Women hold a fraction of music industry jobs. A new program seeks to change that

In The NOCO

If you listen to music at all in 2024 it’s clear that female artists are a dominant force. From Taylor Swift to Beyonce, Dolly Parton to Billie Eilish, women are some of the top-selling artists in the business.

But behind the scenes? It’s a different story.

Statistics show only a small fraction of people in the music industry are women – not on the performing side, but in behind-the-scenes jobs like engineering and production.

A new nonprofit called Project Traction has a mission to create opportunities for women and non-binary music producers. It was founded by Jim Eno – the drummer for the band Spoon. He hopes to boost the number of women in these important industry roles by providing mentorship and hands-on studio experience.

And the latest iteration of Project Traction is focused on Northern Colorado.

Briana Harris, a singer and saxophonist in Greeley, is one of the musicians participating in Project Traction. She got to fine-tune her studio skills alongside Eno, producing a new music track from Denver-based indie rock band Barbara. She joined host Erin O’Toole to discuss the project – and why it’s important to elevate women in all roles across the music industry.

Project Traction Volume 2 is accepting applications until Friday, June 14, 2024.

Hear Briana Harris’ solo work here – and check out her work with The Burroughs here.

“For Good Measure,” the Barbara track Briana co-produced is out now. Listen here:

Barbara: "For Good Measure" (co-prod. Briana Harris) - KUTX