Episode 1: Ari Ponce-Ruiz
Creating Your Own Path In The Music Industry
The Music Playbook: Episode 1 ft. Ari Ponce-Ruiz
Breaking into the music industry rarely looks how people expect it to.
For the first episode of The Music Playbook, I sat down with Ari Ponce-Ruiz who currently works with Universal Music Group’s 1824 division in live streaming and college marketing. But beyond her role at UMG, Ari is also building her own lane through ENSMBL and her live showcase series, FEEDBACK.
We talked about:
applying to countless jobs before finally landing an opportunity
the reality of how connection-based the industry can be
navigating rejection and uncertainty
and what it means to create opportunities for yourself instead of waiting for one to appear
The episode’s biggest theme is that there is no “right” path into the music industry anymore, or any industry at that. For Ari, that meant balancing applications, networking, content creation, live events, and learning things in real time.
The conversation then dives into the creation of FEEDBACK, Ari’s independent live showcase series that highlights emerging artists while giving back to the community through nonprofit partnerships. Getting to hear the behind-the-scenes process of organizing live events gave a real look into the amount of work put into them.
As someone currently trying to build my own path in this industry as well, this episode felt especially important to me. It reminded me that sometimes the best opportunities come from simply deciding to start.
And honestly? That’s exactly how The Music Playbook began.
If you’re someone trying to break into music, entertainment, live events, marketing, or creative spaces in general, I think this episode will resonate with you.
Listen to Episode 1 of The Music Playbook featuring Ari Ponce-Ruiz here:
Spotify
Follow Ari & FEEDBACK:
Instagram: @ari.eve
Instagram: @ensmblpresents
