Hi friend,
Welcome to the very first issue of FemmeProducer. It's a newsletter and a curated tools directory for women and gender-nonconforming producers who want to make more music and spend less time wondering which buttons are worth pressing.
Why this exists
Here's the number that started it all: in 2025, women held just 4.4% of producer credits on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart, down from 5.9% the year before. The USC Annenberg study behind it also found a 27-to-1 ratio of men to women producers across the years it covered (Mixonline / USC Annenberg, March 2026).
That isn't because we're not making music. We are, in bedrooms, studios, and Discord servers everywhere. But most of the tool reviews, tutorials, and "top 10 AI plugins" lists are written for, and tested by, a crowd that doesn't look like us. In one 2026 survey of more than 2,200 producers about AI tools, only 6.6% of respondents were women (Sleepfreaks, 2026). The same survey found that 27.1% of people not yet using AI said they simply don't know which AI service is good.
That's the job of this newsletter: honest, practical, no-gatekeeping guidance on the tools that actually help you finish tracks, plus a community of producers who get it.
What you'll get
Tool picks with plain-English notes on what each one is good for and what it costs
Workflows that go past beginner level: sound design, arrangement, mixing, and how AI fits into all of it
Spotlights on producers and communities doing great work
The directory: a growing, curated list of AI and production tools at femmeproducer.com
5 tools to try this week
1. Moises (stem separation, freemium)
Pull vocals, drums, bass, and more out of any track. Use it to study how a mix is built, practise over a song, or prep a remix. Stem separation is the #1 AI task among AI-using musicians (71%, per Moises × Water & Music, 2026). → https://moises.ai/
2. Ultimate Vocal Remover (stem separation, free)
The open-source option. It runs offline on your own computer, so there are no credits or uploads to worry about. A little more setup, a lot of control. → https://ultimatevocalremover.com/
3. Vital (synth, free + paid tiers)
A seriously powerful wavetable synth with a free version. If you've ever wanted to understand sound design rather than scroll through presets, start here. → https://vital.audio/
4. Spitfire LABS (instruments, free)
Beautiful, characterful instruments: pianos, strings, textures, and oddities, all free. Perfect for adding warmth to beats or scoring moments. → https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/
5. iZotope Ozone (AI-assisted mastering, paid)
Ozone's Master Assistant gives you a smart starting point for a master inside your DAW, and then you can tweak every move it made. It's a great way to learn mastering, not just outsource it. → https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone.html
(Honesty note: some links in future issues may be affiliate links. If you buy through them, FemmeProducer earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. We'll always label them, and we'll never recommend something just because it pays.)
Hit reply. Seriously.
This newsletter will be shaped by you. Reply to this email and tell me:
What DAW do you use, and what's one thing in your workflow that frustrates you?
Which AI tools have you tried, and did they help or get in the way?
Who should we spotlight? A producer, an engineer, or a community you love.
Every reply gets read. The best answers will show up (with your permission) in a future issue.
And if you know someone who'd love this, forward it to them. That's how we change that 4.4%.
See you in the next issue,
FemmeProducer
femmeproducer.com