During the 2019 Billboard Women in Music gathering, Spanish superstar Rosalía gave an honest speech. She recounted her experience of going to the studio to find that the sound engineer and the producer were both men; when she studied music in college, the musicians were all men. The reality for women in the music industry has changed somewhat in recent years, but it’s still not enough.
“I will never stop ’til I find and see the same number of women as men in the studio,” said the winner of 11 Latin Grammys and two Grammy awards, to the awe of her listeners.
What Rosalía said years ago confirms the recent report of USC Annenberg, published last January, about Inclusion in the Recording Studio, which reveals the inequity in women’s representation in music. She Runs The Boards, by the platform Platoon, is one global initiative seeking to transform that situation through immersive musical laboratories. The program came to Mexico for the first time this year in collaboration with the American Society of Composers, Artists and Editors (ASCAP).
She Runs the Boards Mexico took place from March 20 to 22, after a successful first experience in Miami in late 2024. The global musical program, created by women for women, aims to challenge the lack of racial and gender diversity in the global music industry.
“One of the reasons we wanted to do She Runs The Boards was because we saw a very low percentage of women, engineers, producers and composers, in the music industry in general, so starting an initiative like this was a way to try to increase that percentage,” said Grace Hsiu, Senior Strategy Editor for Artists in Platoon and co-founder of the program.
“It’s very unusual for any type of studio session to be totally female, so being able to do this and bringing it to Mexico City is a big win for us,” Hsiu adds.
She Runs The Boards Mexico included the participation of performers Lena Burke, Lucky and Valentina Perdido, in addition to the composers Mónica Vélez, Agua Tinta, Amanda Coronel, Covi Quintana, Luisa Almaguer, Marcela de la Garza and Shu Cantoral; the producers GRTSCH and RLPK; and audio engineers Karen Valdivieso, Lizzy Landau and Mariana Aguilar.
Over three days, this group of creatives and technicians, mostly Mexican, joined forces at Casa de Copas, a recording studio in the old Sony Studios complex in Mexico City, the headquarters for this song camp.
Divided in three groups that changed every day, these women, of different ages, nationalities, roles, careers and musical genres, brought together their ideas, talent and passion to create a diverse array of songs, from ballad pop to merengue, dark-alternative pop and Mexican regional music.
“Music isn’t just sound, it’s the collective heartbeat of the people who make it,” says Luis Castro, Creative Director of US Latin & International Affairs for ASCAP. “True artistic expression flourishes when minds connect, spirits align and voices join together in a team.”
The laboratory brought together Mónica Vélez, a recognized figure in the Hispanic music industry; experienced pianist Lena Burke; Luchy DR, a singer with great vocal versatility; Luisa Almaguer, representative of the trans community and a rising alternative musician in Mexico; talented young people like GRTSCH and RPLK, all to create songs, composed by Amanda Coronel and Marcela de la Garza, recognized in the Mexican regional music scene, and mixed by young engineers Michelle Anzo and Karen Valdivieso.
During the selection process, Luis Castro from ASCAP says, they sought out participants who had “something in common” creatively speaking. Then they aimed to pair experienced participants with authors that were beginning their careers.
“What’s the best way to start if not with women?” says Guillermo “Pinky” Mordan, Head of Latin at Platoon. “I had a really nice experience because I saw how the groups formed and the respect that they have for each other as colleagues and women. Seeing them flow was something that made me proud.”
Mónica Vélez, one of the most respected Mexican composers in the Hispanic scene and winner of two Latin Grammys, affirms women’s advancement, in music and elsewhere, is unstoppable.
“When an idea is necessary, many minds begin to repeat it around the world. No one can stop us from moving forward, because there are a lot of us having different ideas and getting them off the ground indifferent spaces and skies,” Vélez says.
The Mexican songwriter Mónica de la Garza says that over the years, she has watched women taking up more and more space in the music industry, above all in audio engineering and production.
“Finding each other as songwriters, supported by other women in the process of creation, production and musical recording, is something that makes me proud and inspires me,” de la Garza says.
The Puerto Rican Valentina Perdido, who participated as a performer and composer, expresses that it was “an honor to work with so many talented women.” “I’m still a small artist in New York, and coming to this big city and getting in the studio with all these women has been one of the most incredible experiences.”
“Pinky” Mordan emphasizes that there are clear examples of how women are leading in the music business today, with figures in the United States like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. In Latin America, the Colombian women Karol G and Shakira stand out, the latter with world records from her Grammy-winning 2024 album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, which marked her triumphant return to music after seven years. “But we also want these generations of women to direct men’s projects, for them to be the ones showing the way,” he adds.
“For us it’s not just about coming to Mexico and doing this song camp once,” says Grace Hsiu. “We really live this every day, and we defend it because it’s important for women to have this opportunity. It’s important for women to realize they can be engineers. They don’t have to just be in front of the consoles, they can also be behind the consoles,” she concludes.
The multi-award and GRAMMY® winning label Platoon was acquired by Apple in 2018. The boutique artist services company identifies groundbreaking talent from around the world, while providing invaluable and innovative tools and services to build their careers and reach new fans. Platoon landed its first success shortly after their inception when they signed the then-unknown Billie Eilish, laying the groundwork for her ascent to global stardom, alongside other household names such as Mr Eazi and Victoria Monét. Current signings include Saint Harison, RZA, Khaid, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and more.
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