Meet Audra Baruch of Eagle Rock

Today we’d like to introduce you to Audra Baruch.

Hi Audra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Manhattan, New York with a very creative family; my paternal grandfather was a Broadway producer who played piano, my mother was a stage actress, and my dad was an entertainment lawyer for Broadway, so I basically grew up surrounded by theater and music. My mother, who was born in Australia, wanted both myself and my little sister to have a good background in music, so she enrolled us in Mannes School of Music, where we played classical piano and took music theory lessons weekly.
I was there for around ten years, and by the age of twelve or thirteen I got burnt out from the strict curriculum and turned to double bass. I was the smallest kid in my class, and decided that playing the biggest instrument I could possibly find would be a good way to get some attention. I ended up really enjoying it, and the fact that I was a girl playing an instrument that was heavily male-dominated. I ended up auditioning for LaGuardia as an instrumental major, and went there for my first two years.
Eventually I got burnt out with classical bass as well; lessons were two hours a day in the basement of this ten story building that we weren’t allowed to leave until the end of the day. I started looking for a school to transfer to, and find other modes of music. The one thing I knew was that I loved music – I loved singing, playing, writing, listening, all of it. So I didn’t want to give that up.
That’s when I turned to music technology. I started teaching myself how to record and mix and master, and I started writing my own songs. By this time, COVID was in full swing, and I truly gave myself over to the music.
I went to Occidental College in LA for music production, and was one of three girls in my major for that year. I moved all the way across the country because I believed that I could really DO this for a living. I wanted to be an audio engineer, or a songwriter.
As the years went on, I realized it wouldn’t be easy. Only 2% of music producers were women at the time, and women only made up 5% of the music industry. Those numbers were incredibly discouraging. Nevertheless, I persisted. I started joining nonprofits like GrammyU, Women in Music, She Is The Music, and Women’s Audio Mission. I went to networking events, introduced myself to people, and eventually secured some unpaid internships in a couple recording studios. They weren’t perfect, of course. I experienced my very first moments of discrimination in those settings, and it was horrible. In one, I was the only female intern, who was only called into sessions if the other male interns were unavailable. In another, I had a producer tell me to babysit his child and help with his groceries.
I kept pushing, though, because I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. I started babysitting to create some income so that I could buy the music equipment I wanted. I found a mentor who showed me the ropes and introduced me to people.
And then, in my senior year, I was asked to join a recording studio as a songwriter. GRL SND, which is located in Los Feliz, is a recording space specifically catered to women and LGTBQ+ artists, and their owner, Jose, took a chance on me. He liked the music I had sent him (I was sending at least ten cold emails a day to studios all over LA), and wanted me to join his team.
Sadly, the music industry is in flux right now, and I haven’t been hired for a project yet. But I knew this pathway wouldn’t be easy the moment I started walking it. Right now, I’m an intern at Disney in the TV Animation music department. It’s been fascinating to learn more about the music business side, while still pursuing my passions of audio engineering and songwriting.
I don’t know where this next chapter will take me, but I’m determined that no matter what, I will be a part of music for the rest of my life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
God, no, it’s been far from easy. I struggle with severe depression and anxiety, since middle school. My entire teenage and adult life so far has been jumping from therapist to therapist. Thankfully, since I started antidepressants at sixteen, it’s been more under control, but it’s a constant presence. Maintaining my mental health has been my priority ever since, but it’s hard to juggle with living so far away from home and doing what I do.
Of course, there has been the sexism, which is, to be blunt, heartbreaking. To be in the career I love, and to be treated the way I was because of my gender, AND in an area that I thought to be so progressive, has been hard to wrap my head around. Luckily, the nonprofits I am a part of have been incredible in keeping me afloat, because I know there are hundreds of other women like me, going through the same challenges, and keep pushing through to have wonderful, fruitful careers in music.
The transition from college to adult life hasn’t been easy, either. I like to think of it as a quarter life crisis. After college, you’re basically dumped in the adult world and told “good luck,” and that is SCARY. And I’m scared all the time, scared for my future, scared that I have to pay my bills, scared that I’m doing something wrong. But I’m trying to embrace the fear, and embrace the change, and just take one day at a time. With my therapist, of course.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m like an octopus. I’ve immersed myself in so many different areas of music that I now have a lot of tools in my belt. I’ve studied audio engineering, mixing, and mastering, and now I’m working on the music business side of it at Disney. But what I most excel at is songwriting. Writing has always come easy to me, songwriting even more so. My skills in songwriting were what led me to be hired at GRL SND, and even though I’m at a desk job, I’m writing every day. My goal is to have at least one songwriting credit by the end of the year.
The nice thing about the skillset that I have is that a lot of people in the music industry only have one specialty, and that narrows your job opportunities by a lot. whereas I can go anywhere and do anything. And I WANT to go anywhere and do everything, and I love that that gives me room to grow and experience and learn. Because I always want to learn more about music and hone my skills and be the very best I can be.
I have a website, 6udra.com where you can always reach out to me for songwriting collaborations or if you want to license a song from my catalog!

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
The nonprofits I’m a member of are like my holy grail, places like Women in Music, She Is The Music, Women’s Audio Mission, Maestra, and, of course, GrammyU, which I encourage all students who are interested in music to join. All of these organizations have in person events where you can go and network and get to know other people who are going on a very similar journey that you are. Musicares is also a great resource when it comes to artist support – they can provide not only financial aid, but mental health aid as well.
There are also a couple books that are my Bibles: How to Make It in the New Music Business by Ari Herstand, and All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman. If you want to be in the music industry, READ THEM.

Pricing:

• GrammyU is $50 for a four year membership

Contact Info:

• Website: https://6udra.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audraa/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audra-baruch/

Image Credits
Teo Lennertz
Vivian Le
Maddie Thorpe