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Recorded live at The Bridge Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, #RealTalk with Women in the Music Industry: From Studio to Sync brought women making an impact on the NYC music industry together for an intimate panel discussion and podcast taping as part of New York Music Month 2024! NY Music Month is an initiative of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media + Entertainment. GET TUNED IN: visit NYMusicMonth.NYC

Hosted by She Rocked It’s Karen Gross and featuring four rockstar panelists, this honest, inspiring, and informative conversation features real talk and actionable tips about gaining and maintaining a foothold in the music industry, and having the confidence to raise your voice and lead in an industry where women are still woefully underrepresented. You’ll hear from:

• Mona Kayhan, Majority owner of The Bridge Studio (Williamsburg, Brooklyn), a classic, large-format “big room” analog and digital recording and video production studio (and our wonderful host for this conversation)   
• Jeanne Montalvo, Grammy-nominated audio engineer and award-winning radio producer
• Jen Pearce, Founder of Low Profile, a music licensing & consulting agency based in Brooklyn, NY
• Rashida Scott-Cruz, Professor of Music Industry at Monmouth University and mentor to future generations of music industry professionals
• Plus, a special introduction from Shira Gans, Senior Executive Director of Policy + Programs at the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, and the creator and curator of NY Music Month! 

This is episode six of She Rocked It’s Real Talk with Women in the Music Industry podcast series. Special thanks to The Bridge Studio and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment for their collaboration and support of this episode.

Credits:

• Recorded by Greg Tock at The Bridge Studio, Brooklyn, NY
• Produced by Tori Marchiony and Karen Gross, She Rocked It Productions
• Mixed and Mastered by Teng Chen
• “She Rocked It” original theme song by Karen Gross (ASCAP) and Tim Motzer (BMI)
• Live event photography by Amanda Kimble

Episode highlights:

• Introduction from NY Music Month creator and curator Shira Gans – including how Shira met Karen Gross at Wesleyan University while they were living at Womanist House 
• Learn how panelists Jeanne Montalvo, Mona Kayhan, Jen Pearce, and Rashida Scott-Cruz are rocking it in the music industry
• Hear lessons from the panelists’ professional journeys — how they gained a foothold in the music industry and maintained it over the years 
• Obstacles and opportunities for women working in music in NYC
• Top tips for artists looking to break into the world of sync
• How to support women in recording studio environments
• Tips for mustering the confidence and courage to lead
• Host Karen Gross and the panelists share their tips to ROCK IT

Panelist/speaker links:

• Mona Kayhan and The Bridge Studio: https://www.bridgerecordingstudio.com/
• Jeanne Montalvo: https://jmosound.net/bio
• Jen Pearce and Low Profile: https://lowprofilenyc.com/
• Rashida Scott-Cruz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashida-scott-cruz-7236649
• Karen Gross: www.communicationthatsings.com 
• Shira Gans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiragans 

Links from this episode: 

• She Is The Music: www.sheisthemusic.org
• Amplify Her Voice: www.amplifyhervoice.org
• Women in the Mix study from the the Recording Academy, Berklee College Of Music, and Arizona State University: https://www.grammy.com/news/women-in-the-mix-study-2022-results-key-findings-recording-academy-arizona-state-university-berklee-college-music
• Audio Engineering Society: ​​https://aes2.org/
• DISCO: https://www.disco.ac/ 
• All You Need to Know About The Music Business by Donald Passman: https://donpassman.com/about-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-music-business/ 
• Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz: https://www.blackswanltd.com/never-split-the-difference 

Additional resources:

• Previous episodes of She Rocked It’s Real Talk with Women in the Music Industry podcast series:
• https://sherockedit.com/the-podcast/ 
• Low Profile music industry resources list for artists:
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f1fy9T_WHRXU2nb_GSnHZQ4JUHtG_HtZPPWLHo_x6kk/edit?usp=sharing

Transcript

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Hello and welcome to the She Rocked It podcast, I’m your host, Karen Gross. And I am so thrilled to introduce this very special episode of the She Rocked It podcast which was recorded live at the Bridge Studio in Brooklyn, New York as part of New York Music Month in June 2024. New York Music Month is an initiative of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. You can get tuned in at nymusicmonth.nyc. 

I have to say a huge thank you to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment with a special thanks to Shira Gans for including us as part of the incredible lineup of events happening in New York City. And a very special thanks also to mona Kayhan and her team at the bridge studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for welcoming us into her incredible space for this live event and podcast taping. We had an amazing energy, and incredible studio audience in the house, and also a very big waitlist to get into this event. So if you weren’t able to be there in person, well, you’re in luck, because you’re about to hear the incredible conversation that happened that day, called Real Talk with Women in the Music Industry, from Studio to Sync. 

And you may know that She Rocked It has already had some incredible conversations called Real Talk with Women in the Music Industry. This is the sixth episode we have done on this topic and it was awesome to feature four women who are rocking it across different roles in the New York City music industry. 

Mona Kayhan is the majority owner of the Bridge Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Jen Pearce is the Founder of Low Profile, a music licensing & consulting agency, also based in Brooklyn, NY. Jeanne Montalvo is a Grammy-nominated audio engineer and award-winning radio producer. And Rashida Scott-Cruz is Professor in the Music Industry program at Monmouth University. 

So, why is it so important to hear real talk from women in the music industry? Well if you look at the data, there is still a startling lack of representation of women across roles in the music industry. If you want to learn more about that, go check our show notes where we’re gonna link to data released by sheisthemusic.org, from Amplify Her Voice and the Recording Academy, and others. Here at She Rocked It, we believe that when we listen to, learn from, and lift one another up, we can all rock it. So thank you for tuning into these stories. And without further ado, here is episode six of Real Talk with Women in the Music Industry. 

[INTRO]

SHIRA GANS: Hey everybody, it’s good to see you all. I’m Shira from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. We’re the city agency that supports the creative sectors, and I’m the person who does all the music industry work for the city. So I created New York Music Month in 2017.  

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Oh, wait, just take a minute on that. Ok, what, She Rocked it, no big deal, come on!

SHIRA GANS: And so I go to all these events and I now I just realized, I kinda say what our office is but I actually don’t really explain what New York Music Month is I think I’ve assumed everyone knows what it is and maybe you don’t. So, since we’re recording this, I’ll give a little briefer on what New York Music Month is. 

