Meet Melissa Rodriguez | Music Marketing Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I feel that most creatives could say that we don’t choose this career, this career chooses us. Honestly speaking, the path of a creative is a very difficult one, filled with a lot of ups and downs. It’s the kind of career that when you are in college they ask you: “So what’s your plan B?”. But if we look at the other side, art is simple limitless, there’s no limit to creation, so it’s also a world that allows you to explore different passions while having fun doing it. It’s more of a calling, rather than a choice. In other words, I had no option other than pursue this path, and not because of lack of career alternatives, but because I would have been extremely unhappy and not true to myself if I would have gone any other way than this.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career started way back at iHeart Media. I was an intern, very hungry to make it in the industry, and through God’s plans, I ended up being a morning show co-host at Mega 94.9 in Miami, with only 5 months of being hired. My road continued at Spanish Broadcasting Systems, where I took everything I had learned in radio to be in front of a camara. I had my own show “Enredados” where I talked about the trending topics regarding latin artists in the industry. I was also a host for on-air interviews, and I had the chance to interview some of my favorite celebrities like Karol G, J Balvin, Chayanne, among many others. Then my journey continued at Uforia Music in Univision Network. In this beautiful phase of my career I was able to develop my own podcast, my show “Uforia News”, and work as a producer in several digital shows. The highlight of this part of my career was definitely making history in September of 2020, when we produced a live show with Bad Bunny, where he went around NYC on top of a truck, giving a free concert to his fans. Then I wanted to challenge myself and made the jump to music marketing at Warner Music Latina. I managed a strong roster of artists, for whom I developed their release marketing strategy and handled their industry relations. That opportunity lead me to where I am today, as a marketing director for independent label WIP Records, where I focus on developing new talent, strategizing the marketing efforts for our roster, and serve as bridge to our distribution partners.

No road is ever easy in the entertainment/music industry. In my case there have been a lot of moments where I’ve had to face self-doubt, burn outs, mental and physical health issues, and unbalance between work and personal life. But ever since I started, I knew my dreams were bigger than myself, and therefore they came with big sacrifices. I think along the way what I learned was that there needed to be a happy medium, in which feeling successful about my career didn’t come at such a high cost. An important lesson I learned is to take care of my mind: a happy mind can create beautiful things, and we need our thoughts to be a healthy place we could live in.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My go to place is Miami is definitely Pastis, it’s a French restaurant located in Wynwood that has become “the spot” for a girls night out between my friends and I. we call it our “birth place”. Another spot you can’t miss if you come to Miami is Upper Buena Vista. While you are there, make sure you get your aura reading and leave your heart’s desires by the wish tree. I do this with my family every once in a while. A dessert is never extra, so please do yourself a favor and try the “cholados” at Amazonica, they are life-changing. Of course the beach is a spot that is a must in a Miami itinerary. To make the week plan a perfect one, I would add a nice rooftop experience during sunset. My go to’s are: Salvaje in Midtown and Terras in Little Havana. If you are down for a salsa night, you can never go wrong with Chico Malo in Doral on Thursdays. Oh! and last but certainly not least, try the “Bresh” party on a Friday night, I promise you won’t regret it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve really been very blessed to have found people who believed in me along the way, starting from Jessie Trujillo and Joe Ferrero who gave me my first opportunity ever in radio. Then I have Edgar Perez, who always believed in my potential and took me under his wing from SBS to Univision Network, giving me the chance to excel in many roles: hosting, producing, directing. On the label side I have Isabel Paz and Ruben Abraham, who opened the door to another area of the beautiful world of music for me as a label manager, a position that prepared me to accomplish anything I would set my mind to. And last but certainly not least, Benjamin and Beka Tischker, Marc Jordan and Irene Richter, for giving me the chance to rewrite history through an independent label career, and for trusting me with their vote of confidence to jointly build a legacy in the latin music scene.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melimellive/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-rodriguez-1a158584/

Image Credits
I have rights and permissions of the images.