Erika Montes
Erika Montes
Artist Advocate & Music Executive
As a music industry veteran with years of experience developing and overseeing strategies to maximize artist exposure at record labels, creative agencies and music tech companies, Montes’ extensive track record secured partnerships with notable brands including SoundCloud, MTV, VH1, BET, CMT, Vevo, Fuse, MySpace and Nickelodeon.
Until recently, Erika served as the President at Rostrum Records, one of the most prominent independent record labels in the industry. In this role, she managed and oversaw label operations, artist relations, and worldwide distribution partnerships. Prior to joining Rostrum, Montes served as Global VP, Artist & Label Relations at SoundCloud, the artist-first audio platform empowering artists to build and grow their careers by providing them with the most progressive resources. During her tenure, Montes played a key leadership role in SoundCloud’s development of support initiatives to bring equitable and transparent payments to artists in the form of “fan-powered” royalties and raised over $15 million in direct investment to help creators on the platform who had been financially impacted by the pandemic.
She previously served as Vice President, Music Programming and Development at Fuse and Senior Director, Video Marketing & Promotions at Island Def Jam, where she was involved with projects from some of the biggest names in the music industry at the beginning of their careers including Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, and Kanye West. Montes began her music career as an A&R assistant at PolyGram Latino, during the summer between her sophomore and junior years at Boston University.
In addition to being a Femme It Forward Mentor, Montes is a member of XXL Magazine’s Awards Board along with being recognized by Billboard’s highly coveted 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players and 2020 Women In Music lists. Born in New York, while growing up between Ecuador and Miami, Montes currently calls Los Angeles home.
Artist Advocate & Music Executive
As a music industry veteran with years of experience developing and overseeing strategies to maximize artist exposure at record labels, creative agencies and music tech companies, Montes’ extensive track record secured partnerships with notable brands including SoundCloud, MTV, VH1, BET, CMT, Vevo, Fuse, MySpace and Nickelodeon.
Until recently, Erika served as the President at Rostrum Records, one of the most prominent independent record labels in the industry. In this role, she managed and oversaw label operations, artist relations, and worldwide distribution partnerships. Prior to joining Rostrum, Montes served as Global VP, Artist & Label Relations at SoundCloud, the artist-first audio platform empowering artists to build and grow their careers by providing them with the most progressive resources. During her tenure, Montes played a key leadership role in SoundCloud’s development of support initiatives to bring equitable and transparent payments to artists in the form of “fan-powered” royalties and raised over $15 million in direct investment to help creators on the platform who had been financially impacted by the pandemic.
She previously served as Vice President, Music Programming and Development at Fuse and Senior Director, Video Marketing & Promotions at Island Def Jam, where she was involved with projects from some of the biggest names in the music industry at the beginning of their careers including Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, and Kanye West. Montes began her music career as an A&R assistant at PolyGram Latino, during the summer between her sophomore and junior years at Boston University.
In addition to being a Femme It Forward Mentor, Montes is a member of XXL Magazine’s Awards Board along with being recognized by Billboard’s highly coveted 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players and 2020 Women In Music lists. Born in New York, while growing up between Ecuador and Miami, Montes currently calls Los Angeles home.