Before I started doing the work in 2016 there was no one in city government whose job it was to support the music industry. And so as I was doing the work and talking to folks in the industry, someone was like, hey, the industry does so much in June there’s all these festivals, there’s conferences, there’s award shows, like, can’t the city do anything to recognize that? And I was like, yeah we could make June we could make New York Music Month. 

And so it started mostly as a way to just kind of have the city officially shine a spotlight on all the amazing work the industry does. And what it’s become over the years, is kind of like this stone soup, you know, if you build it they will come thing where every year, more and more people come to me, like Karen, and say, “Hey, I have this idea, do you think we could do this thing?” And so it went from maybe 12 events to now this year, I worked with more than 30 industry partners to have a calendar of more than 30 events this month.

JEN PEARCE: Are you tired? 

SHIRA GANS: I’m very tired. No just kidding it’s not tiring. And yeah. So across five boroughs there’s also free rehearsal space for artists in every borough but the Bronx at the moment. So you can check it out at NYMUSICMONTH.NYC. And this was particularly fun because Karen Gross and I went to college together. We were a little ahead of the curve we lived in something called Womanist House, which was the intersectional feminist house before that was a thing. So we were very advanced. And, Karen and I, yeah, lived in this house together and then last year, kind of during June, she saw it, and cuz she’s an artist herself, was like, “hey, we do something,” and we couldn’t pull it off last year, but we did not give up. I came here. I saw this amazing studio. We had the vision. We didn’t give up. And so I’ve been waiting a whole year to hear this conversation. So without further ado, Karen!

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT:  I gotta hug you. Thank you so much, Shira, It is amazing that it’s been a year since we kind of envisioned this, and it’s definitely divine timing. Because this was the perfect moment to do it, for many reasons that you’re going to hear about in this conversation. And I just want to start with a little welcome to the She Rocked It podcast. To everyone here. Again, I want to thank Shira. I want to thank Denzel. I want to thank the entire Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment for their genuine support of the music community. I mean, these folks are showing up. I got the goosebumps right now, because, as we were joking earlier, if you follow Shira on Instagram, she literally has shown up for, I think, all of those 30 events if not, most of them. So she is, her enthusiasm we feel, we appreciate. It’s genuinely felt they’ve been sharing all of our social media posts, and that just doesn’t happen all the time. So thank you NYC for really getting behind. Yeah! The music community. It’s a big deal. And we’re so proud we couldn’t be more proud to be an official event as part of New York Music Month in June, which is an initiative of the York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. 

And as Shira mentioned, we went to college together. So this is definitely a very poignant thing, and I just would say that’s also one of our first lessons that we may share in this panel, was just to stay in contact with your people, right? Because you never know, twenty years later, (sorry I outed us) you may end up collaborating with them later, on something really beautiful. And I’m so grateful that the circle kind of went around and we’re able to do this. And, you know, keep on championing women, which is, I know, really important to both of us. So speaking of rock star women, I also want to say a big thank you to Mona Kayhan of the Bridge Studio for presenting us here in this incredible space, The Bridge. 

As you probably read in the description of this event, this is a continuation of a She Rocked It’s series called Real Talk With Women in the Music Industry, and She Rocked It is so fortunate to have recorded the first two of that series, also here at The Bridge, which was now over a year ago. Definitely check them out, amazing women on that series as well. And this is actually our sixth conversation on that series. So I don’t have time to name every woman who was on the series, but let me tell you, they’re all rock stars across the industry, from artists to four time Grammy winning producer, I’ll name drop her, Cheryl Pawelski, who’s amazing. So go ahead and check out those other conversations. And we’re so thrilled to continue that conversation, number six tonight, with New York City’s support.

With THAT, I want to turn over to these incredible women who are rocking it in the industry. Because what we can do to change the statistics, to move the needle. I believe, She Rocked It believes, that we can listen to women, we can learn from women. We can just, hear and learn from their journeys. So we’re gonna do that today and I would like to invite the panel to each introduce themselves, starting with Jeanne.

JEANNE MONTALVO: My name is Jeanne Montalvo. I’m an audio engineer based here in New York. I’ve been here for about 17 years now. Um… yeah?

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Oh I could brag about you! Master’s Degree from NYU, go tell them!

JEANNE MONTALVO: Oh yeah I got a Master’s at NYU 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: In? 

JEANNE MONTALVO: In music technology. I worked for five years before that, in jazz and classical, doing Metropolitan Opera restoration project. And I hated opera, but I took the job because I wanted to work in music in New York, and that was the first job I got. So here I am. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: And there may have been a Grammy nomination along the way. 

MONA KAYHAN: Ha, yeah I was just gonna say

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: This is what the ladies — we hype eachother up! 

JEANNE MONTALVO: I’m not good at the…yeah. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: I got your back!

JEANNE MONTALVO: Yes! 2017 I was working with Meyer media, now Swan Studios, and was nominated for Grammy for mastering Vladimir Horowitz 

AUDIENCE: Woohoo!

JEANNE MONTALVO: Classical unreleased recordings at Carnegie Hall, yeah, and I did a lot of that work for probably 10 years, and then I after NYU, I broke into radio, and that is my day job that pays the bills. So I work in podcasting, and I do sound design, and I also do music. So, that’s it.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Give it up!

MONA KAYHAN: My name is Mona. I’m so honored you’re all here today, by the way. This is this. This is exactly why we built the studio the way we built it, so we can people together, so we can have people together, communing and then capturing something live and capturing it with that energy exchange at hand. In a hi-fi amazing way, right? And with our incredible staff back there we’ve got Greg Tock who’s engineering, thank you to Greg! We also have Sam back there who’s our intern. We’ve also got Joseffe back there’s an intern. And Tim, an ally. 

But um, so yes. I am now, since last year, the majority owner of The Bridge studio which is a really big deal for me. A long arduous process. Please, come in, sit down! And, could be talked about at any point during the conversation but in general I am facilitator and producer. I love making things happen, that’s just my middle name. I’ve worked at a label, I used to produce stages at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, I used to, I’ve gone on tour, I’ve done tour management, I’ve managed an artist. And then, during COVID, I’m just gonna be full transparency here, 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Real talk!

