named Dani Oliva VP of business and legal affairs in December, it marked a ceiling-breaking moment for the trans executive, one of the few to hold a senior position at a major music company. , former manager of Lady Gaga, Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor, and Suzy Ryoo, Carter’s colleague at Atom Factory, Venice provides tools for distribution, streaming performance monitoring and royalty collection. The company was launched in 2019.
But while he’s seen the music landscape become more diverse, with queer, trans, and non-binary artists making their way to the forefront, change has not come quickly enough from behind the scenes. In Oliva’s new role at Venice, initiatives include helping provide legal resources to independent artists to help them make smarter business decisions.I implement new legal systems for the company. I negotiate and draft the deals between Venice, the company, and the artists.
When I started working in music 20 years ago, I presented as a woman, and back then there were very few women in music on the executive side. There still aren’t that many women in music when you compare it to the number of men. And many women that I knew then faced discrimination and still do. For the very few LGBTQ+ folks in the industry, most were afraid to be out because they feared losing their jobs. There also weren’t many transgender people out in the media at all.
To understand what music creators create, you have to understand where they’re coming from — their background and the community they’re a part of. That requires diversity. If we look at transgender artists like Kim Petras, or non-binary artists, they can properly be supported by transgender executives. It’s important to have folks of all backgrounds on both the creator and executive sides of the music industry. Because that’s who we are as a society.