Breaking Down Barriers: Women’s Representation in the Music Industry

Check out Karla Ortiz online!

• Instagram - @misskortiz

• Linkedin - KarlaOrtiz

• Website - monarkentertainment.co

Note: This is an original transcript–edited for sense, length, and clarity.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email our host, Doria Lavagnino, at doria@sheventurespodcast.com.

Intro:

Doria Lavagnino: Early in her career, she worked on digital marketing campaigns with artists such as Rod Stewart, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, and Nelly Furtado, to name a few. Decades later, this Latinx award-winning music marketing executive founded her own agency, Monark Entertainment, which provides creative direction and overall strategy for streaming and digital marketing. As a Latinx woman, she also focuses on helping women of color. She’s here to discuss her wins, her challenges, and aspirations as a veteran music marketing executive. Karla Ortiz, welcome to SheVentures.

Karla Ortiz: Thank you. So good to be here with you.

Doria: I’d love to hear a little bit about your childhood and maybe one memory or one person that stands out to you.

Karla: I grew up here in Los Angeles [County], in the city of Norwalk, to be exact, which is not far from Compton and is not far from Downtown. I had a wonderful childhood with two Latino parents. My mom is from Mexico, and my dad is from Puerto Rico. I have two awesome older brothers, and I used to have a great time hanging out on the front porch watching my brother play basketball with the basketball hoop that we had in our front yard and always trying to aspire to be like him and make it in the net every time if you will.

Doria: It reminds me, being in Brooklyn now, but having grown up on the West Coast, I do miss the basketball hoop in the drive; even having a driveway is a luxury in Brooklyn. So very, very nice. 

You were a double major in college with communications and sociology. How did you decide you wanted to go into marketing? How did that happen?

Karla: You know, I had originally aspired to be a publicist, and then I kind of fell into the second major in sociology based on my intro to sociology professor, who had a companion book that was about Elvis Presley’s life and how it was reflective of socioeconomic progression, and I thought that was very fascinating and that’s what kind of pushed me on the path to double major; but in wanting to be a publicist, I was always very fascinated by the entertainment space, and in having a few guest speakers come in, I began to get very curious about the touring world and the video and videography world, and the overall music space, if you will. 

I ended up actually researching at the Career Planning and Placement Center at Cal State Fullerton and found an internship opportunity with Universal Music, and that’s really what kind of pushed me in that direction, but I had already been interning with Ryan Seacrest on the morning show at KIIS-FM. I knew I was drawn to the music space and very fascinated at the time. He was regularly getting ready at 6 a.m. for American Idol while we were also planning and plotting for the morning show and all of its wonders. But it was really the internship at Universal that propelled me to want to get into marketing and understanding the nuances of what marketing was.

Doria: And you mentioned you got an internship with Ryan Seacrest, and some of our listeners are in college and are looking for internships. That’s a hard internship to land, I would think. How did that happen? And do you have any tips for people looking?

How to Land the Internship of Your Dreams

Karla: I think it really comes down to your interest, your dedication, and just kind of your path. What really helped me land that role was actually someone who was in a hiring position who was from the same town in which I was living at the time; at that point, my parents had already moved to what’s called the Inland Empire in a town called Chino Hills; and she was actually from Chino Hills and saw my resume and was super curious about what I was doing and what I was studying and what my path was, and it’s one of those almost small-town stories. But it was kind of a “small town story in a big town” that really helped me. And she kind of, I guess, favored my resume because of that. And once I came in and interviewed, it all came together. And I think she saw the same excitement and dedication that she had and gave me the opportunity.

Doria: So it was really her who recognized something initially, and then it was what you gave to that interview that moved it forward.

Karla: Yeah, I think it was about my studies and where I was trying to go, and the path that I was trying to pave, and her seeing that tenacity in me and really wanting to help kind of push me forward, which was great.

Doria: That is great. And the reason I ask is because I also work with young women who are getting out of college. And one of the things that I have found to be fairly common is they do everything online, and they don’t hear back, and they become very dissuaded. And so, I was curious if you had any tips for them. For example, I say, if you’re looking at a job, look at not only the job but also who can you actually find there that you may have something in common with. And I think it’s so much about the strategy behind things. And that’s what I was curious about when I asked that question.

