Laura Monaco-Martino has been in and around the industry for a long time and creating music industry change. As an artist she had label interest and opened for the likes of Lady Gaga. Now as a business owner and champion for artists she focuses in creating music industry change, making it more inclusive and providing true support and development for aspiring DIY artists.Today, we have our guest, Laura Monaco and she is going to talk about her journey as a musician and becoming a music entrepreneur, music insider and a mom. I know you will be so excited to hear and be inspired by.
Laura grew up in Bronx, NY and she always gravitated towards music. Her father was a singer although he did not pursue it professionally, Laura and him always sang inside the house. She made the connection at a very young age. She always strived to be better and was always seeking more so she was trained by an opera singer for voice lessons at age 11. She realized that wasn’t the path for her so she started discovering different genres and styles. She eventually put up a band and performed all over New York City. She was a songwriter at a very young age, around 12 or 13. She worked with Lady Gaga before she signed the deal and was her replacement when she left. She performed at Chase Stadium before they shut down. She had some notable things happen to her so she realized that she was good at it. At one point, she felt stuck and wanted to move forward.
She now works behind the scenes. She helps, guides and inspires artists in their career. She became a coach and she learned more about the voice and the performance aspect. She also opened a business with her husband.
Like other artists, she also struggled with feeling like giving up daily. The pop world is too competitive and you have to mold into certain standards like how you need to look or how your song needs to sound like. She eventually realized that she does not need to follow that. She became more free and it opened more doors for her. One instance when she was 16 or 17 is seeing Lady Gaga with all the crowd going crazy over her. That night she was really bummed out and she had to ask herself why she was doing this. That was the beginning of a reality shock for Laura and she realized that she didn’t have to put too much pressure on herself and that she was doing music because she loved it.
It’s not true that there is only one way to create. What their business represents is that they want to show artists that there are a lot of things you can do to promote your music and creating music industry change. Laura’s favorite thing about what she does is showing artists that they do not have to give up their music and that there are many other opportunities for them. Music is a gift and you don’t need to covet it. Show everyone that light. Share your gift in whatever capacity you can.
There have always been issues about women being pigeonholed or boxed in. Things are getting better especially with Adele and Demi Lovato, but we aren’t there yet. We are seeing a lot more diversity now, especially in women, age and ethnicity.
As a woman, entrepreneur and a mom.
Laura had difficulty getting pregnant, and right when she was about to give up, she got pregnant. Her son reminds her everyday that she loves singing. It’s important that a child sees his parents still holds their identity and doing things that they love. When you have a fulfilled parent, you have a happy child. You sometimes feel guilty about feeling that you do not have enough time for your family but you cannot really give up your passion for what you do. It depends on your values and to each his own. You don’t need to hide your old music because each of us is ever evolving. Laura is releasing a new album about healing soon.
Laura works with Emerging Talent brands in creating music industry change. ET studio production is an audition based company. They will be assessed and will be placed strategically with the right teacher. There are different teachers for that. They also have ET labs which is an integrative learning facility which has a specific focus for working with children with special needs. They have art and yoga apart from music. They work to develop them to become more a part of society. The children can also discover themselves to find what they really want to do. TE Music Group is a bit dormant right now but they have sync licensing. They also do showcases. If an artist finishes a song, they also help with the graphics, logo and development process. They work a lot with artists virtually. You can visit etstudioproductions.com or etlabz.com. She is also on lauravocals on her socials.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Leave a Comment