Catharine Wood (born July 10, 1973) is an American composer, songwriter, musician, producer, audio engineer and studio owner associated with both popular music and music for picture.[1][2] Her work is primarily influenced by folk, rock, pop and soul music.[3] In addition to being a vocal activist for songwriters,[4] Wood is recognized for her contributions as a recording arts leader and mentor by AES and NAMM presenting alongside Grammy winning Leslie Ann Jones[5] and Lenise Bent.[6][7][8] She has been highlighted in two UK published Routledge academic books as a trailblazer in the professional music engineering and producer community: “Women in Audio” and “Gender in Music Production” in Chapters 4 (Sound for Television and Film) and 13 (Perspective Through a Female and Feminine Lens) respectively.[9][10][11] In 2022, Wood was elected to The Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter Board of Governors.[12]

Catharine Wood
Catharine Wood
Catharine Wood
Background information
Birth nameCatharine St. Clair Wood
BornJuly 10, 1973
Hong Kong
GenresPop, Folk, Rock, Soul
Occupation(s)Composer, Songwriter, Music producer, Engineer, Studio owner, Activist
Years active2000–present
LabelsAPM (Sony/UMG), Planetwood Productions, ESPN (DMG)
Websitehttps://www.planetwoodstudios.com

Early life and education

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Born in Hong Kong, in 1973, Wood was raised in Connecticut, Colorado and California.[13] Wood studied at Colorado College (with a BA in Art) followed by postgraduate study in audio engineering, music production and audio post-production at the LA Recording School where she graduated at the top of her class in 2005.[14][15]

Music and engineering career

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As a composer and producer, Wood has had original work released by APM/Sonoton under the SureFire Label (Sony/UMG),[16] ESPN (Disney) produced by Norm Whitehurst,[17] on many major networks,[18] and has engineered on music ranging from ABC Music/UMG Soul Movers Band[19] (Mastering Engineer) “Hot Sauce (GEM Remix)” to global commercials during her tenure at Play Studios, Santa Monica; including the first iPhone “hello” TV ad and the “Get A Mac” campaign,[20][21] heralded by Ad Age as one of the top 15 campaigns of the 21st century.[22] Wood is credited for her score recording work on The Planters Film,[23][24] which captured 11 notable awards[25] including AFIFEST Official Selection 2019 and Raindance 2019 top honor, Film of the Festival.[26] Her studio, Planetwood Studios, LLC, is one of the few solely female-owned and operated studios in Los Angeles.[27]

Activism

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As an advocate for songwriters, Wood took the position of Executive Committee member for the Corona Virus Songwriter Emergency Relief Grant Fund in 2020 (created by SONA), alongside Autumn Rowe, Leland, and Leona Lewis, offering grants to support songwriters through the pandemic,[28] following an unprecedented charitable contribution of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from Sony ATV’s chairman, Jon Platt. Wood is a regular contributor to the Songwriters of North America education efforts[29] as well as SoundGirls.org.[30] In 2022, she was a noted contributor to Emily Lazar's We Are Moving The Needle "Fix The Mix" initiative[31] - aiming to eradicate the dramatic gender gap in the recording industry. Women in music are significantly under-represented in the recording industry by comparison to their male counterparts, with only 2.6% female music producers[32] as illustrated in the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, published by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2021.[33]

Personal life

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Wood currently lives in Los Angeles, California and is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community.[34]

Awards

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2021 Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) Pop GEM ("No Ordinary Days") Nominated [35]
2020 Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) Pop GEM ("If I'm Honest") Nominated [36]
2020 Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) Downbeat/Downtempo GEM ("Malibu") Nominated [37]
2016 Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) Singer-Songwriter Billy Lawler ("Casualty") Nominated [38]