MONA KAYHAN: Since it’s real talk. Uh, we were forced to shut down for three months at our studio because the government deemed us non-essential. And both my husband and I had our entire world in the studio and we were, it was doing quite well, and I had at the lowest point, when I thought it was gonna be maybe a month or two. At the lowest point I said, I really need to pivot and who am I? What am I good at? And I wanted to, I said to myself, I’m someone who can build things and make things happen. Build whatever it is, I can build anything, right? 

So through a friend, someone said, hey there’s a company that’s starting a division around virtual events, it’s in fin-tech, and we’ve been looking for someone that’s very specific for about six months and we haven’t found anyone would you be willing to have a conversation? And I was like, I literally have nothing to lose, just sitting in my apartment homeschooling my eight year old child and watching the bills trying to get paid with no money coming in. A really tough place to be. So, that was three years ago and so now I am also a VP of operations at a fintech company. Just for full disclosure which I think is like, you have to be real, right? Yeah, I made a decision for my family, and I said, “How can I continue to be, you know, someone that can still have this, this temple that we built, and still be involved in it, but also do something I’ve never done for which is build a Global division from scratch.” And I said to myself I’d love to have that opportunity to build something that I scale personally from start. From one person to now I have twenty five people. So it’s been, it’s a whole other part of my life, but I’m very honored you’re here and thank you so much for coming. 

JEN PEARCE: Hard to follow that up! Um, Hey, y’all, I’m Jen Pierce. I have a company called Low Profile. It’s a licensing company. I, let’s see, I worked at a bunch of other companies before I was at Terrorbird and Warner Brothers Records, running all of their licensing and then I went to Downtown, where I met Neil.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Shoutout to Neil Zammel for connecting She Rocked it with Jen Pearce that’s a great ally, thank you Neil.  

JEN PEARCE: Yeah. I was running the licensing department there, and I started a company that ran through the label. We were doing licensing for a bunch of other artists outside of the label, and in general, I had a like, I’ve been a pretty big shit talker on the music industry my whole life. So I’ve been really upset with how, obviously, you know, women are paid and treated, but honestly, it’s just the artist, right? Like, how do you support artists? How do you actually take care of them and make it so that they can keep creating music that we all so desperately need in our lives? 

So, yeah, I so at the label, one of the office receptionist who is this amazing artist would like overhear me talking, and he’d be like, “Can I send you my music?” So I started working with him, and he he’s so great. He’s from Nigeria, just like a completely different vibe. And I kept sending him briefs that would come in from music supervisors who were looking for songs for an ad or TV show or trailer. And I was, I said to my boss, I was like, “we got to sign this guy. He’s so talented.” And you know, he was like, “I would never sign our office receptionist.” And I was like, “screw that!” So then I placed one of his songs in the biggest Apple ad of the year. And needless to say, got to, we still work together, by the way, and I love him very much. But, you know, he got to quit being the office receptionist and make music full time as a career. And to me, I was like, that’s it, like, that’s what I want to do. And not only that, but people all over the world got to hear a song— he didn’t have, like, a Facebook profile. It was fabulous. So after that, I started Low Profile, and that was in 2017. 

And yeah, our whole thing is about transparency and giving artists access to information and making sure that everyone understands what’s going on. And so, anytime we get a brief from a music supervisor, which happens like anywhere from eight times to 20 times a day. People just, you know, there’s music literally everywhere. Whether it’s sound design or, you know, a new song for the theme song of a show, or whatever it is, people hit us up. And so we share all that with the artists that we represent and allow them to be part of the process and to see what’s going on and what the budgets are and how things work. And I just really love what I do. I’m sure we all have a moment where a song in something changed your life, or you just felt really connected to a project because of an amazing sync. So it’s really fun. It never gets old. And yeah, sorry, that was kind of long.

KAREN GROSS (SHE ROCKED IT): I was moved by that. Before, Jen, before I let you go, I feel, you know, this is called From Studio to Sync, today’s conversation. And can you give like, a quick description of what sync actually is? Because I just feel like there’s so much confusion. Could you give a down and dirty definition so we’re all on the same page?

JEN PEARCE: Let’s get down and dirty. Let’s do it. Okay, so sync, you’re basically, you’re you’re putting song to picture, and there’s— I’m gonna try to do this in like, a not confusing way, but, for every song, there’s the master side, right, and then the publishing side. And so you’re representing one or both, or a portion of, you know, a song. And we basically, a sync is just, when you like, place a song in a project, and then we negotiate all the fees and do all the paperwork, and, yeah, so we have to represent the artist exclusively in order to do that. So we work with artists from all over the world, big and small, just whatever we love, and… does that kinda help anyone? 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Rashidaaa Scott Cruz! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Hi! Well, my name is Rashida Scott Cruz. I teach the business of music with the Monmouth music industry program located in West Long Branch New Jersey. I’ve been in the music business for over 25 years, so I have a wide range of experience from sound from film to working with artists like Taylor Swift on a launch exhibit through the Grammy Museum, the estate of Whitney Houston, I’ve worked with her family. 

You know, I love what I do. I teach. I work really closely with the students. I work to help them get great internships, which turn into great jobs, or either starting their own companies. So that’s something I really take a lot of pride in, is taking them under my wing. For those that really want to get jobs that pay well, opposed to interning for an indefinite period of time. 

And then, aside from that, I am also a music producer, so I just released an album called Monmouth Artists for Diversity Inclusion. It’s volume two. It’s a collaboration with a variety of students where we basically work with them to help them develop themselves as an artist, help them learn the different, you know, roles that it takes to get an album executive produced. 

JEN PEARCE: So cool!

