EP 91: Interview with Dorothy Carvello

When we read Dorothy Carvello‘s memoir Anything for a Hit: An A&R Woman’s Story of Surviving the Music Industry we were blown away. Dorothy had a life-long dream of working in the music industry and when the opportunity arose to work for Atlantic Records President Ahmet Ertegün, Dorothy jumped at the chance. Almost immediately she would discover this was no regular workplace. As Dorothy put it “If personnel had actually enforced the rules, everyone in the building would have been fired by lunch.”

With Dorothy’s dream job came amazing highs and very low lows. Sexual harassment and rampant drug use were all common daily occurrences and Dorothy battled constant misogyny with every step. Nevertheless she excelled, working her way up from Ahmet’s secretary to Atlantic Records first female A&R Executive. Dorothy loved going to live shows and the thrill of discovering and nurturing untapped talent but the constant abuse, both mental and physical from her male co-workers certainly took it’s toll.

Dorothy would fight back and to this day continues to do so. We recently had a riveting conversation with Dorothy about how she pushed past the societal expectations she was raised with and how she built her career in the music industry. We also discussed her very unique friendship with Ahmet and couldn’t help but ask about the beautiful man named Michael Hutchence who was a shining example of what a man could be among the toxic masculinity. We talk about how we need to continue to push forward with #TimesUp and #MeToo because the battle isn’t over but thankfully there are women like Dorothy who are putting these stories forward and fighting back. Everyone needs to pick up a copy of this book immediately!

You can find Dorothy on Twitter @dorothycarvello and Instagram @dcarvello and her memoir where ever books are sold.

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