Karla: Yeah, 100 percent. I think that today, we have so many resources, right? So, back then, we didn’t have any: We did not have LinkedIn; we didn’t have social media the way that it has iterated today. So I think that you have to really tap into LinkedIn, who you’re connected to, and even beyond who you’re connected to, and just send that cold solicitation and that greeting and that initial intro about who you are and what you’re trying to achieve and what you can help provide them that they may not have or that they may have a need for. 

Outside of that, I think actually honing in on social media contacts and identifying if the hiring manager or other folks at the company are on Instagram or Facebook and trying to connect with them there — and again, explaining your story and establishing that initial direct contact.

Doria: I love what you said about telling them what you can do for them because I think oftentimes people want to amplify their own skills. And sure, that’s important, but really, it’s more helpful, I think, many times if, and maybe it’s more artful if you can also then kind of show how you can get them there, but really focus on how you can help them get where they want to go.

Karla: Yes, I think understanding the overall mission and the overall goal, and it’s not always entirely clear what their goal is, right? But having somewhat of an understanding of what they’re maybe trying to achieve is extremely important. It’s different if someone comes to me and says, “Hey, I’d like to work in the music business, and I’d love to work with the artists that you’re working with,” versus, “Hey, I specialize in social media and I have successfully helped grow three profiles, and I’d love to help contribute to what you’re doing and show you what I’ve learned.” That’s a very different conversation and a very different message.

Doria: Love that.

Karla: And I think being able to amplify, even if you’re still new and green and just want to say, “Hey, I’m a self-starter, I’m very dedicated to what I do, I’m on time, I’m a good listener, etc.” Those things go a long way if you want to get started, and maybe there’s an administrative role or something like that where you can get your feet wet and learn and be a fly on the wall, if you will, to see what transpires in the business on a day-to-day basis.

Doria: I love that. It’s great, great advice. So, obviously, the music industry has changed a lot over my lifetime. I can remember cassettes: I can remember the very brief eight-track. Obviously, vinyl was all there was at one point. So the fact that it’s now come back and is super hip is really interesting to me. There are CDs, and now it’s all streaming. Where did your career start, where was music at, and what evolution have you seen?

How It Started!

Karla: That’s a great question. I can say that my first cassette was Madonna. And, I can’t remember the name of the album, but it was the album that had “La Isla Bonita” on it, which was back in the day. 

Doria: Oh yes, back in the day. Yeah.

Karla: And I remember recording various radio DJ sessions on cassette because I wanted to make sure I had them. So I can go back there with you. But I actually started in the early 2000s before what we call “digital” today. It used to be called “new media.” And my first internship at Universal was actually a part of a department called NetReach, a part of the new media division. And this is back when marketing online, in its iteration of what it was, was on message boards. And we would market tour dates, and we would market album releases and new single announcements and all sorts of things, limited edition gems, if you will, and all of that through message boards. So that’s back when I started. So, it was before what we now call the digital era and digital distribution.

Doria: And so, for our listeners, that would mean CDs specifically? Am I right on that?

Karla: At the time, yes. CDs were at the helm, for sure.

Doria: Okay, this has never happened to me and we will cut this part out. My computer crashed behind me, but I’m right here.

Karla: Okay.

Doria: I have my questions behind me.

Karla: It’s so funny; apparently Mercury is in retrograde until Tuesday, so all good.

Doria: I’m glad you’re a believer. I actually have a candle right now that’s Mercury in retrograde. I mean, I don’t know if the candle actually does anything, but it does smell good. Thank you for being kind about that. 

So one of your clients is Verswire, a venture capital music startup serving as a developmental incubator for both emerging and establishing artists alike. So, can you explain in layman’s terms how it works?

Karla: Yeah, they truly believe in artists and their artistry, and they infuse all of their resources into the artist, similar to how a label would, but their whole structure is completely different. And so, the majority of the resources that they’ve brought in are all outsourced. And it’s in an effort to truly drive the most revenue toward the artist. And it’s been, honestly, an incredible journey with them. We started with them early last summer in 2022. The artist that we’ve been working with them in developing, Beauty School Dropout, is actually opening for Blink-182 this month.

Doria: Congrats.