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ:  So we’re really excited about that. Assad Whitehead is our executive producer or lead producer. And so those are just some of the fun things that we do. We’ll talk more about everything else later! 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: I just have to brag about Rashida a little bit. So I’ve had the honor of speaking in front of her class at Monmouth University and participating in some Women in music events. Billboard has recognized the program at Monmouth now as a

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Top music business school, 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Top music business school, and I’ve kind of seen some of those students also be placed in positions in New York City or close by, I think

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Jimmy Fallon show, 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Right! Jimmy Fallon show, in New York City, so, you know, Monmouth may be based in New Jersey, just outside the city, but there’s a lot of interplay between that university and the New York City music industry. And it’s been awesome to see how Rashida is so respected by her students. And I always say, I wish when I was a young whippersnapper. I wish I had a professor like Rashida kind of opening a door to the industry, I mean such a special gift for the students to have you as a mentor. 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Thank you. That’s very sweet. Thanks 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Rock on, awesome. All right, so we’re going to get into it now. We’re going to get right into the nitty gritty of these women’s journeys and what you can learn from them. So with that said, it’s one thing to break into the music industry, and it’s another thing to sustain a career in the music industry, which, as we all know, is ever changing, lots of new challenges every day getting thrown at us. So if you all could answer this, how did you first gain a foothold in the music industry, and how have you maintained it? What lessons and learnings can you share from your journey? Jeanne. 

JEANNE MONTALVO: I think one of the most important things is community and the organizations that facilitate, like, the thing that you want to do. So as a student, I joined the Audio Engineering Society, and I became, like, super duper involved. I was in Atlanta, we didn’t have a student section, so I petitioned to start a student section, and that connected me with this wonderful engineer named Jim Anderson, who is an engineer that’s amazing. Look him up, who is here at NYU. 

And at one of the conventions they used to have speed mentoring. And I signed up for speed mentoring with Jim Anderson, and we met in person, and I was trying to figure out what to do after school, I was done that first part of my degree. And he was like, “oh, have you ever heard of the BANFF center?” And, like, in my brain, when I started studying, I was like, “I’m going to Miami. I’m going to work in Latin music. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be in a studio. It’s be great.” I had, I’d never set out to, like, do classical and jazz. That was not in my plan. But Jim was like, you know, how about this BANFF center? I was like, okay, cool. Look it up. I applied, I got rejected, and I emailed him. I was like, “hey, you know, do you have any other suggestions,” you know? And you know, he didn’t have too much, like, just a couple of other studios. 

I didn’t hear from him for a while, and then, like, six weeks later, like, I think I was about to get on a plane to come home and live with my parents again, because I didn’t know what was going to happen. And the week before I was getting on that plane, I got a notice that, “hey, are you still interested? Somebody dropped out of the program. Do you want to come?” And BANFF is in Canada. It’s in Calgary, like, on the other side, like, really far north and cold. 

So I was in a really hot temperature. I flew home, I packed, unpacked all my summer stuff, repacked all of my winter stuff, and I went to BANFF. And that was literally the beginning of my trajectory, like, because from BANFF, I got the Tanglewood music festival because somebody in the program applied there. And I was like, “Hey, I think they have another slot. Do you want to apply?” I did. I got it. And then from Tanglewood, somebody at Tanglewood was like, “hey, you know, there’s a spot in New York at this opera job.” And I was like, “No.”

[LAUGHTER] 

JEANNE MONTAVLO: And I spent the entire summer at Tanglewood emailing studios. I really wanted to live in New York because I did a study abroad in Europe. And I was like, if I’m going back to the States, I need to live in New York because I just want to ride trains and not have to drive. And so it was like, that was the only option. Every studio I wrote, “oh, yeah, we have this unpaid internship. Oh, we have this and like, oh, you know, whatever, like, part time or Oh, whatever”. 

And I was like, how would I, how do I take a 40 hour internship in New York, unpaid? Like, no. So at the end of the summer, the only thing that was still creaking through was this opera gig. And I took it, I got it, I did that, I did the Manhattan School of Music part time. I was like, literally, I worked seven days a week. I was always working, and that was it. It was just like, it was literally like one thing led to another. And I never let go of AES. I continued being part of AES. I joined all of the women’s orgs, like I, community and knowing people is like the best way to continue to work and to get work. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: That was awesome. Thank you so much, Mona what do you have to say? Yeah we can applaud after every great answer, I’m feeling it too! 

MONA KAYHAN: Yeah no that’s such a good question. I think also, I love the idea of just saying yes to everything, just being open and saying yes. You know, and, even if it’s not you thought it was, not what you were seeking out at the time. I would also say that being open to being agile and flexible too, you know, when COVID hit, we finally reopened, the biggest thing suddenly you were getting— I’m curious the other engineers here — were video requests like non stop. Because nobody could perform in the studio, record it, and then make that, and we we can pretend it’s a live performance. Simu-live or whatever. And so you know, before that if  I had asked our engineers to put a drum kit next to a vocal mic they would have said,
are you nuts?” But we were like, okay, this is what they need, this is what they want, let’s just figure out how to mic it differently than we normally would. And so they just kept pivoting and iterating and figuring it out and then pretty soon we were just recording and shooting so much content in here. And I was impressed with how we pivoted, just being flexible and evolving with the times is really important. Um, and…

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: And how did you get into, like, being a recording studio owner? You and your husband had a studio prior to this I believe, right?

MONA KAYHAN: Yes, sustaining, ok fine that’s a good one. We had a very small project studio in Red Hook before this. Basically. This, basically both of us have this huge passion for music around the world, I don’t like calling it “world music” but especially from West Africa. So we both had spent a lot of time there and we loved recording live percussion. And so it was mainly my husband who’s the engineer and I was always just the person who’s making it all happen, right? And so we get a notice on the door that said you have to vacate in 30 days or less. And this is, we had been there for like 10 years yeah. 

JEN PEARCE: Rude!

MONA KAYHAN: Any studio owner out there knows the letter that goes on the door, it’s the letter you wish never would come. We were in total shock and panic and then, that’s another case of how do you be flexible? How do you not give up? We still put our stuff in storage because we had to leave. It took 8 people to help move that Harrison 4042 console over there. It was like moving a car. It was the most depressing move of our lives for sure, moving everything out with no place to go. 

And it took us two years to find this place which was a very arduous journey and then we were like, “This is it!!” We could have given up many times during those two years but we didn’t. So yeah I think not giving up and just like, having your eyes set on what your ultimate vision is no matter what comes in your way. 

And then that’s where I became more involved of course because I had a love of working with artists, making things happen for artists, no matter what. Whether it was live music, touring, producing festivals. So the studio environment for me, felt very similar, where I was like, I’m basically doing the same I would do in a label or on the road but in the studio. And I really think there needs to be that person at a studio, it can’t just be the engineer. Poor engineers have so much that they have to do. 

