Linda Perry Works with CMPA Mentorship Program

By FYI Staff

American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Perry is at the helm of the Canadian Music Publishers Association’s new mentorship program, Women in the Studio.

Mentees Alexandra Petkovski AKA FJØRA, Denise De’ion, Francesca Nocera AKA Sun Sun, Lisa Patterson, and Myya Lal were the lucky ones to have a master class session with Perry at a Toronto recording studio last Friday, May 10.  Perry is a Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Hall of Fame inductee known for her work in the band 4 Non-Blondes, and for shaping the sounds of musicians such as P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, and Adele.

The program provides mentees with career and technical skills development as well as networking opportunities that they would otherwise be unable to access.

A February 2019 report by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found that women made up only 21.7 percent of artists, 12.3 percent of songwriters, and 2.1 percent of producers throughout the top 100 songs of every year from 2012 to 2018. That same report found that women producers were outnumbered 47 to one by male producers in the sample of recordings analyzed.

“Women are not represented equally in the music publishing and production business. We’re proud to have launched this inaugural program to give women more opportunities in the industry at an important time,” CMPA executive director Margaret McGuffin said.

“I’ve been on a mission to help inspire young women to step in front of the board and take action, for songwriters to express from their hearts and for artists to lead with passion,” said Perry. “It is my pleasure to support experienced and emerging producers this week through CMPA’s Women in the Studio initiative. It is such an important program to move gender equality forward in the music industry.”

The program's funding is shared by Ontario Creates and RBC Royal Bank.