People & Culture Series: Inna

When you imagine what Monstercat looks like, or what the next creative piece of content will be, what do you think takes place in order to make that come to life? Inna Sidorova, the Head Of Creative Production at Monstercat, is almost always behind the visual style and creativity of Monstercat’s brand and visuals. Inna manages to take the vision that each person around her has, and make it a reality that works for everyone.

We chatted with Inna to learn what it takes to be a leader in a creative field!

What do you do at Monstercat?

I'm a Head Of Creative Production at Monstercat! My main responsibilities are to make sure all the creative assets are delivered for our releases, as well as the internal marketing needs and requests. Everything we do is to support promoting our artists and brand. Visually speaking, I'm managing these types of tasks.

What got you started in the design world? And how did that end up meshing with the music industry?

Well, for me, I was coming from a project management background. And I did have experience working in the biggest design agency in Russia. I have a computer science degree as well. And I started in website development and software development as a project manager. So I was collaborating with designers and web developers, software developers, plus clients sort of. I saw myself as a glue in that process that would connect the dots and bring the whole thing together. So yeah, going between designers and clients, it gave me this experience of managing projects and bringing them to life. When I moved to Canada, I started my career here also at a digital agency as a project manager working on creating brands for companies and websites. And when Monstercat was on the search for the head of creative production, I got through the first couple of rounds of interview and the rest is history!

What does a typical day look like for you at Monstercat?

Oh I’m very lucky to be working alongside such talented team members. They also have such great relationships with other teams. My typical day though, starts with emails, and then getting to collaborate with Monstercat’s musicians we’re working on art with. And this is my main priority every day. And then we usually have meetings where we discuss everything that's going on. And that helps me to get through every day after because I know what everyone's working on, what's moving, where we have roadblocks, and so on. I also make sure we’ve got all the tools we need in order to create what we need.

Is your career at Monstercat your first endeavor in the music world?

Yeah! Monstercat is the first place I worked within the music industry.

Is there anything about the music industry that’s different compared to other industries you’ve worked in?

Oh, yes, for sure. I think I entered it because I'm the type of person that really likes challenging myself. The concentration of artists around me is the biggest [I’ve worked with] in my life, because we not only have visual artists, we have musicians too. And they're all creative. So as a manager for me, it's the best opportunity to learn and kind of hone my skills by working with a lot of artistic people.

Are there any design styles or movements within art that are inspiring or interesting to you at the moment?

It's always fun to find something new and innovative. So with the design team, we share different things from various artists on Instagram. If someone saw an interesting trick that we can use whether it's in motion design, just some art, or a style that can serve as inspiration for one of our campaigns and things like that - we enjoy sharing it. But there is definitely something that’s enriched my overall perception of art lately. Recently, we actually talked about this with some members of the team, but the neural networks like AI. That is something that I guess, is fascinating and definitely interesting to be looking into moving forward. Especially with our kind of openness to try new things at Monstercat, anything that’s new or interesting is taken note of. But of course, I am a big fan of classic art. I always love to go to art galleries. And the Impressionists, they always impressed me. Mainly because I can't draw myself. So people who can do this at any level always fascinates me. And I'm always curious to learn more about the techniques. I love to just spend a couple minutes looking at each of the strokes in this work and how everything about the piece was applied. It’s really cool.

Out of the four company values (integrity, tenacity, community and curiosity,) which one do you identify with the most? And why?

It's funny because what I kind of want to relate to the most is curiosity. But because of everything that happens in the design world, tenacity is something that I practice every day. So I don't know if we can differentiate that. I'm definitely curious to learn more about our artists, about the music industry, events that we're producing, and trying new styles even in art production. But of course, tenacity is something that is also close to me, because it helps everyone get through things together as a team. It’s something that makes me feel confident.