You guys — it’s an art form. I swear, the recording arts are the most underappreciated art form out there. It is a craft. And one could say maybe it’s dwindling, but it’s the last thing we have to capturing the most authentic way something sounds in the room. The most purest way to capture something. And that to me, just gives me chills every time I think about it. And so I knew I had enough passion to be the ying to the yang essentially and go fully in, yeah. Whether, for better or for worse! 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: To be continued on how you made all this happen. Jen, how bout you, how did you get in and stay in? 

JEN PEARCE: Oh, my goodness, yeah, I just was desperate. I was so desperate. But I moved, I moved here from Louisiana, and I just was like, “Come on, y’all, somebody give me a job.” 

[LAUGHTER]

JEN PEARCE: And I literally, I interned everywhere, because I wanted to know, okay, what are the different jobs that exist? Like, okay, I love music. You got that much. But what do I want to do within music? Let me go. There were some internships I literally went for a day where I was like, “No, this is not it. Don’t want to waste your time. Thank you so much. Got to go.” 

[LAUGHTER]

JEN PEARCE: Not that I would necessarily. You know, I don’t know if I like, fully recommend that for everyone, but I do think, I do think for me, it worked. And I just realized, oh, licensing and sync is, like, so cool. And I think from day one for me has been like, “what’s the differentiator? Like, what do I add to the conversation that’s different?” 

And I think for me, truly, number one thing has always been like, how do we do this in a way that’s artists actually artist friendly, not just saying that we’re artist friendly. That’s always been my number one. And I think that’s the reason we’ve had such a successful business since, you know, starting is because artists really trust us. We like, allow anyone to leave at any time. You’re not in jail. If you work with us, it’s like very much, it has to be mutual, and it needs to be where we both feel like we’re, you know, it’s, I’m not a nonprofit like we also make money, but we are very, very much on the side of doing things right, because everyone can win. 

And I still feel like the entire industry is so far back in time, and like you still see these terrible deals and artists are, they just don’t either know better, or they have no other option and, or they think that, you know, or it’s just like validation, where they’re like, “oh my gosh, someone’s recognizing my music I need to sign this deal.” 

And a lot of artists don’t really have the resources in the beginning of their careers to negotiate properly and to hire a lawyer, because that’s the best thing you could ever do. But I’ve also been there as a human being where I’m like, I can’t afford this. I’m not doing that. I’ll just like, Google it, and, you know, it’s probably the most important part of any artist’s career is like, what are the deals that you’re signing? Are you going to be trapped, like all that kind of stuff? 

So we spend a lot of time trying to educate and make a lot of information public, and, you know, just to help the community at large, because. You I mean, so many artists will email me being “like, can you help me get out of my deal?” And I’m like, “I don’t know, but I’ll try.” And then it’s just, it’s just something that I’m really passionate about, and just making sure that it’s the right fit, team. Everyone gets the vibe like every it’s yeah. So anyway, I think that’s the number one reason that we’ve been able to have so much success is because we work with great artists. That’s the most important thing, and then we really try to support them as much as we can. So. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Awesome, thank you for shaking up the status quo, Jen. Seriously! YES, Right. It’s a beautiful thing. Rashida! 

RASHIDA SCOTT- CRUZ: I used to play in the band.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: I don’t think I knew that!

RASHIDA SCOTT- CRUZ: I played Alto for 20 years, most of my fellow bandmates are all guys, and we played in high school, jazz band, all kinds of fun stuff. And then I started, one day after school. I just started DJing, I just started collecting vinyl. And then, you know, I think I was in New York every other day, sometimes twice a day coming from New Jersey to buy vinyl. 

Started spinning house music, hip hop and techno and all kinds of crazy stuff. And I did that for 20 years. And then after that, I realized that wasn’t gonna I wasn’t gonna be Spinderella, even though a lot of people loved my mix tapes and always wanted me to so, you know, and always wanted me to 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: It’s not too late

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: And that’s where it kind of started for me. Ironically, I did want to be a film composer, a music composer. And when I saw the stats on the point of entry for women, not even just women, but women of color, it was a deterrent. And so, that was the next best thing that I enjoyed doing, So I don’t think I ever shared that before, either. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: No

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ:  But, you know, I think that’s improving, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement in that, you know, component of the sound for film industry. And then to kind of sustain it, I started to develop curriculum for business and music taking all the things that I’ve learned.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Also, if you’re not familiar with Monmouth University, it’s you know, Asbury Park area. Bruce, you know, 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: yes, Bruce is a regular,

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Bruce Springstein archives, aren’t they there? 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: He’s regular he pops in often

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Yeah there’s a lot of stuff happening in that community, and RASHIDA  has been a huge part of that. So thank you all so much for kind of laying that groundwork and giving us a window into your journeys and some great, great lessons too, that I think we should all be making some mental notes about that. And I’m just curious, from all of your perspective, why do you think that women are still underrepresented, underrepresented across the music industry, especially more in certain roles and others? There’s still an underrepresentation. I’m curious why you all think that is based on your journeys, and what are some of the biggest obstacles, but also opportunities for women working in music here in New York City? Anyone want to jump in on that first?

JEN PEARCE: I think it’s rough out there, like it’s it’s just really rough, I think to be a female, to be an artist, I think that there are a lot of, I know a lot of people who left the industry because they’re just over it. They’re over being underpaid, undervalued, not to mention all the really creepy stuff that happens sometimes. Which all of y’all are nodding your heads yes, we can just be real about it. It’s terrible. There’s a ton of sexual harassment. I mean, not to get like, super dark, but there’s a lot of things that need to be fixed from like the, it’s from the top down, it’s there’s so many fundamental issues, I think, with the music industry, and there always has been. 

