Navigating today’s complex and rapidly changing music industry is a daunting task. Mythologies abound on the key steps you need to launch and sustain a music career, but what does it really take to carve out a path that fulfills personal goals and makes the world a better place? Curated and hosted by Matthew Dear, in collaboration with the University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, this virtual seminar investigates those questions through the lens of five leaders who have paved unique, transformative pathways to success.

Over the course of Fall 2021, Matthew Dear interviewed five luminaries who have carved out unique, highly-impactful, and innovative careers that intersect music, entrepreneurship, social impact, and creative storytelling. These interviews propel through the personal stories of each guest to illuminate the complexity of finding one’s path to self-actualization, while framing the circuitous paths that are central to nearly every successful professional arts journey today.

Ruth Daniel is a multi-award winning CEO, activist and change-maker. Inspired by the transformative use of hip-hop in the drug cartels of Medellin, Colombia, when a young MC said: ‘If it wasn’t for hip-hop, I would be dead. Hip-hop gave me another option and I’m truly thankful for that.’ Ruth believes art has a capacity to make change in the toughest of contexts. From guitarist at the age of eight to record label owner, band manager, fundraiser, international cultural activist, entrepreneur, educator, influential speaker (TEDx) to prestigious award winner within a national arena (Social Enterprise of the Year & Manchester Woman of Culture to name a couple), Ruth’s passion to empower people to build their own positive futures through creative entrepreneurial programmes, the development of cultural spaces and unique artistic collaboration projects shows no boundaries in terms of fields of work.

for more information and registration visit https://myumi.ch/7ePzb