6 Questions for A Creative Director + Digital Marketing Manager

Welcome back to “6 Questions For A…”! Each week, we’ll ask someone 6 career-centric questions about themselves.

This week we’re chatting with Monique Chavez, creative director + digital marketing manager at Latium Entertainment, a joint venture music label with Atlantic Records and Warner Music Worldwide. She has worked with artists such as Ally Brooke, MAGIC!, Kat Dahlia, Play-N-Skillz & more.

Tell us about the kind of tasks that are in a typical day in your role.

I think every day is a bit different and it really depends on what’s going on that week, but my role can range from creating content with an artist whether it’s designing their artwork, shooting photos or videos, etc. Some days I’m more focused on the digital marketing role where I work closely with the label on different digital rollouts for releases + marketing strategies and the artist’s social medias. There are days where management is a little more of a role I take on. For me that may mean day to day duties from sending out itineraries and being the point of contact to making sure an artist gets from point a to b on time and all is running smoothly. It all just depends on what kind of week we are having!

I’m also the founder of an organization called Her Music Club, a community for women in music. Being the founder of an organization vs working for a company is a lot different in terms of day to day duties – if you don’t wake up and make sure things are moving, no one else is going to! So everyday I just try to stay on top of our next moves, our follow through, our branding, our socials, etc.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Being creative. I often feel like while my role can become overwhelming, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel very lucky to be able to wear different hats and I think I’ll continue to do that in my career…wherever it may take me.

What are some challenges you face?

At times, especially being a young woman in the industry, it can be scary to be assertive or fight to have an opinion. For a period of time, I really let that affect the way I did my job. Over time and honestly, through Her Music Club and hearing similar stories, I became more confident and less afraid to be myself and have an opinion.

Who inspires you and why?

As cliche as it sounds, I’m truly inspired daily by everyone around me. I am very lucky to work with my father, Charles Chavez, a music manager (Pitbull, Chamillionaire, Ally Brooke, etc) & industry vet. I learn something new from him every day and its inspiring to know that his belief and love for music brought him to this point in his career.

I’m also inspired by the women in this industry. Every time we have a Her Music Club event, it becomes a space for women to share their stories and experiences in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s empowering and I am forever inspired by every woman who comes out and is so willing to lend a helping hand.

Share some advice to someone aspiring to be in the music industry.

Trust your gut and don’t let fear make decisions for you. At the end of the day, the best advice I’ve been given is work hard. When you get started in this industry, it may seem like you’ll never get there, but

stay focused. Be the best you can be at your job and like Jimmy Iovine said, keep your blinders up. Focus on yourself, your passions, and what’s best for you.

What did you want to be when you grew up? How did that change over the years?

Also so cliche, but I wanted to be a singer when I was young. I started taking voice and piano lessons at 8 years old but I had terrible stage fright (still do) and quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I wanted to be a professional dancer, I wanted to be a journalist – and when I finally got my hands on my first camera, I knew that was for me. I soon found my love for filmmaking and went on to study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After I graduated, I moved out to LA and worked at CAA for a few years in MP Literary for one of my favorite bosses of all time, Richard Lovett. As a creative, I think my mind continued to wander. I wrote and directed a web series after leaving CAA, made a few music videos, had numerous photo shoots – there were so many possibilities, so I tried it all. Everything was and still is a lesson, and now I’ve landed in a role where I continue to mix my different passions together.