So that, being said, I do think that there are opportunities. And it’s, I think the best thing that I’ve, you know, tried to do for other women is I’m obsessed with helping people negotiate, period. Like, I think there’s so many jobs that pay less than what’s livable in New York, and so it’s just about, okay, like, where, who are, like, who are the companies that actually care about employees first? Because if we’re going to care about artists, we got to care about the people who were doing the work right? And are they paying them right? And, like, what are the benefits, you know, there are a handful. I mean, more than a handful. There are a lot of great companies out there. It’s just, you know, understand, and I don’t know, I just would highly recommend, like, doing a lot of research about the vibe and the companies, 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: So  I thought I’d share my perspective, being that it’s been male dominated for so long. For me personally, I have experienced things whereI feel like certain opportunities are kind of handed to the men on a platter, you know? Whereas with us, we have to prove ourselves, and there’s like a rigamarole that we have to go through to prove our capability. So, you know, with this whole diversity inclusion illusion, a lot of times people are offered jobs 

JEN PEARCE: Nailed it!

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Either through nepotism or through who they know and being well connected, and that’s how they often get these opportunities, so they will interview you for protocol purposes, but most often than not, that’s what I’ve experienced in the music industry.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Goosebumps. This is real talk right here. Thank you both. We need the real talk. Ok. Jeanne.

JEANNE MONTALVO: I don’t know if I have the answer to that honestly. A s an engineer like I feel like. I hate. The other day, somebody was asking me about a colleague of mine, and I was like, “Oh, I don’t think she’s engineering anymore.” And it hit me so hard, because I was like, we used to work together, and it’s so hard to then project 10 years later and be like, oh, she’s not engineering anymore. Why is she not engineering anymore? 

Because there’s not that many jobs. There’s not that many jobs for men engineers. And then on top of that, you try to put women in there who, like, don’t get as many opportunities. You get tired. I get tired. I’m like, every day. I’m like, at it, trying and trying and trying to get more work. I mean, there’s a reason I have a day job, like. I have the day job so that I can take the cool projects that I want to do, right? Like, but it’s hard, you know. 

And at one point in my life, I was like, Well, maybe it’s because, you know, women want families, and they think they can’t do the job. But then, like, I have two kids, and, like, not to say that that’s not hard. I have a super supportive partner *whoop whoop* who is also a singer songwriter, so he gets the business. But I don’t know, you know? I don’t, I have tried really hard to be a champion and be very, very vocal about having kids, and you can still do this industry despite how I don’t want to drop an F bomb, but I am good if it’s really f***ing hard, like with kids, but you can still do it like you can still do it. So I don’t know. I think having people see more people like that, like Mona has a kid, I have two kids like you have to see them to know that. There’s that saying, like, if you can see it, you can be it. So, like, they just need to be seen, like we need to be seen more. So this is great. Thank you.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Thank you. Mona, what do you have to say? 

MONA KAYHAN: This is gonna sound weird but I’ve always felt OK, and it could be because I was raised by a single mother, but I’ve been always ok just being the only one, being you know. Just, I haven’t felt necessarily discriminated, I would say when it’s been a problem is, I’ll be put in a position of power and then not have the power.

JEN PEARCE: It’s the worst! Fake empowerment is the worst. I had that job just There’s nothing worse.

MONA KAYHAN: Yeah that’s definitely been a replicated situation in my various career chapters. Which is why it’s so wonderful to be a business owner because then you can finally

JEN PEARCE: Make the rules! 

MONA KAYHAN: Yes! Which is really really cool!

[APPLAUSE]

KAREN GROSS (SHE ROCKED IT): Thank you all so much. I want to do a little lightning round with two of our guests, Jen and RASHIDA . Can you give us some quick top tips you have for artists looking to break into the world of sync?

JEN PEARCE: For the love of God, whatever you do, when you’re writing a song, figure out the song splits. What are the percentages? Literally, I cannot. I’m gonna have like, a panic attack up here thinking about all of the, all of the scenarios I’ve been in where an artist doesn’t get a sync or something happens, or they haven’t.

Everyone’s like, “well, it’s all about the vibe. We’re just having fun. We’re making music like we don’t want to think about business.” And then something happens, and then everyone gets really aggressive and greedy about what are the splits? And I just have to say, like, if there’s anything I can say to anyone, it’s do that as soon as possible. If not, while you’re in the studio. Be like, okay, you did this. Is it 50/50? Is it 30? Like, whatever, whatever needs to happen. Just figure that out, and keep that information in, like a Google sheet file. And literally, just keep track of all that information, because it’s the number one thing that comes up with artists. It never fails. Even artists who are super successful, they still find themselves, like, feeling very awkward about this extremely important— like you can’t do anything unless you do that. So that’s step number one. Sorry, I feel like really passionate about this topic. 

MONA KAYHAN: I am so there with you 

JEN PEARCE: It literally comes up every, all day, every day, and or, and,

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: well that has to be frustrating for you cuz you’re trying to seal the deal and that’s gonna stall it, right?

JEN PEARCE: Well, what happens is, because we require that before we even pitch music from artists, there’s all of these things that we require that’s like number one, like, are there publishers involved? Like, who do we contact? Because sync moves so fast, if someone wants to use a song. It’s like, we need to tell them within five minutes what the deal is, how much we represent, who to like talk to if we don’t represent all of it. And if we have the wrong information on hand, which happens, it just completely slows down the process and can get in the way of something going final. 

So, like it is so like it’s so important. And also, just another quick thing is, don’t ever use samples without clearing them first. For the love of God, like, truly, truly. I mean, one day or after this, I’ll explain, I’ll like, go into detail of some of the horror stories that we’ve dealt with. But yeah, just, I think that’s number one for me. It’s just splits, figuring that out. Y’all can do it. I believe in you! 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: I love it! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ:  Well, to piggyback off what she said on the education side, that’s why the required readings that I tell the students to read is “Everything you need to know about the music business,” by Donald Passman, and also “Never split the difference,” by Chris Voss, those are great textbooks to refer to. If you’re looking to work in the sync field, you’ll learn a lot. 

I do not like when students go into the recording studio without split sheets. This particular album that I recently worked on, all of that was collected up front. I also had them clean up their metadata make sure everything absolutely correct 

JEN PEARCE: Ugh love metadata! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Up to date, current. made sure they registered with their performance rights organizations. Ironically, every artist was with BMI at the time, so we just put BMI on the back of that. And also made sure they signed up with the MLC, that is another place where they can claim their rights. Taking it a step further, signing up with disco AC, making sure that there MP3 three files are there, and the metadata is embedded in each mp three file. That way there’s no misunderstanding about who owns what, or what percentage of the publishing is owned. 

