Editor’s Note: Five years ago we had an idea. Being a woman-owned publication, it made sense to us to celebrate women who were making a difference in the industries we cover. So, we started a “little” feature for Women’s History Month called “Reel Women.” To say it blossomed into something special would be a vast understatement. It exploded. Over the last four years, we have gotten to know leaders, mentors and visionaries from a variety of creative industries. We have learned about their ups. And how they get back up after being down. This is our 5th Annual REEL WOMEN. For the month of March, let us introduce you to some very special women like Squeak E. Clean’s Director of New Business Kayla Monetta.
Kayla serves as the Director of New Business at Squeak E. Clean Studios. Monetta’s career has spanned a broad scope of music marketing, publicity and production roles, from licensing and supervision to creative direction, journalism, project management, and beyond.
She has worked on album campaigns for clients including The Strokes, Yacht, Miike Snow, Autre Ne Veut, White Denim, and many more. Previous roles include serving as Director of Licensing and A&R with The Greater Goods Co. and Music Supervisor and Head of A&R with BUTTER Music and Sound.
Let’s meet Kayla!
What’s your origin story?
Being born and raised in San Francisco, I can’t imagine a time in my life where I wasn’t obsessed with music. As a teenager I moonlit as a photographer for my favorite radio station so that I could get into shows underage.
Fast forward to basically living in my college radio station basement, which led to a move to NYC to hold multiple internships in the music industry. My first “real job” was working at VICE in their marketing department before jumping over to oversee marketing at Noisey and write about bands.
This led to a few roles at record labels (Downtown Records, Cult Records) before finding my passion for licensing and music supervision. Haven’t looked back since!
How did you get into the music & advertising industry?
In short – I got into the music industry by relentless cold emailing, relationship building, and working my way up the ladder over the past decade. The music part came first, and the advertising part came second once I realized I needed to become an adult and make a livable wage 🙂
Who were your mentors?
Without naming names, I was extremely lucky to come across a handful of women throughout my career who really believed in me, and took the time to teach and mentor me. This had a huge impact on me. As a woman in an already male-saturated space, it’s especially important to lift up and mentor/support the younger generation… especially if they are hungry and eager to learn from you. I recently heard a quote that really stuck with me – “Great leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”
While there will be others, what do you consider your biggest achievement to date?
Having an artist tell me that they were able to quit their job and get their own home from a song placement I helped with. It’s the reason why I do what I do.
REELated:
What shows/movies/songs are doing the best job of portraying strong women on TV?
The word “strong” is subjective, but in my opinion, any TV show or movie that shows a mother with children who is also balancing a full-time job.
Is there still a boys club?
The music industry has and probably will always be a boys club. However, the music licensing and supervision world is very female dominated which is amazing to see. It’s been inspiring to watch powerful women that I look up to win GMS awards and Emmys while also raising children at home. I recently attended the Women in Leadership Summit in Detroit where they had a panel full of female CEOs and executives at major companies and corporations like Ally Bank, GM, and Ford. There were a handful of questions that were centered around balancing a job like this with children. I think it’s so important that we normalize being a full-time mom while also balancing work. I am seeing more and more panels talking about this in recent years, and it’s a testament to how many women are succeeding in our industry.
Coffee, Lunch or Happy Hour. Name a famous woman (living or dead) you would like to attend each function with.
Julia Louis Dreyfus for all three.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled against Roe v Wade. If you oppose the decision, what can women in your industry do to defend a woman’s rights?
I think this question should be more directed at what men can do, since the majority of our industry’s business owners are men. While our government should be passing legislation that cares for women, we’re at a sad point in history where the companies that employ us hold this power. This is especially why it’s imperative that these companies start to put their money where their mouths are.
For example, when a company posts on social media wishing their employees a happy “International Women’s Day,” what are they actually doing? If companies truly want to support women, they should be looking at how to improve their policies in place that directly affect women, like maternity leave benefits, and pay scale. I could write a whole essay about this, but hopefully this is something that will start to change in the coming years.
Nominate Someone You know For Reel Women
