For years, mHart Media manager Waverly said he struggled to connect with his Asian identity and failed to find a role model he could look up to. With the creation of mHart Media, Waverly hopes it can act as a platform for people to learn more about themselves.
mHart Media, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in August, claims the title of Austin’s first and only Asian American music label. The label focuses on music creation, content and artist development with the support of team members. Waverly said the label fostered their discovery of what it means to exist as an Asian American through a music and media lens.
“As we’ve onboarded more team members, all with Asian American backgrounds, we’ve discovered how different each Asian American experience (is) and how important and impactful that can be in the music project,” Waverly said.
Ellena Martinez, mHart Media’s creative director, said while platforming Asian American artists mHart Media also focuses on creating space for women, non-binary and other gender identities.
“It’s not just who you see on stage. It’s also who you see backstage,” Martinez said. “It’s me, it’s people running merch, it’s our designers who are making the merchandise stickers (and) it’s the artists we’re collaborating with.”
Within this past year, mHart Media promoted artists Prom Queen and Francene Rouelle through video shoots, performance gigs and album rollouts.
mHart singer and songwriter Francene Rouelle said leaning on others and relating to those who share the Asian American experience serves as her favorite part of working with mHart.
“A lot of times, I put weight on myself to do everything, but with the label, it allowed a support system that I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Rouelle said.
Martinez said the merging of cultural backgrounds and mixing them with the traditional American experience makes mHart Media unique.
“It’s great, having (mHart members’) perspectives and having them at the helm of everything we do,” Martinez said. “It feels like an exchange where all of us are learning about each other’s histories and experiences.”
The mHart Media team said they hope to provide a platform for other people to discover their identity, whether they are Asian or not.
“It’s important to provide new perspectives and help expose people to other cultures so that they can learn about their own (cultures) and learn about themselves,” Waverly said.
Martinez said the label leads by collaboration and intentionally curates a space where everyone feels creatively and personally invested.
“To make the art that you want to make, (it is important) to have your basic needs covered and your cup full from the people around you,” Martinez said.
For the future, Waverly said the label aims to grow a national and international presence and activate the Asian communities in Austin.
“There’s a big Asian population (in Austin), but it’s not centralized anywhere,” Waverly said. “We would love to be (a) catalyst for building that community.”
