Olga Cardona, a highly regarded, longtime leader in the Latin music industry, has joined the award-winning Music Industry Program (MIND) at the Frost School of Music. Cardona, a former top executive at Universal Music Publishing and BMG Music Publishing, will bring her extensive leadership experience and expertise in performing rights and music publishing to her position as a fulltime Lecturer at one of the top music business programs in the country.
“Olga Cardona is the ideal combination of a highly respected music industry executive with a highly effective and enthusiastic communicator,” says Serona Elton, professor and director of the MIND program. “She can draw from her 30-plus years of hands-on industry experience to help students understand how the industry has evolved, how it works today, and where it is heading. Her passion for continual life-long learning is infectious and will surely inspire her students to keep asking questions and seeking answers long after they finish our program.
A proud Frost alumna who earned her master’s degree at MIND in 2007, Cardona wanted to give back to the university that helped shape her as a professional. “Studying here was such a great experience,” she says. “Joining the Frost School of Music is a way of paying it forward and empowering students to thrive as future artists and executives. It’s quite rare for this type of opportunity to come along and I could not pass it up.”
Cardona joins a faculty roster known for their high-level industry experience and continuing professional involvement. Her hiring will further bolster the reputation of a program that Billboard magazine has included in its list of top music industry programs all nine times they have published the list. The MIND program, which recently launched a new B.A. degree for non-performers, is known for its range of courses, industry connections, internship and on-campus work opportunities; and frequently hosts notable executives and alumni in panels and conferences.
“The quality of education and wealth of resources at the Music Industry Program is inspiring,” says Cardona. “Our mission is to transform lives through education, research, innovation and service. We’re so excited about the bright futures that students have ahead of them.”
A leader in Latin music publishing since the early 90’s, Cardona helped shape the Latin music industry during three decades of explosive growth. She began her career at performing rights organization SESAC in 1993, as their first director of writer/publisher relations for their newly-formed Latin music division, SESAC Latina, increasing the company’s market share to 30% of the Billboard Latin charts. In 1999 she became the first director of US Latin Operations at BMG Music Publishing, overseeing the catalogs of Mexican superstar Juan Gabriel and reggaeton pioneer "El General,” among others.
She joined Universal Music Publishing in 2007, as the company merged with BMG Publishing and Univision Publishing, overseeing the integration of the Latin catalogues of three of the world’s biggest music companies. She remained at Universal until 2024, rising to VP, Adminstration & Marketing, Latin Music. Her roster included many of the genre’s biggest and most influential artists, including J Balvin, Romeo Santos, Juan Luis Guerra, Rubén Blades, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Wisin & Yandel, Bad Bunny, Rudy Perez, Jorge Luis Piloto, Claudia Brant, Chino and Nacho, Gustavo Santaolalla, and Pitbull.
Cardona will teach courses such as Music Business and Entrepreneurship for Musicians, Introduction to the Music Industry, and Music Industry and Society. She will be an instructor on an internship course, and provide guidance to students completing their capstone projects.
“I bring a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship, collaboration, and adaptability,” says Cardona. “I went through two major publishing mergers and over half-a-dozen management changes. Each brought its own set of opportunities and challenges. I want to bring all these experiences into the classroom to foster an environment that encourages student collaboration and participation, fosters their passion, and helps them accomplish their goals.”
Cardona is a founding board member of the Miami Chapter of the global organization Women in Music, where she currently serves as Assistant Vice Chair of Membership. She is also a member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, The Recording Academy, the Latin Recording Academy, She Is The Music, and the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association.
