She Works Hard For the Money Issue #25

Mona Scott gives you her 50 cents on managing artists like Missy Elliott

By Savita Iyer
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 2:25pm

MONA SCOTT, 37
LOCATION: New York City
OCCUPATION: President of Violator Management and CEO of Monami Productions
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: Being at the helm of an entertainment conglomerate that bills big-time artists such as Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, and Busta Rhymes is not all glitz and glamour. “I put in long hours and have to deal with a lot of stress,” Scott says. With her guidance over the past 10 years, Violator has morphed from a small-time management company into a multi-media empire. Scott firmly believes in constantly diversifying the business and moving it forward alongside its clients, no matter how demanding it might be. “While our brand is known in the urban space, I need to keep growing it in different areas,” Scott says. Accordingly, Violator has made forays into the world of film and television (the company produced a TV show with Missy Elliott and is active in marketing and promoting brands with which its clients are involved, like Reebok and Adidas.
HOW SHE GOT STARTED: “I wanted to be an attorney,” says Scott, who originally had never envisioned herself in the music business. “I had no experience at all in this field.” Yet Chris Lighty, who founded Violator while working at Def Jam Records, was willing to take a chance on Scott and enlisted her help to build up the management side of his business.
MADE FOR THE TRADE: Life experience and common sense form the cornerstone of her success, Scott says. “I grew up with a single mother who moved around a lot and taught me how to adapt and assimilate, to juggle personalities and situations,” she says. “I saw the way my mom had to hustle, and that taught me the importance of having a tough head on my shoulders.”
THE HARD PART: Even a hustler can have a hard time balancing artists’ obligations with their desire to fulfill them. “Artists have a mania that comes with their brilliance,” Scott says. “You have to drag them kicking and screaming sometimes.”