MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Tiffany Miranda was 15 when she got her start in the Miami music scene, now she is empowering girls to follow their dreams in the music industry.
“I was offered my first contract from Uncle Luke Records and at the time, Pitbull was signed to him and Pitbull kind of became my big brother,” Miranda recalls.
She soon learned that producing and engineering would become her passion.
“I invested in my own home recording studio and was self-taught in things like pro tools, midi keyboards, and audio interfaces. I became obsessed with it,” said Miranda.
She even worked with big names in the business and grew her skills, but something was missing.
“A lot of the creative control was coming from men. There were virtually no women in the room,” said Miranda.
So, she set out to level the playing field and in 2012 she founded a nonprofit organization “Girls Make Beats” with a clear purpose.
“If women are not really present in the conception of the music creation process, we are not being fully represented as our true selves,” she adds.
The organization offers tutorials and masterclasses in deejaying, producing, and sound engineering for girls ages eight to 17 in Miami and now Los Angeles.
They host summer camps, industry panels, and networking events.
GMB also serves as an outlet for girls to unite and collaborate within the music industry.
They gain skills and work alongside powerhouses like Angela Basset in a recording voiceover session for Ford, and even created a remix for Janet Jackson.
Kaiya Nyasha is a grad of New World School of the Arts and GMB alum.
As an artist and a producer, she records, mixes, and edits too.
She’s now at Berklee College of Music and singing the praises of the organization’s impact on her life.
“It was such a character moment for me to see that this is deeper than music, it’s really a sisterhood,” Nyasha said.
Her dream is to be a recording artist for her own label.
“I really want to usher in the new wave of future music moguls,” she adds.
Miranda plans to expand the program’s reach by starting clubs in schools.
Right now, seeing Kaiya and others reaching their goals is beyond gratifying.
“This is the most overwhelming and fulfilling feeling that I could possibly feel. It really is the purpose behind why we do what we do, and she is living proof of that.”
For more information on the organization and how girls can join, visit the Girls Make Beats website here.