With a love for music and art kindled from her childhood, Karla Moy is blazing a path all her own as a multi-passionate creative entrepreneur. Dedicated to the mastery of her craft, she is a self-taught graphic designer and a DJ, who’s lent her impressive expertise to some of the most iconic figures in music, sports, and entertainment. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Moy’s astute instincts and eye for musical talent led her to play a key role in the early career stages of Grammy award winning artist Drake. Her knack for studying industry trends and discovering new artists with her personal playlist of Canadian musicians across genres like Hip-Hop, R&B, Dance, Soul, and Funk caught the attention of Spotify, where she currently serves as Canada’s Senior Editor, specializing in Hip-Hop and R&B.
Moy’s fervor for graphics, music, and web development was nurtured as a young girl. Before she was 10 years old, Moy acquired an aptitude for coding and web design after gleefully watching her father take a course on building websites. Music, however, was her main love, and the gateway into visual arts. She’d spend hours passing the time listening to music, pouring over cover art, and visiting artists’ websites to immerse herself in the fan experience. She was a regular on music forums for boy bands, fascinated by the banners and illustrations she saw for the promotion of the artists’ music. At 12-years-old, she was offered $5 to design a user’s signature, planting the seed for her growth as a creative professional. Every day after school, Moy was committed to developing her many skills.
Creating fansites at 14-years-old encouraged Moy to build her proficiency for online marketing, photography, and videography. To produce content for her blog, she started covering local events and concerts. In 2013, Moy started her flawless progression into DJing, giving her an edge to influence the local music scene as one of few women disc jockeys. She carved out her own lane by elevating Toronto artists, composing mixes specific to the sounds of the artists she was promoting. Intent on creating a space for those entertainers to thrive, Moy is always on the lookout for underground acts.
As the owner and creative lead of hustleGRL, a graphic, web design, and website management company, Moy has worked with Drake, Funk Master Flex, Eminem, dvsn, Hit-Boy, Mac Miller, and Demar DeRozan. Her extensive design credits include Lil’ Wayne’s mixtape cover art for No Ceilings (2009), Sorry 4 the Wait (2011), and No Ceilings 3 (2020), as well as his incarcerated e-diary, weezythanxyou.com. She’s also collaborated with major brands such as Nike, Jordan, and Sonos. A trusted source in the music industry, Moy has gone from doing sets at major nightclubs and underground parties, to spinning at corporate events and venues attended by former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and NBA extraordinaire, Lebron James.
Moy is passionate about mentoring young adults and helping them carve out their future. She credits the invaluable guidance she’s received from women like Lola Plaku, CEO of Lola Media Group, in the evolution of her own career. Moy is a 2008 alumna of The Remix Project, which creates pathways to employment and entrepreneurship in the creative, recording, and business arts for youth. The youngest participant accepted into The Remix Project, by the age of 15, Moy completed three internships, working at Universal Music Canada, HipHopCanada, and Chris Smith Management, where she managed the digital presence of their roster. She currently sits on the board of directors for The Remix Project, and is also on the juries of FACTOR Canada, Polaris Music Prize, and Prism Prize, nonprofits focused on transforming the Canadian music industry.
In her role at Spotify, Moy is focused on impacting the Canadian music community by uplifting underrepresented acts and exposing them to new listeners around the world. Fluent in French, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, cooking, and tending to her garden when she’s not working. As attractive as Moy’s background is, this is only just the beginning. Each day, she is driven by her own affirmation: “A true hustle never stops. Not for a second.”
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