JEN PEARCE: And please, please stop putting like untitled as the track, or like just mixed today. 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Some of the other things that I also well recommend that they do is when they have a really great song, and that’s really where they should start. Have good music. I mean, aside from not having samples, and things, let’s start with

JEN PEARCE: Yeah write a good song, 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: Good music, syncable music, but I also actually asked them to do a variety of genres. I asked them to do instrumental.

JEN PEARCE: Crucial! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: I also asked them to do acapella version of their track. And I also make sure they have their lyrics ready and just be prepared to have it maybe redone by someone else, maybe in an orchestral version, depending on how it’s going to be synced in the film. I also show them how to fill out, you know, the sheets that would be filled out by music supervisor.  

JEN PEARCE: You’re an angel. Sent from the heavens! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: So they know.  

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Teaching the next generation right

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: I mean, they need to know that if their song is really good, it could be used more than one time. So they could be paid multiple times. If it’s a main theme, it’s an opening, if it’s as an acapella, if it’s as an instrumental, if it’s as a closing. 

JEN PEARCE: Remix! 

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: That’s why I said do multiple genres of your song, if you have a really well done song, When you go into a recording studio you actually should also have whoever’s mastering your your music sign an agreement saying that they are work for hire. That way, when you pay for the service of having this the Masters mastered you, they don’t get any rights on any of your music. 

You know, a lot of record labels sometimes they have things leaked, and sometimes it’s by the engineer or people who are in the recording session. And so when you make sure you have that disclosure signed, you protect yourself and make sure that you own your masters outright. Because a lot of people you know who are executive producers or who do take credits in some capacity on a record or a single or anything that’s produced, they will steal your publishing from you if you do not button yourself up. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: There’s a lot of important things to button up. I think a great message here is, get your business together. So I want to kick it over to Mona and Jeanne on the studio side. What do you wish more women knew before they arrive in a studio setting? And how do you help support women in studio environments? JEANNE?

JEANNE MONTALVO: They need to know their craft, well. Because it’s like, it’s one thing to be offered a gig but not really be prepared for it. Like, there’s, there’s that other, I’m full of sayings, that saying about, like, you have to be ready when opportunity knocks. So like, if you, if you are going to get the gig that you are being offered, you need to be ready for that gig. So you need to do all of the things ahead of time.

You know, the really great advice that Jim Anderson gave me was, like, he was like, “Don’t go to New York. You need to go somewhere where you can make your mistakes first.” And that was BANFF. Like, that’s he was like, “You need to go to the BANFF center,” like, and it’s true. It’s like, you don’t, you don’t go to the big, giant city before you, like, take the little steps first. You know what I mean? It’s not to say that you’re not going to learn things in the places that you go, because that’s also like, we are always learning. But yeah, you really need to hone your craft and also wear lots of hats.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Great advice and very important reminders. 

JEANNE MONTALVO: And be ok with doing whatever you’re asked, too.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: And you’re talking about anyone – musicians, people doing voiceover, you’re recording all kinds of folks in your world. 

JEANNE MONTALVO: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, all of it, yeah. You need to know how to record the voice, you know. And I mentioned that I started in classical and jazz, but now I mostly do indie Latin. And, you know, I didn’t know that, like me, learning how to mic a violin was actually going to come in handy when I recorded mariachi, because mariachi has lots of violins. So it’s like, you know, anything you learn is at some point gonna come back around. And so you have to be open to all of that.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Amazing. Thank you. How about you Mona? How do you create, like a, kind of a safe and, you know, space, I would say, for women here, even at The Bridge, too, to come in? 

MONA KAYHAN: I mean, my number one goal just having worked in the music industry was not to have it feel intimidating at all. And I think that our staff actually are incredible, because they, we really have a quote unquote “good vibes only” mantra where, because there are times where it can get really stressful in a studio setting, an engineer’s in the hot seat, and even in those moments of stress, I believe they do an incredible job just being like “it’s ok, it’s good vibes only” instead of adding to the pressure and frustration and that’s really hard to do as an engineer you’re non stop on that hot seat, yeah. So I would say being as inclusive and welcoming as possible and adding that energy for anyone who comes into our space at least we try to make it an atmosphere that’s welcoming at least. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: How do you cultivate that? Is that something when you’re interviewing people you’re kind of bringing up, or just you kind of just know when you know, Like, how do you create that? 

MONA KAYHAN:  Yes, we had many interviews, Greg and Urosh wound up getting through they’ve been with us since day one taking q tips and dusting the knobs of the board in between the knobs of our board in the early days when we first moved there was construction dust. And we went through many other interviews and it was just, obviously they had to know their craft but there’s also this energy thing. Jeanne’s engineered here she has this energy that she brings to the table that welcomes people you know. And that’s like first for us besides the craft it’s just right up there at the same level. Vibe, you can’t have judgment, you can’t come across like I’m better than you. 

JEANNE MONTALVO: I want to piggyback off of Mona because you were asking about the interview and the vibes. So Mona and I met because again, another connection led me here. And I have to say that one of the, like that week, I had two interviews, and I had one interview where a dude was like, “Oh, you want to work part time because you want to be with your kid.” And I was like, “No.” And then I came here, 

JEN PEARCE: That is so annoying!

JEANNE MONTALVO: I know. I came here and Mona and Amon were so great. And Amon is like, “it’s so great you’re a mom, because you’re gonna, like, be really cautious about a mic falling on the floor.” And I was like, “That! Is the difference!” in the, and I remember feeling so good because I was like, yes, because I’m constantly paranoid about something falling on the floor. And so, like, it was literally like, it happened in the same week. And I remember saying, like, THAT is how you interview and that is how you make people feel welcome, and that is how you like, foster women in an environment that like, doesn’t typically have women in it. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Such great wisdom. Thank you all so much. You all are leaders. You know, your respective careers and lanes you have. You use your voice, you raise your voice, you’re leading and trailblazing in some really cool ways. And you know, it’s not always easy to do that. It’s not always easy to raise your voice. It’s not always easy to be a professor in a space where you may be be the only woman of color, you know. It’s not always easy to be a mom and an engineer to talk about that, you know. So I was wondering if you all could  just share some of your courage tips, your confidence tips that you know, help you muster up that voice and that confidence to lead in your careers. Rashida. 

