Melanie Letra-Frade ("Mel") is a music industry chameleon. Her experience ranges from talent booker, music event production manager and music event coordinator and now cofounder of the independent label, In The Sun Records. She also is an experienced engineer, producer and songwriter as well as an educator. Mel is fascinated by all aspects of the recording industry, from music creation to dissemination, currently really invested in booking and artist relations.

Graduating from Humber College (2020) and completing a masters at Berklee College (2021), Mel focused her studies on jazz and world music performance and production. In that time, she explored music industry and live production, learning the complexities between the Canadian and European markets. She continues her education participating in a mix of online courses and mentorships, gaining insight on marketing practices and data analytics.

In her time in the music industry, Mel has joined musical projects gaining recognition in her roles. As a producer, an album that she produced was awarded the JUNO 'Vocal Jazz Album of the Year' in 2022. She was also selected as a mentee for SheSaid.So's we.grow mentorship in 2023, attending and participating at ADE in Amsterdam, and nominated for “Your Future Boss” at the 2024 Live Music Industry Awards. In her previous employment, Mel was the Head of Canada for an international showcase, expanding the company's reach into Canadian markets in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In her most recent position, she was contracted by North by Northeast (NXNE) as the venue/artist manager, for the 2023 and 2024 editions of the festival. In this role, she led the venue acquisition and communications and managed backline and stage production organization as well as working with the artist curation team. Working with a woman led team, she was able to bring in her experience from previous roles to enhance festival and artist recognition while learning from a team of talented and uniquely experienced women in the field.

Mel has a unique position of working in both live production and studio production. Her wide range of experience is proof of her malleability within any position she finds herself in. It is because of her background as a record producer and musician that she has a unique skillset and vocabulary that is deemed an asset to the projects she joins.

"In The Sun Records is an independent label that gives artists the freedom to tell stories normally not heard. We chose the sunflower to be our emblem because the sunflower finds a way to the sun even in harsh environments, just like the music that our artists create breaks through the noise of our time to find its purpose."