““You’re invited. Everyone’s invited. Join us on this trip.””

— Mona Magno

A highly celebrated and active Denver native currently managing multiple projects, Mona Magno, has certainly made her mark upon her beloved hometown and other communities across Colorado. As founder and executive director of FreeMusicForFreePeople, Mona began her impactful philanthropic and creative journey as an eager teenager who saw a lack of safe spaces for artists to express themselves. Gaining inspiration from many different aspects of the Denver culture, Mona found a drive to create avenues and outlets for safe spaces to explore, express, and showcase local Denver talent. But she certainly didn’t stop there!

With Denver’s ever-evolving artistic scene, it’s been important for Mona to value diversity within her projects. Currently, her focus with FreeMusicForFreePeople is geared toward offering a spectrum of different styles of events in hopes that these events can cross-pollinate with each other, exposing individuals to new groups of people and ways of expression. “Let’s just create” seems to be the theme of the team and they believe that whoever is meant to be there, will be!

Photo from Mona’s PR team - The Creative

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mona to ask a few personal questions as to how she’s gained so much confidence. Her answers were no mystical secret, yet her magnanimity and passionate energy have proven to be contagious and fruitful!

“I am ridiculously fulfilled. Creativity floods out of me. I love being allowed to do what I do.”, Mona proudly exclaimed. “I want us all to be embodying our dreams, our skills. People are going to put out their best work if they’re living and pursuing their dreams, passion, and skills.”

Wondering what Mona’s best advice would be for anyone who wants to take the leap of faith to follow their dreams? “It’s gonna take a lot of follow-through. Every person is capable of deciding what they want. The sooner you decide what you want, the sooner you can have it. You’re also just as capable of figuring out how to do it. All it’s going to take is pounding through that list of To-Do’s that you create. Waking up and pushing through it. And know that, no matter where you find yourself, the more you pursue yourself, you’re going to see yourself and you’re going to figure out what your skills are. You might be an amazing team member to a vision, you might be the visionary itself, you might be a participant. Wherever you fit holds value! No one is more than anyone else in any role.”

But what about those of us who aren’t quite as confident…. Yet? Mona says; “As an artistic person, doubt often emerges. More frequently when doubt comes up, I often try to listen. I feel more intuitive to the process at this point, so if doubt is coming up, I allow it to guide me in a direction that feels less uncomfortable. I’ve also grown to not be attached to things that we have done. Instead of being sad that something wasn’t successful, I won’t continue pursuing it. I will just try to re-approach it.”

Mona would also suggest that we remember to focus on the journey, rather than the outcome. “The goal is to pursue the act of being creative and expressive, rather than pursuing the completion of something. You ARE an artist. You are expressing. The whole thing is a gift.”

With wisdom and advice like that, it is easy to understand how Mona has achieved so much! But how will she continue to pave the way for more artistic entrepreneurs moving forward?

“The goal is to be a better teacher so that everyone has a better experience. The ultimate goal is to keep trying stuff out. Keep dreaming. Continue to find ways to express my creativity and go for it. Try it out. I think that’s my goal. Pursue music because it feeds my heart and soul. Play that music for people so that they can walk away more ready to live this hard life.”

With such a heavy-hitting resume and over 11 years of networking under her belt, it’s hard to imagine how Mona isn’t already on her way to early retirement. But she is far from finished!

“I don't believe in anything. But I believe in myself. If there’s one thing I’d bet on, I’d bet on me. Diving into manifestation is getting into that place of actually allowing yourself to say, “I want this, I can have it. That could be in my life.”

In terms of the vision for her brainchild, FreeMusicForFreePeople, Mona claims the future for FreeMusicForFreePeople is open! “As we move forward with FreePeopleTV, hopefully, we can partner with more well-known networks to get our content aired in different places.” Mona also wrote a script that she hopes to feature on FreePeopleTV this year. She is also very proud to announce opportunities for experiential internships with FreeMusicForFreePeople. In the past, they’ve even done work with CU Denver to offer college credits toward their internships. You can find more information about these opportunities on their website.

Some of Mona’s personal, immediate goals for 2020 are to work on a "Monalicious" album, potentially a film, and to continue to support the release of the new Free People Records Compilation Album, Vol. 1, which debuted on December 10, 2019.

When thinking up a creative way to debut her new idea for the Free People Records Compilation, Vol. 1, she asked herself, “how do people interact with music products? Do we want to invest in those plastic products? How do we give people something fun, exciting, and inspiring, and have it be different?”

With all the tricks that Mona Magno has up her sleeve, it seems fitting that she created a deck of trading cards to highlight this most recent collaborative endeavor.

“The market is so oversaturated”, the seasoned artist says. “Another compilation, another label would be hard to make a mark. This is our way of pioneering how we engage in the music industry as a label. Reenvisioning the download card!”

Photo from Mona’s PR team - The Creative

FreeMusicForFreePeople takes its efforts beyond just wanting to collaborate with artists. “We want to invest in you however we can,” Magno says, enthusiastically. "Offering things like merch and cards, licensing opportunities, and publishing and copywriting workshops has been a truly influential way this organization has helped to shape the futures of many eager entrepreneurs."

Magno is incredibly proud of the team that diligently constructed such full spectrum diversity for this compilation album. This recent project is encompassing and representative of the very talented Denver Music Scene, and the real-life people who are creating this art! “DJs, hip-hop, pop, folk-rock, jazz, rootsy” are just some of the flavorful sounds described by Mona featured on Free People Records Compilation, Vol. 1., which was curated specifically to cultivate a journey for the listener.

Be sure to pick up your copy of Free People Records Compilation Album, Vol. 1, available for purchase on the Free Music For Free People website. The digital compilation is also available on Spotify.

So, fellow music lovers across the globe… Have you caught the inspiration bug?! I know I have! Magno and her expansive network will go to great lengths to promote inclusion amongst anyone who feels called to be a part of these creative movements!

The true takeaway from my time with Magno is this: “Individuals need to cultivate their inner fire so that they can offer that to the people around them and share that through inspiration.” She also believes, “The sooner you know what you want, the sooner you can have it! If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re never going to get anywhere!”

#InnerFire

#KnowWhatYouWant

#MonaKnowsBest

Mona Magno Is Celebrating Life And She Wants You To Join In!