Karla: Yeah, with a huge show at Madison Square Gardenand a new single the same day. And they’ve grown by the thousands across social media per platform, and they’ve started to really own and kind of dig their own niche in the rock space, which is super exciting. We’re really proud of them.

The Music Industry’s Juicy Details

Doria: Why do you think an incubator is important?

Karla: I think an incubator is important because it takes a different approach from the traditional major label system. So major labels tend to bring in various artists and sort of infuse their general machine system, if you will, in their own ways, and they have their own means of prioritization. But when you have an incubator that is a lot more honed in and a lot more focused, you have pretty much laser eyes on the artist, on the project, on every aspect of what they’re doing. And I feel like there is nothing that goes awry, and there’s nothing that gets missed. Therefore, it essentially helps set them up for success, top to bottom, versus in a shorter amount of time within a major label system.

Doria: And you had mentioned that the artist also gets a larger percentage. Are you able to talk at all about what the percentages are in the industry? I know it’s a very controversial topic, or at least I gathered from watching it. This is all I know. There was a show on, I think Netflix about Spotify’s founder, and just how that really changed how artists were compensated, not necessarily for the better initially, I don’t know now. Curious of your perspective.

Karla: It’s difficult to really speak on the percentages because they’re all different. Even from a distribution standpoint, every distribution deal differs depending on the length of time, the amount of content that you’re delivering, your popularity, and your social currency at the time —  all of it weighs in. So all of that impacts, at the time, your going rate or your market value. So, it’s very difficult to say what that looks like. It’s very different for every artist. Today, tomorrow, next week, it’s very different.

Doria: And probably what they’re able to negotiate, I would imagine?

Karla: Correct. Hopefully, you have a great manager and a solid attorney, and you can make magic happen.

Doria: Magic is a good thing.
Karla: Yeah.

A Super Strategy: Identify Your Top 3 Goals

Doria: How do you approach creative direction and strategy for streaming and digital marketing campaigns, and what do you think are the most effective ways to reach and engage audiences in today’s landscape?

Karla: So, our common approach at Monark is really about identifying what your top three goals are. And every artist to that point has different successes that they’re coming to the table with, and in some instances, they’ve had none, because they’re just getting started. So it’s really a matter of figuring out: What does success look like for each individual artist? What do the next six to 12 months look like for them? And the next three years? What does coming to fruition look like, and how do they define that? So that’s kind of where we start out. 

And in the music business, it’s really a matter of a few core platforms. So it’s Spotify, it’s YouTube, it’s Instagram, and it’s TikTok. And that’s not to say that that’s all that matters, but those are, I would say, the core four in terms of making sure that you’re buttoned up in terms of your perception and the optics of how you’re presented and then figuring out how to maximize the consumption of what content you’re publishing there. And that’s sort of where the conversation starts, and figuring out what the audio is going to pan out to be, and then what does the video companion look like to support that audio.

Doria: It’s much more difficult, I think, than people realize.

Karla: Oh yeah. And that’s part of why I ventured out and started Monark. It’s truly about wanting to empower artists who have a real affinity for what they do and a real sense of dedication and passion for their creativity. And so they tend to have their own magic and create a vision behind what they’re bringing to market. And then we tend to help amplify or extend and create tentacles around what they’re already cultivating.

A Pivot to Entrepreneurship: Boss Level!

Doria: Talk to me about the pivot from major music labels to eventually entrepreneurship and being the head of your own company.

Karla: So, pivoting has been a big part of my career. Again, I was at Universal for 11 years. And toward the end of that term, I realized that there wasn’t a whole lot of flexibility in terms of moving around and shifting roles. I had kind of seen most of what there is to see, and there were a lot of rules and guidelines and regulations, especially being a part of a huge entity like that, which limited, especially in the digital space, what we could do. And that was something I was not too thrilled about. 

So I decided to depart for a little bit, and I went to work for a CPG brand and ran digital for them, where I had a bit more flexibility, and it was a completely different space. I ran global social media strategy and really integrated myself in influencer marketing, and truly loved what I learned. I learned a tremendous amount and realized there was so much going on in the brand space that wasn’t yet happening in the music space that I wanted to bring that back and infuse it into music. 

