Music Career Consultation
For artists, music professionals, and creatives who need clarity on what to do next.
I help you organize your goals, identify your opportunities, clarify your positioning, and create a practical next-step plan.
Brand Marketing & Career Strategy
Strategy, Systems, and Solutions for People Creating What's Next.
I'm Carolyn Ortiz, a music and creative industry strategist. I help businesses run smarter and help people build careers they're proud of.
Experience across
- 20+ Years
- Music, media, marketing & operations
- 200%+ Growth
- Audience and brand growth for consulting clients
- Music + Brand
- Experience across artists, companies, communities & creative businesses
- Fractional Leadership
- Marketing, operations, strategy & execution support
Artist Development · Brand Strategy · Professional Growth
About
A career at the intersection of strategy, marketing, and the creative industries.
I help creative businesses, founders, and professionals build the strategy, systems, and structure they need to grow.
From Universal Music Group's global brand partnerships team to founding communities and leading a music ecosystem, I've spent my career at the intersection of strategy, marketing, and the creative industries, helping people and companies turn ideas into operating businesses.
Business & Operations StrategyBrand & Marketing StrategyCommunity Building & Program DesignStrategic PartnershipsAI Business System BuildsTeam Leadership
Also an Assistant Professor of Professional Development at NYU Tisch's Clive Davis Institute.
Services
Ways to Work Together
Artist Brand Marketing Consultation
For artists who need to strengthen their story, rollout, content, audience, and brand presentation.
I help you clarify your artist identity, improve your messaging, shape your content direction, and build a more intentional marketing strategy.
College & Early Professional Consultation
For students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals preparing to enter music, media, or creative industries.
I help with resume review, portfolio strategy, LinkedIn and personal branding, networking strategy, internship planning, and career direction.
Fractional Strategy Support
For companies, founders, artists, and creative teams that need ongoing leadership across marketing, operations, community, or growth.
I help bring structure, strategy, accountability, and execution support to the work you are already building.
Business Systems & Workflow Support
For artists, founders, and small teams who need better organization, cleaner workflows, and practical systems.
I help build operating systems for your business — content workflows, CRM structures, project trackers, SOPs, communication systems, and AI-supported tools where useful.
Community & Program Design
For companies, schools, brands, and organizations building meaningful experiences for artists, students, professionals, or creative communities.
I help design workshops, mentorship programs, community experiences, educational series, member programming, and professional development initiatives that are clear, useful, and built around the people they are meant to serve.
Music Executive
From the blog era to the boardroom and back to the artists.
I've spent my career on every side of the music business and worked with artists across genres and stages of their careers. That range, from grassroots publicity to global brand deals, is what lets me see the whole board.
The Blog Era
Freelance Publicist, NYC
I started my music career as a freelance publicist during New York's blog era, hustling coverage and building relationships in the rooms where culture was being made.
Major Label
Global Brand Partnerships, UMG
Five years at Universal Music Group in the global brand space, connecting artists with brands like American Airlines, Marriott, and Citibank and supporting $20M+ in annual revenue.
Full Circle
Back to Publicity & Artist Development
I came back to my roots in publicity and artist relationships, this time with a major-label operator's playbook for turning moments into momentum.
Today
Head of Marketing & Operations, B.A.K
Now I lead marketing and operations for B.A.K, a multi-vertical music ecosystem spanning label, distribution, live, and creative IP.
Mentorship & Impact
Mentoring the next generation and building a more equitable music industry.
A passionate advocate for a more equitable and sustainable music industry, Carolyn is also an award-winning mentor and educator, helping students, women entrepreneurs, and emerging professionals build careers with confidence.
Co-founded a program uplifting and empowering women leaders in music, supporting 175 entrepreneurs with access to business resources, education, and community, plus the weekly programming I lead.
Ongoing mentorship across leading industry programs, supporting emerging artists and creative professionals as they grow.
I mentor and teach 25 to 30 students each semester how to work in music, bridging the gap between the classroom and a real career.
Serving as Board Member, Vice Chair, and Strategic Development Lead, advancing support for parents building careers in the music industry.
Bridging the gap between the classroom and a real career in the creative industries, with practical guidance on how the business actually works.
Hands-on guidance for founders and creatives building something of their own, from first idea to a functioning business.
Media & Speaking
Teaching, speaking, and shaping the conversation around the next music industry.
Professional Development
Educating and Mentoring the Next Generation of Rockstars
Carolyn develops and leads professional development programming for young professionals, college students, and emerging artists through her work at B.A.K, NYU Tisch — Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and the several industry mentorship programs she participates in, including She is the Music, Femme it Forward, and GrammyU — helping the next generation translate creative vision into sustainable, business-ready careers.
