We intended to highlight the 20/20 Visionaries-to-Watch featuring Drew de Leon much earlier in 2020, but we found it wise to hold his story until it felt right to release.
When you think of the word vision, you almost immediately associate that word with sight, your sensory ability. It is something required to turn a thought into innovation. To have vision doesn’t specifically mean the ability to see something physically, but rather an intention or inclination to create change.
At the beginning of 2020, OBVIOUS had intentions of using our vision to create new stories, highlight new outlooks, and continue offering the cutting edge content that our viewers have grown to love over the years.
What started out as a promising new decade quickly turned into a dark age of disorder as COVID-19 became a global threat that altered all of our realities.
Amid the pandemic, the masks of American “justice” started to show themselves more clearly than ever before as an uprising from the Black Lives Matter movements called out the wrongful murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others at the hands of police brutality.
One thing was sure: It clouded our vision.
There needed to be some refocusing of what matters and what messaging #TeamOBVIOUS could provide to its audience that would resonate with something optimistic and hopeful.
The world has now spent more than half of the year enduring the stress of these trying times, yet we can still look towards the people making a difference as a means of inspiration.
There’s no doubt that the individuals selected in this article showcase a tenacity and touch of creativity that has shown the potential for greatness in their lives and for others.
They’ve used their heart and motivation to strive for change and create space for new generations to learn from them.
It is with great honor that OBVIOUS Magazine presents: The 2020 Visionaries To Watch.
20/20 Visionaries: Drew de Leon at The Digilogue
The Digliogue has created a space that fuses two industries and allows emerging hopefuls to experience and learn from some of Music and Tech’s top professionals. How is Digilogue Day adding to the foundational bridge of these two industries?
Drew de Leon: Digilogue Day bridges the human aspect to all the tech platforms that music creatives use. Not only does the music community have an opportunity to speak to all the brand reps, but they also get to meet new creatives. At the end of the day, the best relationships in the industry are always built in person.
Why is it vital for young business-minded people to seek out these types of resources and utilize them to further their careers?
Drew de Leon: I believe music creatives must have a strong appetite for learning and an entrepreneurial approach to their careers. The artists that become the most successful in the long run learn about every aspect of the business.
Digilogue Day can offer that because we’ve curated mentors and thought leaders across the industry to provide insight that artists don’t usually have access to. Secondly, the peer-to-peer mentorship that attendees will gain by meeting new music creatives will be so invaluable.
What words of encouragement would you give to the next generation that will follow in your footsteps?
Drew de Leon: Pursue a career that you love, work hard every day, treat people with respect, always be curious, and enjoy the process. I’m not supposed to be doing what I’m doing today, but ten years ago, I decided to pursue a passion that I love.
How have you or your business had to pivot during this global pandemic?
Drew de Leon: We started offering more resources and content for our community. This included providing weekly job posts across the industry, offering a freelance directory, weekly IG Live talent shows for the community and weekly educational offerings from our Zoom panels and masterclasses to our bi-weekly podcast series called “The Ls.”
View the entire 20/20 Visionaries List here.
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