Prime Highlights :
- The Resonator Awards celebrate women producers and engineers, recognizing their creativity and contributions in an industry where they are often underrepresented.
- Founder Emily Lazar emphasizes that the goal is for underrepresented voices to be seen, heard, and valued every day, without needing a special spotlight.
Key Facts :
- Since its founding in March 2021, We Are Moving The Needle has raised $875,000 in scholarships and grants, pairing each recipient with experienced industry mentors.
- The non-profit has established 22 college chapters across the U.S. and runs the Amplitude Youth Program, introducing young girls to music production early on.
Background :
The music non-profit We Are Moving The Needle is back with its second annual Resonator Awards, taking place during Grammy Week at the newly renamed Charlie Chaplin Studios in Hollywood. After a one-year hiatus due to wildfires disrupting Grammy Week programming, the awards are set to honor women making significant contributions behind the scenes in music, including producers and engineers who are often underrepresented in the industry.
This year’s honorees include Chappell Roan, St. Vincent, Chaka Khan, and Haim, with presenters such as Sia, Anderson. Paak, Olivia Rodrigo, Laufey, and Addison Rae. Hosting the event will be Fred Armesan. The awards aim to celebrate creative excellence while addressing the persistent gender imbalance in technical roles within music.
Founder and Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar explains that the awards were created not as a show, but as a platform to highlight a critical issue: “The Resonator Awards are about celebrating creators. I’m a creator, so it makes sense to me to want to highlight, showcase, uplift, and celebrate other creators who are meaningful and impactful.”
Statistics underscore the need for the initiative. Across projects nominated for this year’s Grammys, only 3 percent of technical team members were women, with just one woman credited solely as an engineer in the Album of the Year category. Lazar points out that the lack of women in music production is not just an equality issue; it also means losing out on creativity, since half of the population’s voices are missing from the process.
Since starting in March 2021, We Are Moving The Needle has raised $875,000 in scholarships and grants, pairing each recipient with a mentor from the organization’s Soundboard, made up of experienced industry professionals. The non-profit has also set up 22 college chapters across the U.S., from Berklee College of Music to Howard University, and runs the Amplitude Youth Program, which introduces young girls to music production at an early stage.
The 2026 Resonator Awards will be an inspiring evening of celebration, mentorship, and support, highlighting the importance of gender equality in the future of music.