Selected discography

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  • Hot Sauce (GEM Remix) (Soul Movers Band, ABC Music) 2021
  • No Ordinary Days (GEM) 2021
  • A Parrot Sipping Tea (Michael Robinson, Azure Miles Records) 2021
  • If I’m Honest (Luxury Remix)(GEM) 2020
  • DayDream (GEM) 2020
  • If I’m Honest (GEM) 2020
  • Malibu (GEM) 2020
  • Billionaire (GEM Remix) (Max Jackson) 2020
  • Bad Idea (GEM Remix) (Max Jackson) 2020
  • Higher Ground (GEM) 2020
  • Letting Go (GEM) 2020
  • Keep Me From Blowing Away (Anna Ash) 2020
  • Retro (Boy SODA) 2020
  • Missin (Boy SODA) 2019
  • I Like The Simple Life (Katie Ekin/APM-SureFire) 2018
  • Casualty (Billy Lawler) 2016
  • Nostalgic EP (Billy Lawler) 2016
  • Epic Boxing (ESPN Theme) 2013

References

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  1. ^ Herstand, Ari (March 4, 2018). "150+ Female Producers You Need To Know – Ari's Take". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  2. ^ "Creative Conversations 024: Chill Out in Malibu With GEM". Futuremag Music. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  3. ^ "APM Music – Albums". www.apmmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  4. ^ "SONA Launches Songwriter Pandemic Emergency Relief Fund: How to Apply". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  5. ^ "Leslie Ann Jones". GRAMMY.com. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  6. ^ "Catharine Wood". NAMM.org. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  7. ^ "SoundGirls Mentoring in Recording Arts With Leslie Ann Jones". NAMM.org. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  8. ^ "AES Academy 2020: Audio Careers: SoundGirls - Mentoring in..." aesacaddemy2020.sched.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  9. ^ "Women in Audio". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  10. ^ "Gender in Music Production". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  11. ^ Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ; Hodgson, Jay; King, Liesl; Marrington, Mark (2020-04-07). Gender in Music Production. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-87585-4.
  12. ^ "The Recording Academy is the leading society of music professionals | RecordingAcademy.com". www.recordingacademy.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  13. ^ "Catharine Wood – Producer, Engineer and Owner of Planetwood Productions". SoundGirls.org. 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. ^ Stories, Local (15 July 2019). "Meet Trailblazer Catharine Wood – Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  15. ^ "Meet Catharine Wood | Producer, Engineer, Composer & Owner". SHOUTOUT LA. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  16. ^ "APM Music – Albums". www.apmmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  17. ^ Epic Boxing Viernes de Combates, retrieved 2021-11-11
  18. ^ "Catharine Wood – Contact Info, Agent, Manager | IMDbPro". pro.imdb.com. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  19. ^ "The Soul Movers". ABC Music. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  20. ^ "Catharine Wood – Producer, Engineer and Owner of Planetwood Productions". SoundGirls.org. 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  21. ^ Stories, Local (15 July 2019). "Meet Trailblazer Catharine Wood – Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". voyagela.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  22. ^ "Top 15 ad campaigns of the 21st century". Ad Age. 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  23. ^ Lowe, Justin (2019-11-18). "'The Planters': Film Review | AFI 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  24. ^ The Planters (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-08-08
  25. ^ "THE PLANTERS". THE PLANTERS. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  26. ^ "Raindance Film Festival (2019)". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  27. ^ "Meet Catharine Wood | Producer, Engineer, Composer & Owner". SHOUTOUT LA. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  28. ^ "SONA Launches Songwriter Pandemic Emergency Relief Fund: How to Apply". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  29. ^ "Royalty Super Sleuths (On Clubhouse)". Songwriters Of North America. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  30. ^ "Catharine Wood". SoundGirls.org. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  31. ^ "Fix The Mix". join.jaxsta.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  32. ^ Annenberg Foundation. "Inclusion in the Recording Studio?: Gender and Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 800 Popular Songs from 2012-2019" (PDF).
  33. ^ "Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's annual report on popular music reveals little progress for women". annenberg.usc.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  34. ^ "We Celebrate Audio Industry Talent At The End Of Pride Month". Production Expert. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  35. ^ "2021 Music Genre Nominees – Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Hollywood Music In Media Awards. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  36. ^ "AWARDS". Planetwood Studios Awards. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  37. ^ "2020 Music Genre Nominees – Hollywood Music In Media Awards". Hollywood Music In Media Awards. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  38. ^ "AWARDS". Planetwood Studios Awards. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
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