RASHIDA  SCOTT-CRUZ: Well, I believe closed mouths don’t get fed. So if you don’t speak up for yourself, 

[LAUGHTER]

RASHIDA  SCOTT-CRUZ: Nobody else will. And when I tell the students, you know that, I know really want it, I said, “Know what you want to do. Because if you don’t, this is the exploitation business, and they will figure, they will exploit you.” So you might as well know your address and know where you’re going to go. You may not, you may not get there as quickly as you think you should be there, but at least know what you want to do. And I promise you, you you get closer to it, as long as you keep working towards it. 

JEN PEARCE: At the end of the day, you are yourself, so you have to answer to yourself right. So like knowing, like listening to your gut and knowing what feels right, what doesn’t feel right, and just being like, look at tonight, when I go to sleep. This this how I am at least I’m like, did I, did I speak up? Or was there a moment where I could have said something, or I’m obsessed? I mean, I probably am, like, too far on the other side, where I talk too much. You know, I’m always like, damnit, what is happening. But I think just the more you can just do what’s authentic to yourself. 

Because not everyone is meant to fight every battle. Not everyone is like. You don’t have to be the person to call something out if that’s not who you are, but you can certainly, like, talk to other people, share your experiences with other artists, or do like there are so many things that can happen. You don’t have to be the person who’s like, you know, just risking everything, or whatever it is, but, and you can always talk to me and I’ll call them out, no problem. But um, yeah, I think just like being true to yourself, whatever that means, and like showing up in the world, however much of yourself you can be, is my number one.

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Love it. How bout you, Mona? 

MONA KAYHAN: That’s such a good one I feel like I would steal a little from everyone. I would say, I try to say what I’m thinking in a collaborative way. That’s how I gain my confidence when trying out things or ideas. I will test it on people, try it out, what do you think? And that’s been my journey and it’s been working actually really well. I never want to do anything by myself so every time I have an idea I like find people to do it with me. I’m very much a collaborator at heart. And so I think that gives me confidence when I have a small, like a team or community. I draw upon others in a way to get my own confidence going. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: I love that leadership doesn’t have to be alone. 

MONA KAYHAN: Yeah, I have found so much power in leading with people. That’s why actually my day job I was so excited to try, because I said, “I wonder if my version of leadership can work and I wonder if I can scale that?” And I’ve been testing it for fun and it’s totally working. It’s been great they are leading everything globally and I’m just making it like a facilitator. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Casual, VP, crushing it! Jeanne, tips to lead!

JEANNE MONTALVO: This I am with you, Jen, that sometimes, to my own detriment, I tend to probably speak up more than I should at times. I think one of the most important things that I’ve always thought is like, never being afraid to ask for something, because the worst somebody is going to say is no. And so sometimes I ask for a lot. 

JEN PEARCE: As you should!

JEANNE MONTALVO: But I get a lot of yeses. Shout out. Will Garrett. Short story. Will Garrett was my boss at Spotify for the residency that I got that was put on by Berkeley and Spotify. And, you know, it was the first time the program ran, and we were trying to figure out where I would fit in. And then one day, I asked for studio time so that I could, you know, record bands on my own. And they said yes. So thank you. So, yeah, those are, those are the if they had said no, then, you know, whatever, I still would have hung out in a six month residency that was really cool. But the point is, I was not afraid to ask. So I think it’s important to ask, because you never know. 

And you know, I also think it’s important for like, your own self motivation to not give up, because also that residency, I was, like, 10 years older than the assistant, and I had a kid, so like. You know, like, your trajectory doesn’t necessarily have to be linear, like you can always come back to things, and you can always keep going. And, you know, like I said, jazz classical now I’m doing Latin, which is what I wanted to do in the beginning in Miami, but now I’m doing in New York. 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: Get a round of applause for this panel. I mean, I don’t want it to end, this has just been so illuminating and inspiring and real. We’re gonna have a very quick lightning round question. I always end the She Rocked It interviews with asking my guests what is your one tip to rock it? So give us a quick tip starting with Jeanne. 

JEANNE MONTALVO: Join your community, network, make sure – it’s not about who you know but who knows you so that you can get the gigs. 

MONA KAYHAN: I would say, find your superpower. Everyone has something very special and unique about them. Mine took a long time to figure out and even though it felt like I was meandering in life it all made sense in the end. I have a very specific superpower and each of you has one so find it and go to town. 

JEN PEARCE: Mine would be to, it’s really hard, even for me, but to stop caring what other people think and, I mean I’ve said this a million times tonight but, do you to the most extreme degree and understand that taking the time to get to know yourself and knowing your value and all the things you very much deserve.

RASHIDA  SCOTT-CRUZ: Mine would be, piggybacking off of yours as well. You need to have a healthy work-life balance because in this business you’re working late hours sometimes you’re working all different times depending on what time zone you’re in and if you’re collaborating with people from around the world. So, incorporate a healthy work life balance. Treat yourself right. And I say be authentic and true to yourself so you don’t lose yourself. 

JEN PEARCE: So important

RASHIDA SCOTT-CRUZ: mmhmm 

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT: it’s so hard to pick one tip, I would say that my one tip and this actually applies to Shira and New York Music Month —is show up. Show up for yourself. It can be hard. Building She Rocked It scared the sh** out of me. And you know what I did to show up, I made like a regular appointment with a woman who was helping me as a producer. And that got me to show up because otherwise I probably would have been to scared if I didn’t have that appointment every week to build this podcast. It makes me emotional. And like, you know, it’s been three years and we’re partnering with the city of New York so just show up and thank you all for showing up for yourself today. Thank you all. 

[APPLAUSE] 

[OUTRO]

KAREN GROSS / SHE ROCKED IT:  This special episode of the She Rocked It podcast was recorded live at the Bridge Studio studio in Brooklyn, New York. It was produced by Karen Gross and Tori Marchiony with mixing and mastering by Teng Chen. The She Rocked It theme song is by Karen Gross and Tim Motzer. This episode was recorded e as part of New York City Music Month 2024. NY Music Month is an initiative of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. A huge thank you to Shira Gans and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment for their support of the She Rocked It podcast. Get tuned in and visit NYMusicmonth.nyc. And for more episodes of the She Rocked It podcast visit us at sherockedit.com