Girls Make Beats — a non-profit empowering the next generation of female producers, DJs and engineers — hosted a summit for local middle- and high-school girls at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles on Friday (Oct. 10) in honor of International Day of the Girl.
Approximately 500 students from L.A., Compton and Inglewood spoke with executives and creatives such as Rochelle Balogun, senior hip-hop & Afro programmer at Amazon Music; Qiana Conley Akinro, senior executive director of the Recording Academy LA Chapter; producer/songwriter Trinity; and songwriter Whitney Phillips during speed mentor sessions. The girls also practiced DJing through virtual reality with Tribe XR and with Serato through TEC Leimert, a Black-owned non-profit dedicated to helping communities of color to keep pace with technological innovations in an effort to bridge a growing digital divide. Other activations at the Girls Make Beats Summit included jamming with pink and purple Girls Make Beats branded guitars in the Plug and Play area, learning about the audio pitch modification tool Melodyne with the musical software company Celemony, and checking out Mobile Sessions, a mobile recording/mix/live production studio built inside of an RV.
The girls later filed into the Paramount Theatre, where they were treated to a performance of “Big Screen” by Girls Make Beats event producer Stichiz and Janice & The JAC Trio, and greeted by host Kaiya Nyasha. Randy Spendlove, president of worldwide music and publishing at Paramount Pictures, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and Phylicia Fant, global head of music industry and culture collaborations, delivered more remarks. Later, the girls tuned into the “What Is Sync Licensing?” workshop with Racquelle Proctor, senior manager of creative music strategy at Paramount, and the “How to Make a Beat” masterclass with Girls Make Beats founder Tiffany Miranda. And three students won the $1,700 You Glow Girl scholarship.
Girls Make Beats was also honored by Janelle Monáe at Songwriters of North America’s fifth annual Warrior Awards on Sunday evening (Oct. 12).
See some of the best photos from the Girls Make Beats Summit below:
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
-
Image Credit: Courtesy of Girls Make Beats The Girls Make Beats Summit in Los Angeles, California, on October 10, 2025.
