• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Culture

Girls Make Beats trains girls in music production to help correct the gender gap

1:31
'Girls Make Beats' aims to help more women break through the music industry
ABC
Rachel Scott
ByRachel Scott
April 19, 2018, 4:00 AM

When recording artist and audio engineer Tiffany Miranda walks into a studio, she's used to standing out.

"As a woman, some of the challenges I faced were just people walking in the door and asking where the engineer is while I was sitting right behind the mixing console," said Miranda, whose work has appeared on "American Idol" and "X-Factor." She has collaborated with many artists and producers like Rick Ross and DJ Khaled.

"A lot of guys weren't really used to seeing girls behind the boards," she said.

"Girls Make Beats," an organization for young girls interested in becoming music producers.
ABC

But Miranda didn't want to accept that as the status quo. Instead, she decided to work towards correcting the gender disparity in music production, founding Girls Make Beats, an organization dedicated to helping young girls interested in becoming music producers.

The group hosts educational seminars, summer camps and networking events -- all with the goal of helping girls further their careers in music.

A lot of guys weren't really used to seeing girls behind the boards

"Girls Make Beats came about because of my own personal story and struggles in the music industry," Miranda said. "I found out very early on that it was tough for girls to break into music technology fields and there's actually never been a woman to win a Grammy for their music production ever."

The numbers back up Miranda's experience. Female songwriters and producers are outnumbered by men, according to a USC Annenberg report conducted between 2012 to 2017. Female songwriters and producers made up only 12.3 percent of songwriters for the top 600 songs of the last six years. Also among the findings: 2 percent of producers across 300 songs were female translating into a major gender ratio of 49 males to every female.

"Girls Make Beats," an organization for young girls interested in becoming music producers.
ABC
"No women that I could look up to"

"When I was growing up there were literally no women that I could look up to and aspire to be -- the next big audio engineer, that next big music producer," she said. "So with Girls Make Beats we're out there, we're bringing the program to these girls and their schools. We're introducing them to these really cool and fun fields like DJing, music production and audio engineering and getting them excited about it from an early age."

The organization started in Miami, but recently opened a chapter in Los Angeles and is organizing programs in several major cities across the United States.

Related Articles

Recording Academy launching 'female advancement' music industry task force

Related Articles

Recording Academy president regrets 2 words about women in music

"Girls Make Beats," an organization for young girls interested in becoming music producers.
ABC

The program aims to help young girls like 11-year-old Bella Villa whose nickname is DJ Bella.

"I knew there [weren't] a lot of female DJs and I wanted to finally become one," she said. "My favorite part was learning how to mix songs together."

Working alongside other young girls with the same goals has helped 16-year-old Jerica Hatcher, aka DJ Blessed, gain confidence in her skills.

"My favorite part of the program is just being here with the girls, coming together to make music that people will want to hear," she said. "I'm just learning slowly ... piece by piece. It has its challenges, but I try to overcome those challenges saying, 'I can do it.' I just don't give up."

"It's really about the confidence"

Miranda believes that benefits of the programs extend beyond music production. Regardless of what career the girls pursue, she hopes they will carry the sense of accomplishment from Girl Makes Beats with them.

"It's really about the confidence that they build and knowing that they can tackle anything that they put their minds to," she said.

Miranda's advice to young girls is to be persistent and don't take "no" for an answer.

"Never wait for your opportunities, but create them," she said. "When you hear 'no,' that's okay, that means 'not now.' That means go work on your craft. Make another beat. Go do something that's going to be proactive in getting you to the next step."

Up Next in Culture—

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' reboot casts Ryan Kiera Armstrong in lead role

May 15, 2025

Gary Sinise says he's unsure about returning to acting after son's death

May 15, 2025

Smokey Robinson faces criminal investigation after sexual assault allegations

May 15, 2025

Daughtry to replace 3 Doors Down on tour amid Brad Arnold's cancer treatment

May 15, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News