
We Are Moving The Needle’s Fix the Mix report revealed that female and non-binary producers and engineers earned less than 5 per cent of technical credits on 2022’s most-streamed songs.
READ MORE: The music production industry has a gender problem – here’s how we can fix it
The report examined gender representation and inclusivity in the music industry. It’s mission? To encourage gender equality. What it further revealed was the stark inequality that exists within the world of music technology and the lack of support seen to female and non-binary individuals trying to make their way in the predominantly male space.
A gleamingly challenging industry in terms of gender equality is manufacturing. In some of the biggest music technology manufacturers in the world, most if not all the leading individuals making the important decisions are men. With more and more young women and non-binary individuals wanting to make this way in the fast-growing, creative, and hands-on industry, there is a need to change our understanding of what makes a manufacturer in 2023 and see difference as a strength and not a weakness.
Journey into the industry
Manley Laboratories is led by self-proclaimed ‘Tube Chick’ EvaAnne Manley, who joined the company at 20 years old during a sabbatical from university. Focusing on tube vacuum amplifiers, before moving on to the world of pro audio and hi-fi, she admits she had “zero experience” in the world of electronics, despite her step-dad owning Ampeg in the late 60s.
“At the time, it wasn’t that women were excluded,” says Manley, “it just wasn’t exposed to the possibility that I could study engineering like that. By the time I figured it out, I had a year left of school and it was too late, so I just finished my degree as quickly as possible and jumped straight into tube amps.
“When we talk about these things now, it’s important to say that the opportunities are there,” she continues. “You can earn a great living combining your musical talents and your communication talents into one job.”
It’s a similar experience for Noise Engineering’s Kris Kaiser, who founded the Eurorack modular synthesis brand alongside her husband Stephen McCaul. Kaiser jumped from being a biology professor to working in hardware development.
“I didn’t have a lot of experience in electro-engineering,” says Kaiser. “I was told explicitly that, in the modular synth world, there are a lot of companies that are husband and wife teams, and I was told that wives just do the business side of things.