Cultural Catalysts with Alison McNeil

Where's My Money? Monet Little on Music Rights, Royalty Administration, and What Artists Don't Know They're Signing

Episode Summary

Monet Little, music rights and royalty administration specialist, co-chair of Women in Music DC, and professional member of the Recording Academy DC chapter, joins Cultural Catalysts to pull back the curtain on one of the most essential and least understood corners of the music business. A creative first, Monet found her way into this world through an internship with DC-based jazz musician and entrepreneur Marcus Johnson, discovered SoundExchange was right in her backyard, and applied three times before landing her first music industry role. Monet has worked every angle of how money moves from a stream to an artist's bank account, and she now brings that full-circle knowledge to independent artists and labels.

Episode Notes

Monet Little, music rights and royalty administration specialist, co-chair of Women in Music DC, and professional member of the Recording Academy DC chapter, joins Cultural Catalysts to pull back the curtain on one of the most essential and least understood corners of the music business. A creative first, Monet found her way into this world through an internship with DC-based jazz musician and entrepreneur Marcus Johnson, discovered SoundExchange was right in her backyard, and applied three times before landing her first music industry role. Monet has worked every angle of how money moves from a stream to an artist's bank account, and she now brings that full-circle knowledge to independent artists and labels.

Monet breaks down:

• What music rights and royalty administration actually is: not the deal itself, but the operational work that happens after the deal is signed to make sure money flows correctly to every rights holder, per the contract
• The most common and costly mistake artists make: signing a deal without understanding what recoupment means, confusing an advance for a windfall rather than a loan
• The representation gap she sees every day: women and people of color are largely pushed toward creative and artist-facing roles, while the business and financial decision-making rooms remain far less diverse — and why she shows up anyway

Find out more:

• Connect with Monet: 
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Music
• Create Music Group
  • Website
• SoundExchange
  • Website
• Concord
  • Website
• Women in Music
  • Website