My Music Row Story: MNRK Music Group’s Gina Miller

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Gina Miller

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Gina Miller has been passionate about music for as long as she can remember. A musician, educator, entrepreneur and executive, her love for music and the arts has forged the way and proven to be a significant part of her life’s purpose and work. Having spent nearly two decades with MNRK Music Group (formerly Entertainment One), Miller’s current role as the label’s Sr. VP and General Manager for Nashville has her overseeing day-to-day operations and creative output for Nashville, including MNRK subsidiaries Light Records and IndieBlu Music.

Throughout her career, she has used her platform and voice to both improve the ways the music business operates and create opportunities for those who are marginalized in our industry. An advocate for equality and equity, she is a sought-after speaker, clinician and consultant. The music industry veteran is an active champion, serving on several advisory councils, including Music Makes Us, The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), St. Jude Urban Cares and the Country Music Association D&I Task Force.

Miller also serves on The Americana Music Association Board, Secretary of the Recording Academy’s Nashville Chapter, Vice President of Nashville Music Equality, as well as The Music Business Association (Music Biz, Board Chair) and The National Association of Black Female Executives in Media & Entertainment (NABFEME). Named to Leadership Music’s Class of 2022, Billboard’s Women in Music executive class in 2018 and 2020 and the Nashville Business Journal’s Women Of Influence 2021 Class, Miller continues to use her influence to inspire and drive change, not only in the organizations she faithfully serves, but in this community and world in which she lives.

Earlier this year, Miller was honored with the Music Biz Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement in recognition of her leadership and commitment to bolstering diversity and inclusion across the music industry.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in south Memphis, Tennessee, which I am incredibly proud of. Quite frankly, I think it set the tone for everything that’s shaped me to be the person, the leader and the musician that I am with the music background that I have. All of that was developed not only in Memphis, but specifically in south Memphis.

Gina Miller

Tell me about growing up there.

My community played a large part of exposing me to the music that I’m aware of. My mom was our church musician and the church was in our neighborhood. The first records I remember buying were from a mom and pop record store on the same street as Stax Records. That community shaped a lot of my musical upbringing.

How did you start playing music?

I started playing in church. Our neighborhood piano teacher sought my mom out and asked my mother to bring me to her when I was about five or six. I took piano all the way through college at Belmont.

By the time I got to seventh grade, I was playing the flute in the band. I wanted to be a clarinetist, but we had a flute because my older sister played the flute, so my mom was like, “This is what you’re going to play.” [Laughs]

The flute got me a scholarship to UT Knoxville [before I went to Belmont]. I marched in the band at UT for a while. I played piccolo and the flute between football and basketball season. I have been eaten up in music my entire life. It’s pretty clear now that I was going to be a part of it.

When you were playing flute in the band at UT Knoxville or studying at Belmont, what was your dream?

That was my dream: music. While I was growing up, I listened to R&B, pop music, country music and more. I was classicially trained—that’s where I got my start with my piano teacher. My father had a huge LP collection and we listened to Johnny Cash, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Mahalia Jackson and all kinds of music. I had a big appreciation for all genres of music. That is absolutely why I fight so hard to make sure that we’re inclusive of so many different formats, genres and art styles, because there’s so much to appreciate.

Gina Miller and team

What happened after college that put you on your path to  MNRK Music Group?

You probably hear a lot about people who got their start from making a connection with somebody—that’s exactly what happened to me. First and foremost, I think it’s important to point out that when I went back to Belmont, I was married with two sons.

[After I went to Belmont], my oldest son was playing pee wee football in Brentwood. The families [that were driving their kids to games] were driving very modest cars. There was one guy that was getting out of a Porsche every Saturday morning with his kid. I thought, “Who is that? I need to know who that is because he’s doing something different.” [Laughs]

Eventually I introduced myself. The next week, we were making small talk and he said, “So what kind of music are you into?” I knew what was coming then. When I asked him, he named all this music that I grew up listening to. I asked him, “What is your relationship to this music and to these artists?” He said, “I’ve got a little label in Nashville [called Light Records] and we are the main distributor and label for these artists.” I told him, “I need to be a part of that.”

What happened next?

He told me that he didn’t do the hiring, but that he would introduce me to the president of the label. Long story short, I met with him and he told me they didn’t have any jobs. I said, “Okay, can I just come hang out? Can I come in every day and just see what’s going on, learn and be of service in any way?” He agreed to that and I did that for a year. That absolutely changed the trajectory of my life. That was almost 20 years ago now and I’ve never walked out.

Gina Miller and sons

Wow! That is some dedication. How did you transition that into a job?

