Words by Amy T. Woehling 

Womanly sat down for a joint interview with the founder of Color of Music Collective, Mia Van Allen and Executive Director, Marcella Desharnais. COMC is an inclusive and empowering platform and space for LGBT+ and POC voices in the music industry. Read their story below!

Amy Woehling: Tell us about your journey and how COMC began.

MIA:  Carla, the co-founder and I have worked together for about four and a half years now. I really struggled with being the one Black person in the office and her being the one LGBTQ-identifying music executive. So I started this right after I graduated by brainstorming logos and names, getting the website up and running. We both reached out to our own contacts and created our first panel about applying to jobs as a POC or LGBTQ individual in the music industry. I didn't think it was going to blow up to the volume it is today. I had only really planned to do that one panel, but afterwards we got over 100 DMs about how great it was for folks and how it encouraged them to apply for other jobs. We decided to continue to do panels on a bi-weekly basis, and it has just blown up ever since. That's how I found Marcella.

MARCELLA: I come from a background of a combination of audio engineering and marketing in the music industry. COMC was looking for volunteers just after I had graduated from Syracuse University, and I saw one of the panels. Similarly to Carla, I was either the only woman or queer woman in the room or recording studio. With the pandemic and everything going on postgrad, I was looking for more ways to do my part to help make the music industry a safer place for both POC and LGBTQ individuals. COMC came into my life at the perfect time. Soon, Mia reached out to me with an opportunity to step up as Executive Director, and I’ve been running with it ever since.

AW: What is COMC’s mission? 

MIA: The goal is to amplify music executives in the music business. Oftentimes, the artists are highlighted on stage and on social media and most people don't even care to know who got the artists where they are today. There are people behind an artist or band who never really get talked about - especially people of color and LGBTQ music executives because of the lack of inclusion in the music community. When I started the collective, I thought it was really important for me, being a person of color working in the music industry, to amplify the voices that are not given the platform to speak up. Ultimately, we wanted to give advice on how to handle being the only person of color on a day-to-day basis. So there's always an inclusion, diversity, and advocacy piece to our panels which separates us from many other companies.

AW: How does music unite communities? What is it about music specifically?

MARCELLA: I grew up in performance and that taught me that there is so much more behind the curtain of a song or the product that you end up listening to. Like Mia said, there's a whole team of people that goes into the release of even just one single or the putting on of your favorite concert. For me, it was about seeing the creative strategy behind that - being the mastermind behind it all and knowing that there are so many communities that are not getting the credit they deserve. I found music and community through performance. It's that shared love and that shared understanding of what music is. Also, the different cultures and different genres that tie communities together. For example, hip-hop and jazz are founded in the roots of communities and shared stories of struggle. There’s so much community and love in and of itself.

MIA: For me, it was a bit different. I have a learning disability and first went to a school for a really long time that didn't accept me for simply being different and having a different way of learning. I was among peers that were very fast learners and very competitive, and I just didn't have the support that I needed. So I felt like I really had nothing but music to calm myself down. I was a person of color at a Catholic school that was made up of mostly white, cis-gendered people. I struggled for a long time until I went to a school that supported students who have learning difficulties. Music became my way of escaping through live concerts, piano classes, and singing classes. Music was really the only way I got through my education, and still helps me today with my anxiety. Music is validating in that way.

AW: How can folks get involved? 

MIA: People can follow our Instagram, YouTube, and sign up for our newsletter. We always push our newsletter first because we announce new panels there before we post anything on social media. We also have a website with so many resources for people to find out about our panel schedule. Lastly, people can sign up as a volunteer and be a contributor to our blog to talk about issues that are important to them.

AW: What are some of your go-to self-care practices that help you stay emotionally, physically, and mentally grounded?

MARCELLA: It's making time every day, even if it's just 10 minutes, to listen to new music. Music discovery is a big thing for me whether it's just listening to a new Spotify playlist or scouring SoundCloud. It's important for me to feel like I'm keeping up and hearing what is being released every day. Exercise or at least some form of movement or meditation is another.

MIA: Going to concerts. Before COVID, I’d go to maybe two or three a month for anything I could find at the time. I'm so thankful that people are finding ways to do this virtually. I’ve been able to attend some of my favorite artists’ shows this way. One of my favorites being Grace Potter because she also has a learning disability and is so loud about it. That was such a big help for me to hear at a young age. Luckily, she's been doing virtual concerts every Monday night. 

Stay in touch with Color of Music Collective on Instagram, Youtube or signing-up for their newsletter here!