From Opportunity to Impact: Margaret McGuffin Discusses Women in the Studio’s Growing Legacy
Music Publishers Canada continues its work to create more equitable opportunities across the music industry through the Women in the Studio National Accelerator, an initiative now entering its eighth year. Created to support women and gender-diverse creators through mentorship, skills development, collaboration, and industry access, the program responds to a persistent gap in music production representation.
With the 2026 cohort now announced and participants beginning a months-long program that includes a Toronto residency and national networking opportunities, we spoke with Music Publishers Canada CEO Margaret McGuffin about the vision behind the Accelerator, the impact it has had over the years, and why programs like this remain an important part of building a more inclusive future for Canadian music.
Hi Margaret. First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Yes, of course! My name is Margaret McGuffin, and I am the CEO at Music Publishers Canada. It is our mission to create business opportunities for our members and to promote their interests and those of their songwriting partners through advocacy, communication, and education. Right now, much of our work is focused on AI and making sure songwriters, composers and music publishers get paid in this new era.
What was the original vision behind launching the Women in the Studio National Accelerator, and how has it evolved over its eight years?
Only six percent of the songs you hear are produced by women. We originally set out to find the most promising producers in Canada and provide them with skills development and networking opportunities that otherwise may not have been accessible to them. We want to ensure they learn valuable skills including technical studio skills, songwriting, branding, financial literacy and collaboration. Over the eight years that we have been running this program, we have been able to gather feedback from each cohort and continue to evolve our programming to match their specific needs. Doing this has allowed us to continually modernize the program and provide the information and skills our participants will actually use. The industry itself also has changed, so we continue to adapt ourselves to stay relevant for each cohort.
How does this year’s cohort reflect the diversity of Canada’s music landscape, both geographically and stylistically?
We are so glad to have such a diverse cohort this year, with some artists coming from Ontario and others outside the province. We also have a good variety of music styles; some examples include Latin pop, R&B, and jazz. Alum Ramona Vee was signed to an artist deal with Universal Mexico earlier in the year. Jinting Zhao had a song she wrote on Koichi Domoto’s album in Japan in October. It was #1 on the Oricon Album Chart and sold over 80,000 physical copies before being launched on streaming services later in 2025. Breagh Isabel co-wrote and produced EJAE’s solo single In Another World. It was released late in 2025 and has over 12 million streams. Canada is such a multi-cultural and diverse country and we strongly value the diversity we see each year in our program. The songs of our alum are now heard globally in multiple languages.
What does success look like for participants after completing the Accelerator—both creatively and professionally?
We want every creator who comes through our program to be able to take what they have learned and use it to elevate their craft and produce exceptional music. We also want these women to be empowered to confidently navigate the business side of the industry, so they are able to build a sustainable career. We want to set them up with a strong network so that even after leaving the accelerator, they can still reach out and find new opportunities. By focusing on both artistic excellence and professional development, we ensure our participants can continue to find success and navigate the industry well after completing the program.
Beyond mentorship, what kinds of concrete industry access or opportunities does the program provide?
We are so proud to have top level mentors from the industry such as Mishelle Pack from Sony Music Publishing, songwriter Liz Rodrigues, and JUNO award winning producer Hill Kourkoutis We have hosted 160 sessions with over 200 mentors over the last 7 years and we also host networking opportunities during this week so the cohort can make new connections and meet people they otherwise would not have, especially for those that are coming from outside Toronto.
How important is the Toronto residency component in building real industry relationships and collaboration?
We believe it is very important for our cohort; while it is possible to collaborate and connect online, there is no replacement for the ability to connect and work together face to face. Beyond the day-to-day activities, the women in our program are able to form deeper bonds with each other by just chatting and unwinding together. Our grads continue to co-write and work together well after the accelerator ends. I also love that our grads have gone on to form important communities in their home provinces. Lana Winterhalt from Winnipeg is the founder and director of the award-winning non-profit organization, the Good + Plenty Arts Collective, which seeks to diversify the Manitoba arts scene by providing more opportunities and resources for women, 2Spirit, non-binary, and gender diverse individuals interested in music production and audio engineering.
For more information about Women in the Studio Accelerator, click here.