Music and technology company Venice Music has named Dani Oliva as their vice president of legal and business affairs. He is the first openly transgender person to become an executive at a major music company. Oliva has made several strides in the music industry recently. Before being promoted to an executive position, he received a platinum record earlier this year for his legal work on Ariana Grande’s Grammy-nominated album “Positions.” As someone who grew up playing instruments, music has always been a large part of Oliva’s life. He tells The Advocate that art is how communities can connect with each other, and has particularly united queer communities throughout history. “I feel like art, and music specifically, help us connect with our larger community, and with each other, and ourselves. … I don’t think we could do that without art,” he says. “I definitely would not be here without art.”