Meet Elena Rodrigo of The Music Joint Group in NoHo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Rodrigo.

Elena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I arrived to Northern California in the late 80’s. My professional background then was radio, TV and journalism. Few months later, I got a job in a commercial radio in San Francisco and at the same time I started writing for a daily newspaper in Los Angeles and started my own Latin rock show in a non-profit radio station in Berkeley.

I started to connect with concert promoters to start bringing rock in Spanish bands from Mexico and years later to festivals. The market for that Latin music was very limited then, so I dedicated all the radio shows I was producing including my columns in 3 newspapers I was writing for to introduce this music to a broader audience and we started a fan club called Loco Lizard in the Bay Area. Couple of years later, I got a job in Fresno in a Bilingual radio network with more than 12 stations, doing basically the same than in San Francisco. A show I started there is still on air and is the longest Latin rock radio show running in the whole Country, currently produced by close friends who inherit the show. In the mid 90’s, I received a call from some investors that wanted to start a record label to start signing artists in the U.S and Latin rock. I accepted and moved back to San Francisco to co-found Aztlan Records which made a lot of noise nationwide and internationally.

By the end of the 90’s, Gustavo Santaolalla, a very know producer awarded with many Grammys and the Oscar, among other important awards, signed a joint venture with Universal Music Latin to start a Latin rock department and called me to offer me the job to kick it off. I moved to Los Angeles in 1999. It was a great time, the market was growing, the new generation of Latinos were finding a voice in this music and great bands signed by Gustavo on his own label Surco and Universal were perfect for, that time and are now some of the biggest acts you can find in the Latin alternative music worldwide.

For more than eight years, I worked in Universal until I was offered a job in Capitol Latin, which was signing a lot of great up and coming rock bands mainly from Mexico. When Emi Capitol was sold to Universal, most of the staff moved to Miami at first, focusing more in the urban music and letting a lot of the rock bands go. That is when I decided to open my own agency. All those artists and new artists emerging from all Latino America at that time need it a service they could not expect any more from record labels. They had to start looking to outsource services that are experienced in the music and market. We started working as independent, associating with other professionals in the field creating a multi-service agency focusing mainly in Latin alternative music & market, but not excluding other music genres.

The Music Joint Group, originally named ER:M+M, is an event promotions and artist development Agency with marketing, public Relations, radio promotion services, booking & management working in partnership with other agencies from Mexico & Colombia. Additionally, The Music Joint Group specializes in marketing & PR for music festivals and arena/stadium national tours. Los Dells Festival in Wisconsin, Festival La Tocada and Skanking Reggae Fest in Los Angeles, Ruido Fest in Chicago and Uateke Rock Fest, an itinerant festival produced by The Music Joint Group, are just some of the event we have worked with.

I am proud to say that The Music Joint Group has grown and served a lot of independent artists to develop their careers; our clientele extends from almost every major label like Sony Latin, Interscope, Warner Bros and Warner Latina, Universal Music among other, to major event producers like Live Nation, AEG Live and Goldenvoice. TMJG serves also as the Ambassador in U.S. for The International Music Fair for Professionals (FIMPRO), the most important music industry encounter in Mexico and Latin America.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, not always, especially when is your own business. You have to learn how to maintain it, administrate it and manage it. You can be an expert in what you do in any field, but if you start your own business, you have also to make sure you know what you are doing and take the right decisions to make it grow. It involves extra work but it is very gratifying when you see the good results.

Please tell us about The Music Joint Group.
The Music Joint is an event promotions and artist development Agency with marketing, public Relations, radio promotion services, booking & management. I am the President and co-founder. I am personally known in the Industry for developing artists to be one of the pioneers in the promotion of Latin Alternative music along with other genres in the U.S. what sets us apart from others is the true passion and vast experience in this field and market. We are very proud of that. We have enjoyed every step of the way and its evolution.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Going to a beach called ‘Las Bocas’ in South Sonora, Mexico. The vacations there were pure joy from early in the morning waking up with the sound of seagulls and ocean waves til night with family games and talks around the fire pit.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5250 Lankershim Blvd. Suite 500
  N. Hollywood, CA 91601
• Website: www.themusicjointgroup.com
• Phone: 818-210 5125
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themusicjoint_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMusicJoint/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMusicJoint_
• Other: www.elenarodrigo.com

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