And so I decided to come back to music, and I joined an indie distributor, but the time was really focused on video distribution and hadn’t yet powered their audio distribution capabilities. And I was able to help propel that and then started their artist marketing division. And getting into that phase and into the indie space within that scope, I really learned how much freedom and how much flexibility there was and how much hunger there was to learn, and how much education there was to provide to artists as it related to the music business overall, and these platforms that they were not really aware of in terms of the ability to maximize their presence and utilize the resources already available to them.

Doria: And being the head of your company, what would you say in hindsight are three things that you’ve done well and one or two things that you wish you had done differently?

Karla: I would say, three things I’ve done well. I would say I have selected and identified the right teams and talent to infuse and empower. I have had the ability to identify what’s lacking as it relates to helping equip them for success and how to support them, which has been exciting. And I would say the third thing has been hiring fantastic individuals who are also passionate about the music business and want to learn and make a difference in this decade and in this era. 

I wouldn’t say I would do anything necessarily different or that I’ve done wrong. I would say that it’s been an incredible opportunity to learn and identify what expectations are and understand that you can’t meet an expectation if you don’t know what it is. So it’s important to understand and know what those are. And I think the other thing that has been the biggest lesson is it’s always going to cost you something. It’s going to cost you financially, or it’s going to cost you with time. And you have to identify between the two and figure out what makes the most sense. Even if you have all the funds in the world, is it going to make sense to spend it, or should you spend some time?

Doria: Right, because that’s so true. Those are the opportunity costs of your time.

Karla: Right, right. And that’s across social media, I mean, with everything.

Make Way for Women: Female Representation in Music

Doria: Yes, that makes so much sense. I love what you’ve said. I did just a little research myself. I’m sure to anyone who knows music, these stats are not surprising. So, I was curious about women’s representation as musicians. And what I found was that men outnumber female musicians 3.6 [to 1], a little more than 3 to 1. And then I also found that men outpace women in songwriting. The top male writer has 49 credits, and they identified that person as Drake. I’m so unhip. I mean, I know who Drake is, but I didn’t know his name was Aubrey Graham. And then the top woman writer has 20 credits, and that would be Nicki Minaj (aka Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty).Thoughts? 

(Source: Inclusion in the Recording Studio? Gender & Race/Ethnicity of Artists, Songwriters & Producers across 1,100 Popular Songs from 2012 to 2022, published January 2023 by USC Annenberg and Spotify.)

Karla: I think that the industry is still antiquated in many ways. I think it’s still catching up to what we are living in the present day. And all of us females in the business are 100 percent working hard to open those doors, not only for females but for multicultural females. And that’s something that is extremely challenging in a business that is very heavily run by men and, many times, is called a boys’ club. And it’s like anything else: It’s like the boys’ club on campus; it’s like your brother’s group of friends. It’s that boys’ club that is within its own and doesn’t really accept others in different ways. So it’s been a challenge to kind of break down those doors.

Doria: How do you think people in the industry can do a better job of supporting or promoting diverse voices, women of color, for example?

Karla: It’s all of the ways that we have available to us today. It’s job opportunities, it’s internship opportunities, it’s mentoring, it’s enabling voices at conferences, on panels — even just inviting guests to come in and witness or partake in said event or opportunity. There are so many ways to do that. It’s really just a matter of being mindful and figuring out what that entry point is and how it makes sense for that person in that role. But it’s the mindfulness of it at the core.

Doria: Do you think there’s a greater awareness in mindfulness of it?

Karla: I think that there’s a greater awareness, but that doesn’t mean that it means anything or that it matters to the boys’ club. So it really does rest on the shoulders of women, and probably, a part of that boys’ club who are dads of females that understand and know how important it is to nurture women and the importance of providing those entry points and support opportunities.

Doria: Absolutely, and I’d imagine mentorship as well.

Karla: 100 percent. Yeah, not all, but most of my mentors have been men and men who have really helped provide me not only the knowledge but the ability to see what it is to work and live in a different capacity than I ever thought was possible. And I didn’t grow up in a wealthy household; it was very middle class, and my parents were always working. And I always hoped and dreamed that one day I’d be able to fulfill my dreams in some capacity, and that being financially and everything else, and it took a lot of hard work. 