Once that year passed, he created a job for me, which was basically a part-time coordinator position. The fast version of my story is that from there to now, I just moved around and worked in every division, which I feel was very worthwhile in being able to actually lead the label group now. I’ve always lived with this belief that nothing is wasted and everything is purposeful. I knew that it was all going to make sense at some point.

The CEO of the label [who I met at the football park], Michael Olsen, was super encouraging. I will never forget this, but one day we were talking to each other and he said, “You’re going to have my job one day.” We laugh about it, but I literally went home and ordered a book called Next Stop, Corner Office on Amazon. It took a minute to get there—there were a lot of turns and a lot of other people that were put in a position to lead before me. From that day at the football park to now, he’s still my mentor and he’s still my friend. He’s been instrumental in this path I’ve been on and in my life.

Because you were able to experience a lot of different roles at a record label, what have been some of your favorite things you’ve gotten to do?

Artists at every level have a goal. Emerging talent, established artists and legendary acts all have goals. For us to try to step in and make something on those wish lists possible for artists, there’s no greater joy than that. We still have a handful of artists that get to terrestrial radio, so for those artists who’ve never heard their song on the radio, to be able to be part of those stories and be responsible for them having radio hits, that’s still very special to me. I worked radio promotions for a long time, so I’m beholden to radio in a way. I also love having events where we can touch our audience, invite them, thank them and love on them for being supporters.

What have been some more difficult challenges in those roles?

Every job has different variations of challenges. The most challenging thing for me has been something I couldn’t change. I think about this a lot now, especially with all the diversity work I do. People are always asking me about being Black in the city. I think being a female leader has been hard. It’s not necessarily that one is more or less significant, but I’ve probably felt that more as a woman here. I feel like I’m consistently thanking my team for rocking with me and respecting me. I still see that being a space that we have got to do a lot more work in: respecting women’s voices.

I’ve been really fortunate in the sense that I’ve had people in leadership around me who were very blatant about saying, “I don’t really care if you’re Black or a woman. I just care about being successful.” I’ve lived in this body a long time and while there are a lot of things that I’m able to do for this community and in this city, the only form of training I had was life experience.

Gina Miller

You’ve been one of the leading voices for diversity and inclusion on Music Row. Do you feel like we are making any progress towards becoming a more diverse genre and industry?

First, I’m extremely excited to be able to do the things that I get to do and be a part of this community. I don’t have a reason to not be truthful, honest and sincere about how we can make what’s already such an incredible place better. That’s really my main goal right now, to be one of the louder voices in the room so we can listen and pay attention to the things that will just make us better.

I will say there is progress being made. I think that’s the right answer. What a lot of people probably measure it by is: is it big progress? Could there be more? Yes, but progress is not defined by how much more it could be. It’s just that it is better than what it has been.

If we look around Music Row and consider that most of the major labels and independent labels have been run historically by white men; and that a lot of those labels are now being led by white women as of this year—that’s progress. To go a step further, do we see people that look like me leading labels? No. That’s across this whole entire city. That’s not just the music business. We still have a lot to do.

Tell me about becoming the Sr. VP/GM of MNRK.

The man who was leading us at the time left to go to a major label, which left us needing somebody to lead the label group. I ended up talking to Mike about it and we had a lot of conversations during that time about his philosophy on what that would look like.

Before I was given the job, I worked under three other men. They were all given opportunity to lead before me. But I will say, I needed to experience that. It just makes my point all the more valid. Now I’m able to have these conversations internally when I see things happening where you’ve got qualified women working in divisions who get skipped over for unqualified white men. Thankfully, women are having a moment right now. Most companies who are tuned in are giving opportunities to women who are deserving, who are qualified and who’ve put in the work.

What is your favorite part about your job?

One of the favorite things about my job is watching my team grow and develop. I have an incredible team. I’m so proud of them.

My dream has always been to know artists and to have solid relationships with people who are making a difference. I had set out a goal years ago that I would not be limited to one kind of music and that I wanted to know music people. I feel really good that when I look through the people who are in my circle, that they’re doing all kinds of amazing things from producers, engineers and studio owners, all the way into film and television. If it all ends tomorrow, it’s been great.

What is exciting you right now?

Like I said, I have two sons. My 23-year-old son works down on fourth at Rocketown. My 28-year-old son has s worked in corporate America for the last eight years while living in Richmond. He moved to Nashville about a year ago and has been playing up and down Broadway. Not long ago, he told me he was going to apply for some jobs here and try something different. Now my oldest son works at SESAC. That makes me so proud. I had nothing to do with it—I didn’t call anybody. We’re so excited about that. We are working together to extend our legacy and make change on Music Row.

LB Cantrell
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