Danielle Gray - Building a Strong Foundation with Internships, Freelancing, Starting a Music Business Club and Leadership

You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher |

When you’re in college there is so much you can do to build your resume for the entertainment industry and really any industry you plan to go into. For the music industry, I always encourage students to work as many shows as possible, intern every semester as early as possible, and to find a local band/artist and find ways to help them. Vans Warped Tour founder, Kevin Lyman, used to work as many shows as possible while he was in college. It didn’t matter if he was working for free or if he was paid. Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, says until you’re overwhelmed with opportunity, you say yes to everything. It doesn’t matter if one gig is a volunteer opportunity, the next one pays $25, and another one pays $150 or more, and anything in between. It’s showing up for these opportunities that build experience, character, and your network. This industry is all about who you know and getting in reps. 

When I first met Danielle Gray, we were working an Imagine Dragons show for CID Entertainment at Amway Center in Orlando, FL. What really stood out to me about Danielle was her work ethic, ease of conversation and getting along with others, initiative, and someone that showed pride in their work. A few months later, I called her to work shows for me at AEG Presents, one of which was the final Vans Warped Tour show in Orlando, FL. Danielle Gray is a total hustler that’s still early in her career and already has a resume full of freelance opportunities working shows for venues, CID Entertainment, AEG Presents, and many others, as well as having worked for the Broadway show Hamilton, an internship at a Major Label, and having started a music business club at the University of Florida. She is still a student at the University of Florida, and already has a show leadership, work ethic, and has the right attitude for the music industry. In this conversation, we discuss Danielle’s journey, how to she landed her internships, freelance gigs, how to start a music business club at your school, and much more. Danielle is someone that sets a great model of what college students should be doing while they are still in college to prepare for their industry. She’s definitely a future star in our industry! 

To learn more about Danielle Gray visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellegray99/.