Mya Talks 20 Years In The Music Business And What She's Learned
Mya Talks 20 Years In The Music Business And What She’s Learned Along The Way
To judge Mya Marie Harrison by her undeniably gorgeous surface is to underestimate the strong woman underneath. Mya, celebrated her alleged 39th birthday (October 10) this week, although the only indication of that is that she was making solo hits in the 90’s with “It’s All About Me,” “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)” and more.
She won a Grammy in 2002 with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lil’ Kim for their rendition of the Labelle classic “Lady Marmalade” from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, then came back with “My Love Is Like…Wo,” in 2003.
In 2009, she finished second on Season 9 of Dancing With The Stars.
While Mya’s mainstream visibility may have cooled since then, the Washington, D.C. native hasn’t slowed down. She was just in Dubai and Singapore, just the latest stamps on an already marked up passport.
She’s dropped several singles from her latest album T.K.O., including “Damage” and last year, she was a nominee for Best Traditional R&B Album for her indie release Smoove Jones on her label Planet 9. We caught up with Mya to find out how she does what she does and she dropped some gems that any businesswoman, aspiring artist, or music fans needs to hear.
HOW ARE YOU LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE?
I’ve taken a different route for sure. It’s the road less traveled but it brings me peace which actually affects my physical and my mental, so I feel a lot better, I do a lot better and I guess it comes across as me living my best life.
I have definitely been able to separate business and art. I fell in love with music as a child at four years old. So I stay close to that – how music has made me feel and how I feel when I’m around music.
I’ve been blessed to be able to have musicians worldwide that I collaborate with, great relationships with producers and dancers and all kind of artists that surround me with their talent and that create with me and that’s been a driving force. So I would attribute any kind of success to that.
WHAT’S ALLOWED YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL FOR SO LONG DESPITE BEING A FEMALE IN A MALE-DOMINATED BUSINESS?
I’ve been able to navigate by taking business into my own hands. When I have to be a lawyer, I’m a lawyer. You have to budget your money and you have to cut out a lot of things you can no longer afford. Instead of paying a lawyer thousands of dollars an hour, empower yourself with new skill sets from engineering to learning equipment to produce your own music. You will go broke if you don’t learn many skill sets.
And I realize that women, especially the ones that work with me, are very punctual, very detail-oriented, and it’s always been empowering and it’s always been an advantage in my eyes. And yes, there are encounters that you might have to deal with in any work place as a woman, but when you know yourself, you can quickly handle it.
WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE MOST TO YOUR ABILITY TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES?
I’ve always had this mindset because this is how my parents raised me. My mother has always been a pit bull, not by necessarily being a college graduate, but by picking up a book to teach me what I wasn’t being taught in school. My father has always been a man and a father who instilled strength in me, because he came from the business and [knew] how treacherous it could be. So that was my upbringing.
HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE CHANGES IN YOUR CAREER?
There are mixed messages coming from the outside world. You have to do a lot to listen to your own voice. People’s definition of success is completely different from yours and you have to block out the noise from celebrity to artistry. Sometimes they clash and sometimes they intersect. I had to understand that for myself to stay sane.
If you do great work and you invest your time and provide people with something of quality you don’t have to worry about anything because the work comes. I’ve been able to travel to more places in the world because I go above and beyond and I’m always booked. And it’s never changed. I’ve been more places than when I was on a major label.
It’s very demanding and it’s almost impossible to have a personal relationship because of the extra things I have to do. I’m talking about being a travel agent, being a lawyer, being an agent, being whatever you have to be – the choreographer, the producer, the graphic artist because that’s what it takes. I’m OK with that as long as it produces quality for the bigger picture to provide for my family, kick my feet up at some point and do great work.
YOU WENT TO THE GRAMMYS LAST YEAR AS AN INDIE ARTIST. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE?
I saw a lot of familiar faces. I was in the same category Best Traditional R&B Album with one of my favorite bands, Mint Condition. That moment was so surreal for me because I love their music. I’m still very much in love with their composition and their artistry so to be in the same category with them was…surreal. There was a song that Mint Condition inspired on that same album, Smoove Jones.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER ARTISTS ABOUT THE VALUE OF OWNERSHIP?
It’s OK to share ownership. If 50% is invested by an artist and 50% is invested by a label, there should be a 50-50 split. If 100% is invested by an artist, the artist should get 100%. Shared ownership is always welcome but when it’s unfair – when an artist is getting 10 cents per album but has invested so much more but doesn’t have control over their budget, then business, I believe should be revisited to compensate accordingly.
There is a lot that major labels do from being a machine to major radio budgets to break an artist, to create the brand, and I understand that. We don’t live in a world of longevity – it’s sign and drop. In an earlier era, there was artist development and a lot of attention and a lot of nurturing. We don’t live in that day and age anymore. You do have to do a lot on your own.
The internet can be your friend. A label is not necessarily the be-all, end-all but if you are a priority, major labels can be beautiful when the budget is there. Ownership is wonderful if that’s what you are willing to work for. Ownership is 90% business and 10% artistry. Are you willing to do that or do you have a team that’s going to run 90% business so you can do more? I’m not going to preach something most artists aren’t willing to do.
YOU HAVE THE LONGEST WIKIPEDIA PAGE WITH THE SHORTEST PERSONAL LIFE ENTRY. HOW HAVE YOU MAINTAINED YOUR PRIVACY OVER THE YEARS?
I don’t have a personal life. That’s why. I had one, briefly. I’m definitely accused often and placed in people’s bedrooms that I’ve never met. That’s just a part of being a human being and being a woman that’s never had a man on her arm or claimed a man or had a man claim her.
It’s very important for me to get to know someone out of the public eye and literally I’ve been working for 20 years. I have not had a break. I tried to have a relationship in my 20-year journey but he was jealous of my computer so that didn’t work out. (Laughs) There will be a time and a place and I’m not worried about that aspect of my life. I’m surrounded by love and I’m very happy as a single woman.
SO WHAT WOULD A MAN NEED TO DO TO BE WITH YOU?
I don’t think they would have to do anything but be themselves. And if the universe lines us up because we’re on the same frequency with the same goals or different goals that are at least of the same vibration – I believe that it will take proactivity as far as communication and time invested to make something work, but in the right timing when I’ve filled my own void and that person has filled their own void or is in the process of it at least.
I believe people encounter each other. When an individual that is already complete with themselves aligns with another individual that is complete with themselves, so that we don’t become each other’s necessities, but only accessories to build, we’d only add to each other’s lives. So they wouldn’t have to do anything. Nor would I.
PHOTOS: Courtesy/Mya Harrison
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