Photo Credits: FKA twigs / Facebook
FKA twigs has joined forces with UK music technology non-profit Saffron, becoming the organisation’s first-ever official patron as part of a new partnership focused on improving diversity and access within the music technology industry.
Established in Bristol in 2015, Saffron addresses music tech’s gender imbalance by offering education, mentoring, and networking to women, trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals. The initiative highlights stark industry underrepresentation, noting that women and non-binary people comprise under 5% of professional producers and engineers, with Black and Brown representation below 1%.
The partnership stems from twigs’s experience in studio settings lacking representation for women, trans, non-binary, and people of colour, noting her path would have been easier alongside similar communities. Her donation will fund Saffron’s music technology programs over the next year, focusing on Bristol and London. Although in its early stages, twigs expects the collaboration to yield impactful work.
Saffron manages a global online community of over 250 women, trans, and non-binary music tech members across 34 cities and 14 countries, offering workshops, networking, feedback, and career development. Featuring artists like Octo Octa, Shanti Celeste, and Rroxymore, its initiatives address industry disparities in technology, training, and networks by fostering environments where underrepresented communities gain skills, professional connections, and creative autonomy.