But these individuals really helped to show me the pathways in which to make that happen and helped equip my mind to be able to see it to believe it. And that’s extremely important because we’re not always shown that by our parents. And it’s not because they don’t want to or what have you, but sometimes they don’t know how to. So, these mentorships are extremely important.

The Key to Everything: A Mindfully Mighty Mindset

Doria: I think what you ended on, everything you said, is so true. The difference between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset, and even just realizing that within oneself, one has one mindset over the other, and how much it affects every decision that we make from how we see ourselves and how we interact with others.

Karla: Yeah, 100 percent. And I think having the mindset, I always say it’s, “Do you have a glass half full or is it half empty mindset?” And even today, I would love to be a little thinner. I’d love to be a little firmer, what have you. I don’t think I can’t be that, I can. I just need to take the time and figure out how to get there and make it happen. I may not get there, I don’t know, but it’s about having the mentality of being able to try, and if you can try, you can probably achieve some level of success. So you know, if you don’t even try at all, there’s no means of success at all. So you have to take that first step and figure out again, what does that pathway look like, and don’t think about the whole journey; think about the road stops along the way. How do you get to the first stop and so on and so forth? Super important.

Doria: So true. And I would say that so many people don’t realize it, but they’re so anxious about the first step that they spend so much time ruminating about it, and then they don’t take it. And there’s so much power in taking that first step, even if it’s a small one.

Karla: 100 percent, and I think the other big thing, if I may share, it hasn’t even been about the opportunities that I’ve had the opportunity to have, but once you have been given something, in terms of an opportunity, whether it’s a conversation or a job or what have you, try to make it better and bigger than you thought it would be. And that was kind of always my mantra in my roles at Universal. I always wanted to make the job and the role better and bigger than what it was when I got there. And I really, truly feel like I followed that pattern throughout my career, and it really helped me to expand in every opportunity and always network and always listen and always be observant of what’s happening around you and how that can help impact what you’re doing today, tomorrow, or next year, or next week, or what have you. So that’s a big one, too.

Industry Challenges

Doria: Absolutely. It’s great. I wanted to ask a question that one of my interns asked. So she’s  Gen Z, and she said, “I’ve watched interviews with some female rappers, and I’m wondering how they are treated within the industry and by fans. From what was said by Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and others, they are underestimated. Some, if not all, are accused of sleeping their way to the top, and some are still undermined, underpaid, and, of course, under-recognized. So, how do you advocate for yourself in an industry where women have notoriously faced discrimination?”

Karla: It’s a very good question. And I think that, beyond the artists, we, as female executives and individuals in the business, unfortunately, deal with the same accusations. I’ve been told or asked, “Who did you sleep with to get to this role or to this level?” or what have you, which I didn’t do any of, but I think it’s about equipping yourself with the right team and understanding the landscape in which you’re living in and you’re working in. So, by that, I mean making sure that you have a solid team of women and men that are going to protect you and that have the same vision and that same foresight in terms of the longevity of your career and what’s going to make sense and what’s going to be positive in terms of influencing the next step in your career. 

And also being very selective about who you engage with on every level, whether that’s as a friend, as family, as colleagues, as media, and as fans. You cannot trust everybody. So you have to be very, very selective about who you spend time with. And again, it’s going back to that whole financial versus time scenario. It’s all an investment in yourself, right? Because it’s all of our individual lives, but the same for these artists. They’ve got to pick and choose who they’re selecting to share time with.

Doria: Yes, that is so true. What are some of the biggest challenges you faced as a woman in the industry, a woman of color? You’re Latinx, and how have you overcome those challenges?

Karla: You know, it took me quite some time, I would say in my 20s and early 30s, it took me some time to figure out who to trust, and I was extremely observant about personalities and behaviors and habits. It was, along the way, a huge struggle in the sense of, a lot of folks assuming that I only catered to Latin music or that I didn’t really have a lot to share because I tend to have a young-sounding voice. Maybe not now or today, but most of my career I had a very young-sounding voice. Or I look younger than I am, and so people assume that I’m not very experienced and I’m the intern in the room or what have you. And that was extremely difficult. 

