Mouna Dif on shattering business gender roles, main High quality Good Data’ merger with Virgin Music/UMG – Dancing Astronaut
by: Melisa Yuriar
Apr 8, 2022
For greater than six years, digital music label High quality Items Data (QGR) has been led by artist UZ and co-founder Mouna Dif, who has molded the imprint’s expansive attain and numerous roster of expertise. Underneath Mouna’s management as head of operations and artist supervisor, QGR has launched the careers of a few of dance music’s esteemed acts, together with Rome In Silver, ATLiens, Oski, Nitti Gritti, and Jon Casey. On March 31, QGR introduced a merger and distribution take care of Common Music Group/Virgin Music Artist & Label Providers; Dif was the principle driver. “High quality Items Data has solely been about pushing our technology’s subsequent most forward-thinking artists in digital music irrespective of the significance of their sphere of affect, social media numbers, nation of origin, digital streaming platform presence, or whether or not they’re actively touring or not. It has solely been in regards to the music and taking dangers. On at the present time, I’m comfortable that we caught to our weapons from the beginning and by no means drifted away from the imaginative and prescient UZ and myself had for QGR,” she mentioned.
With help from Virgin Music, the crew will proceed to widen its attain and roster, specializing in upcoming artists and bringing them additional into the highlight. Via entry to extra UMG-provided assets, QGR intends to additional advance artist growth, streamline releases and bigger initiatives, and proceed broadening its sonic attain, with a give attention to singers and songwriters specifically. “I’m planning on being deeply concerned on the A&R aspect with UZ. Discovering highly effective vocalists and songwriters to essentially amp up the extent of every tune. I’m excited to be utilizing my expertise and pastille as a singer-songwriter to curate these releases. And UMG/Virgin Music will certainly assist facilitate that course of additionally with their massive and diversified roster within the pop and rap world,” Dif mentioned.
Because the driving pressure of the acquisition, Mouna Dif, an impartial artist turned indie artist-manager and label head, warrants a glance as an influential girl within the digital business. The daughter of an Algerian father and British mom, Dif by no means got down to be the frontwoman of the QGR label and model, however alas, after 20 years of triumphs, trials, and tribulations in music, she’s established herself as a revered business veteran and a pioneering girl on the helm of an indie label.
Within the early 2000’s, Dif was a singer-songwriter performing below the moniker Moona in France. Exploring electronic-hip hop together with her buddies within the metropolis by evening, and finding out structure and pictures by day, it was throughout this a part of her life that she constructed character, discovered to develop a creative imaginative and prescient, and in the end honed her unwavering willpower to search out success within the music business. “I’ve by no means been a conventional learner. I like to check issues in addition to expertise the outcomes alone, to be analytical of these outcomes. I used to be undoubtedly by no means afraid to ask something both. My expertise firsthand as an indie artist akin to reserving exhibits, releasing my very own music, in addition to selling all the things actually helped and formed my skills to do the perfect job I can as an artist supervisor and head of a label,” she mentioned.
From 2002 via the early 2010’s, Moona would go on to carry out in an acid-jazz reside band (Moon and the Funky Satellites), collaborating with French duo Walter Sobcek, German nu-disco band Les Loups, Anoraak (who she now manages), Overseas Beggars, and future QGR founder-turned-label-partner, DJ Troubl aka UZ. The pair met on one fateful evening in Strasbourg, France in 2009, Mouna dished in a 2020 interview with noisprn. Her finest pal was an lively digital music and hip-hop promoter who’d booked the 2X World DMC champion, together with French rapper-graffiti artist Grems, for a reside occasion. Throughout the occasion, the 2 related; they’d keep in contact and within the subsequent few years, Dif would turn into more and more concerned in and challenged by the enterprise aspect of the business.
Like many impartial artists, Moona’s foray into the business could be plagued with highs and lows. After seeing success from several singles, garnering help from Diplo by way of his “Diplo & Mates BBC Radio Present,” and inserting an authentic composition in the principle title of a well-liked child’s present (for which she was by no means credited nor compensated), Dif was pissed off by the restricted prospects for an indie-electronic artist with a small crew. “Only some artists have been making it massive in these days by having few managers, in addition to labels and advertising and marketing groups to again them up. Prospects have been fairly restricted until you had a giant crew round you. It’s what pushed me at a degree in my artist profession to rethink my targets and to discover different avenues whereas nonetheless being immersed in my ardour—music. I merely needed to assist artists out in order that they wouldn’t make the identical errors I did,” mentioned Dif.
In 2014, she was approached with a proposal to turn into UZ’s tour supervisor, dealing with the day-to-day logistics and “massive image stuff.” Shortly thereafter, she would go on to turn into the artist’s full-time supervisor and his QGR label associate. “I’m grateful to UZ for believing in me and giving me the advantage of the doubt. Trusting me together with his initiatives and general imaginative and prescient for not solely his profession, however the future for QGR. We’ve identified one another for over 13 years now, and we’ve all the time been pushed by the identical ardour and imaginative and prescient for music as a complete. He has all the time allowed me to observe my intestine and belief my perception and choices from the start to now.”
For Dif, having an inclusive roster and numerous crew working alongside her has all the time been a necessary a part of her work with QGR and its worldwide crew of artists and companions. “Variety is wealth via the dear data it brings, letting you see the limitless prospects the world has to supply from the wealthy and timeless artwork and music inside. It’s crucial to me to spotlight artists from world wide as a result of everybody’s imaginative and prescient is completely different. Their very own artistic course of may be very a lot impressed by conventional tones and feelings. Their tradition, notion on life and general private experiences are what make the mission fantastically authentic in a scene the place artists are sometimes included by mainstream tendencies,” mentioned Dif.
Nevertheless, since its basis in 2016, the High quality Items Data roster has solely signed lower than three p.c of ladies or female-identifying artists to its label. When requested if she expects this proportion to alter sooner or later, Dif famous that there’s “nonetheless a lot work to be achieved throughout the digital music neighborhood” first. “To ensure that there to be change, there must be continued equal illustration of ladies on the chief aspect of the business as effectively. We’d like extra ladies managers, engineers, reserving brokers, label managers, and extra. And so long as we maintain standing up and proceed to push for change, we’ll all see increasingly more ladies and female-identifying artists becoming a member of this business,” she mentioned.
In fact, the brand new partnership with Virgin Music and UMG poses a grand alternative for progress and alter on the label. With Dif spearheading this new acquisition and deliberate endeavors, relaxation assured that QGR’s subsequent chapter might be an evolutionary one. “We’re impressed by the music that we obtain and uncover each day, and wish to share it with the world. It’s all in regards to the music and if we’re vibing with it, not about what sub-genre it’s or how it might be labeled,” mentioned Dif. “We have now some nice releases deliberate for the upcoming months: D&B, wave, rap, home, and entice! And with UMG backing us, up we really feel extra snug and excited than ever in exploring these new roads.”
Featured Picture: Diane Sagnier
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