- Career strategy workshops
- Brand partnership frameworks
- Industry mentorship sessions
- Guest lectures & critiques
Panels & Talks
- Brooklyn Library Presents: Beyond the Glass CeilingPanelist
- Music Forward Foundation: Industry SessionsModerator
- SXSWSpeaker · March 2026
- The Balanced Musician Panel Series, Brooklyn LibraryPanelist · October & June 2025
- NYU Steinhardt — Women EntrepreneurshipGuest Lecturer · Spring 2025
- LIU Roc Nation School of MusicGuest Speaker · February 2025
- Measure of Music ConferenceSpeaker · February 2025
- The Digilogue DigidaysPanelist · October 2024
Industry Associations
- SXSWOfficial Speaker · 2026
- NYU Clive Davis InstituteAdjunct Professor · 2025–Present
- The Recording AcademyMember · Class of 2025
- GrammyUMentor · 2025–2026
- Femme It Forward — Give Her FlowersNominee · 2024 · Presented by Live Nation
- Femme It ForwardMentor · 2024–Present
- She Is the MusicMentor · 2025
Case Studies
Brands, communities, and systems built, with the results to show for it.
Career Development · Community
Building a Career Development Ecosystem for Music Professionals
The B.A.K Play.Ground
Built a vetted digital network for music professionals — developing programming, hosting conversations, and launching initiatives for women entrepreneurs, interns, caretakers, laid-off professionals, and men in music.
Music career consultations · Professional development · Community strategy
Creative Business · Operations
Turning Creative Ideas Into Structured Music Businesses
Big.Ass.Kids
Lead marketing, operations, community strategy, and program development across a multi-vertical music ecosystem — turning ideas into systems across projects, campaigns, teams, workflows, partners, and timelines.
Creative business strategy · Marketing operations · Project development
Brand Marketing · Growth
Rebuilding a Local Brand Through Marketing, Content & Community
100 Sutton
As Fractional CMO, refreshed communications, website, social, content, and event marketing — driving a 204% increase in online visibility, 336% in social reach, and 565% in content impressions.
Brand marketing · Content strategy · Business growth
Artist Brand · Audience Growth
Growing an Artist-Led Entertainment Brand by 200%+
BriGuel Music & Films
Supported brand evolution, social content, audience development, PR, and partnerships — growing the online community by over 200%, with opportunities tied to TuneCore, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the LATAM Conference.
Artist brand marketing · Audience growth · Partnerships
Education · Career Planning
Teaching Career Strategy to the Next Generation of Music Professionals
NYU Clive Davis Institute
Teach Professional Development to students entering the music and creative industries — covering career strategy, networking, personal branding, entrepreneurship, communication, and real-world business operations.
College consultations · Early professional coaching · Career planning
Music Company · Brand Strategy
Supporting Brand Partnership Operations Inside a Major Music Company
Universal Music Group
Supported the Global Brand Partnerships team across B2B marketing, internal processes, executive operations, and high-profile events including the Grammys, CES, Cannes Lions, and SXSW.
Music company experience · Brand strategy · Executive operations
Trusted by teams & brands including
Contact
Let's build what's next, together.
Most people come to me with scattered ideas, stalled momentum, or too many moving pieces. I help turn that into a clear strategy, organized system, and practical next steps.
Who I Work With
- Artists with talent, music, and ideas — but no clear release, brand, or growth strategy.
- Creative businesses that need stronger systems, structure, messaging, and execution.
- Students or early professionals trying to figure out their next career move.
- Founders and entrepreneurs who need help organizing their goals into a practical action plan.
- Brands, music companies, and creative teams that need fractional leadership across marketing, operations, community, or growth.
Testimonials
What clients and students say.
Recently, I've had the honor of getting to know the dedicated community builder and brilliant Co-Founder/COO of Big.Ass.Kids, Carolyn Ortiz. To better serve the…
Thank you so much, Carolyn! It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you today. You are a blessing and powerhouse for our community (Latinos, Music, Women, I c…
Carolyn Ortiz had the most impact on me during the semester. She explained that success in music is something you can build through mindset and daily habits, no…
The BAK community has been a huge facilitator — you've created something really remarkable and so grateful that you did!
It's a joy to be part of the community you're building. Your thoughtful approach to community-building is inspiring!
The B.A.K. Play.Ground is a special place filled with phenomenal music business humans helping each other out in so many ways. It's a support community, an idea…
I'm incredibly grateful for your willingness to help me navigate this transition. I also truly appreciate the services and opportunities you provide — your work…
It was so refreshing to talk with you today. I left our conversation feeling genuinely heard and understood. The way you spoke felt personal and thoughtful, and…
I've honestly been so scared to share my startup with the world and one thing that stuck with me is a conversation I had with Carolyn Ortiz: that you never know…