We shine the spotlight on Niya Fleming, our Associate Manager of Business & Legal Affairs. Learn what her advice for young women in the industry is as we celebrate Women’s History Month.
Niya Fleming
Instagram: @only1ameras
Title: Associate Manager, Business & Legal Affairs
How do you celebrate Women’s History Month?
I celebrate Women’s History Month every day by uplifting, complimenting and just showing my overall appreciation to every woman in my life that has contributed to making me the woman I am today. It’s also important to honor and remember the women who came before us, and we do this by paying our respects and passing on our remembrance of them to others.
Which women (executives & artists) in the music industry have inspired you & how?
Every female executive at UMG specifically that I’ve gotten to know and love has inspired me just with their passion and drive to proceed with working in this industry, along with their killer work ethic. The music industry is FAR from easy, and especially as a woman, it takes a different kind of special to not only find your way, but to keep going. Female artists that have inspired me in particular include, but are certainly not limited to, Keri Hilson, H.E.R., SZA, Jill Scott, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and most recently, Mariah The Scientist.
Can you please give your advice to a young woman beginning their career in the music industry?
It’ll be hard starting out, and there will be days and nights where you may feel like quitting, but it’s important to always remember your “Why” for starting. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy always comes in the morning. It’s okay to take time for yourself when you feel you need it, it’s okay to take a step back & revisit something that needs to get done, and it’s okay to change jobs if that’s what your heart tells you. But whatever it is you decide to do, keep freakin going. Be resilient.
What makes you proud to identify as a woman?
My big heart, my passion for what I do and for who I am, how in tune I am with my emotions, my freeness, my bs radar, the way that I am able to embrace all of my femininity and hold my head up high proudly in it, to walk, speak, and act with such grace and poise… Everything that makes me a woman makes me proud to identify as one.
I am Woman, I am ______
Niya Amerás
What song/artist do you feel encapsulates what it is to be a woman and why?
“Take Me As I Am” by Mary J. Blige. Just listen. Read and understand the lyrics, but more importantly, listen; to the tone of her voice, her spirit, the way that she’s taking back her power just by speaking what’s on her mind and on her heart. Her story is our story. Just… listen.