I would say it wasn’t until I began to show my level of understanding and my level of education in which I had really closely paid attention and could speak to that I started to begin to be trusted. And I had certain folks around me in the workspace that would actually vouch for me or put me in conversations or in rooms in which they were lending their credibility to me that would help propel and provide that level of clarity to said individuals that we were speaking to or trying to inform of whatever it was. So it really was about having to show my skill set and my professionalism to really move forward and advance, which should be the typical thing, but there were definitely different instances in which I was treated certain ways where I had to overcompensate or over explain, so that there could be a better set of understanding as to who was informing them and what was going on and how the project was going to move forward because I was at the helm of it. So it was a lot of different nuances of situations.

Doria: And something that we all, on some level, I think it’s called coding: We find ourselves in these situations, and we’re trying to negotiate them while honoring ourselves, but also having to survive in the world. And it’s really tricky.

Karla: It’s really tricky. I’ve had moments where I’ve been told I was hyper-focused on Latino topics or the Latino demographic. I had moments where I was told my lipstick was too bright. I mean, so many things. I was told, “How old are you? You seem like you’re in your mid-20s.” “How do you know any of this?” So many moments that are not pleasant, but you go through, and it makes your skin a lot thicker.

From Music to Teaching — Switching Sets!

Doria: A lot to be said for thick skin! You now teach: You’re a professor at the Los Angeles College of Music. Tell us a little bit about that.

Karla: Yeah, the Los Angeles College of Music is a beautiful place. It’s here in Pasadena, California, not too far from the Rose Bowl. And it’s an incredible staff of various professional executives from the music business or that are musicians themselves. And a whole group of aspiring young folks that are really just wanting to learn what it is to be in the music business that want to be musicians themselves or pop stars or music business executives. And it’s been a wonderful, wonderful experience working with them, educating them, talking through their experiences, which I tend to go back and say, “Who remembers the cassette?” and “Who remembers CDs?” and “Who still has a CD?” and how you listen to music and just discovering their journeys as it relates to their generation, which has been a lot of fun.

Doria: I can imagine. And, if you could take out your crystal ball, what do you see as the future of the music industry, and how do you think it will continue to evolve in the coming years?

Karla: That’s a great question. I think that the music business and the industry are about to see a big shift. I think that entertainment as a whole is going to shift in the sense of not being so siloed in terms of “music” sitting here, “film” sitting here, etc. I think that it will become an all-encompassing entertainment business where you can choose your dedication or have the ability to have multifaceted capabilities as an entertainer and be able to go to a one-stop destination where they can fulfill and facilitate and promote your music release as well as your film release, as well as your podcast, as well as whatever else your entertainment heart desires. And I think that that will become a new type of entity that we’re about to see.

Some Facts About Karla Ortiz!

Doria: That is exciting to think about. As we wrap up, I just have to ask you, who is your favorite artist of all time?

Karla: Goodness. It’s very difficult for me to say that. If I may just list a few, I would have to say, Björk was my first concert, thanks to my brother. But I love Janet Jackson, and I love Kaytranada, and I love Madonna and Gaga and all sorts of artists. I’m very diverse. I love neo soul. So it’s hard for me to answer that. Everyone’s always like, what’s your island album? And I just can’t answer that. I can’t go to an island with one album. I need many.

Doria: Yes. I had that asked of me once, and I actually could not answer it. I was like, could you maybe ask next time? And they forgot. Thank goodness. If your life could be a song, what would it be? 

Karla: Wow. That is such a tough question. What song would it be? I don’t know. I would need more time than we have to answer that, but I’m gonna think about it, and I’m gonna send you it. [We are still waiting, Karla.🙂]

Doria: Yeah, I would love that. We’ll put it in the show notes.

Karla: Yeah, that’s a great question.

Doria: And then lastly, where can our listeners learn more about you and about Monark?

Karla: MonarkEntertainment.co is a great spot in terms of the website. You can see the team, both Lauren and Will. Our Instagram, which is MonarkENT. Yeah, those two spots are the main sources. I would say the website provides you with an overview of what we do and who we’ve empowered and the team. Our Instagram provides you with a day-to-day sense of who we’re working with and what’s coming into the market.

Doria: Thank you so much for taking the time to be on SheVentures twice.

Karla: Thank you so much, Doria. You’ve been wonderful.