Meet Queenie Li | Music Executive at Paramount Television Studios

We had the good fortune of connecting with Queenie Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Queenie, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Hi everyone! I’m originally from Hong Kong, and I grew up in a traditional Chinese family with parents who were very strict about learning musical instruments and practice. My parents were both entrepreneurs, go-getters who always encouraged me to be hyper focused on the goals I want to achieve. After learning piano from a very young age, my passion for music developed when I was in grade school. I enjoyed performing on stage and often found myself learning pop songs on piano by ear. My childhood was spent practicing, performing and studying music, which gave me the understanding of how music was made. And that’s why I am able to cultivate composers’ and musicians’ creative space, managing relationships with showrunners and working with all key music hires. And now as a Music Production executive, I have to maintain a balance between the creative side and financial side of production, coordinating the elements that are essential to bring a score to life while maintaining a healthy budget.

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Even amongst my ambitious peers, I stand out as being particularly driven and detail oriented. Projects that are particularly complex and involve competing priorities interest me greatly, and being able to combine my classical music background with a business sense of building a project or team has allowed me to oversee music production on a bigger scale. The lengthy previous experience I had working with composers and artists required me to bridge musical language between creatives and producers, and now that I am on the studio side, my goal is to align strategy and ensure smooth/on-budget execution of music elements across each series. Creative projects always involve strong personalities, and I’ve learned that success on the business side requires sensitive handling of all artistic priorities. These experiences have now all come together in my current role as Sr. Manager, TV Music Production, overseeing music production activities for Paramount TV Studios in all phases, including script/budgeting, pre-production, production and post production.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is probably the most ethnically diverse city in the country, but it would be difficult for a visitor to discover this from the windows of the car in LA traffic. Rather than visit the usual glitz and glamour spots that are treats for the eyes and ears, I would take my friends to all the culinary nooks and pockets where they can luxuriate in tastes and smells, a week-long trip indulging in every flavor. I’d probably start in Koreatown, hopping from little local coffee shops to family run Korean BBQ joints. Then over to Boyle Heights for the Mexican classics that practically define the city. Midtown/Hancock Park boasts some truly spectacular Italian chefs, experimenting with Mediterranean techniques. Thai Town would be next, with the extensive menus where everyone has a hard time choosing THE most popular dish. Glendale and Little Armenia have countless small mom and pop eateries with personalized family recipes. Hollywood and West Hollywood have dozens of Indian restaurants, and a swing through the Westside for seafood would be next. Last but not least a day on the east side around Monterey Park/ San Gabriel where the majority of the Chinese population are located in Los Angeles. This is the area where I get to taste authentic delectable dim sum that reminds me of home. Depending on the time of the year my friend is visiting, seasonal events like 626 Night Market for Asia-inspired street markets and Craft fairs are a great way to meet local vendors and support small businesses. And absolutely everywhere there are the famous food trucks to supply spontaneous flavors.

This is my 9th year in Los Angeles, and I still find myself totally amused when I discover interesting corners of the city that I have not set foot in. I love it!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First I’ve got to make a shoutout to my former bosses Lorne Balfe, Steve Kofsky and the team of composers at 14th Street Music! Throughout the years, Lorne gave me the opportunity to grow within the company and direction in expanding my role beyond the studio. The time I spent in the room with composers and studio executives during the creative chats was the most valuable experience one could ever have. I am grateful for having such a strong team that enabled everyone to bring out the best in each other. I am also now incredibly grateful for our President of Music at Paramount Pictures, Randy Spendlove. He is truly a leader of people and has exceptional eyes and ears to bring in talents on the team. I really believe that we have the best music team in town.

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