Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Townsel.
Hi Drew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started my career in music two years ago after attending a music festival in Chicago called Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash. I was in the artist section with a friend of my family and I admired the way that all of the creatives interacted and how everyone knew each other for some reason. Whether it be for management, design, styling, A&R, etc., everyone was known for something. I wanted to be a part of it and being someone who acts off of impulse a lot, I immediately went home after the festival and started my online magazine Intersect Magazine and published my first article, a review of the festival. From that moment, I was hooked on all things music journalism. I studied the game endlessly. I spent my free time watching No Jumper interviews, TIDAL interviews, The FADER interviews, and more. After a year of running Intersect, I was selected by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum to participate in their annual GRAMMY Camp on the Music Journalism Track. After that wonderful week of immersive learning and networking, my interest shifted to the business side of music and I have been hooked on it ever since. I joined the Recording Academy’s college program GRAMMY U, I was hired by Sony Music to be their Los Angeles Urban College Marketing Rep, and I started an internship with the LA-based independent record label 10k Projects.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have no doubt been obstacles along the way. But when you are interested in something with an immense amount of grit and passion, obstacles aren’t big enough to be a roadblock. They are simply just speed bumps. I have equipped my mind to persevere whatever I have to in order to reach my goals. I live and breathe my career and that’s something a lot of people don’t understand. That may sound simple but in reality, it takes way more action than talk. I went into my freshman year of college with two jobs and a business. There is definitely a lot to juggle and balance is easier said than done. There are times where I feel a lot of pressure and stress, but I love what I’m doing and learning so much that it doesn’t really affect me. I just pray and keep it pushing. You don’t grow without discomfort.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Intersect Magazine?
I am the Founder & CEO of Intersect Magazine. Intersect Magazine is an online magazine where all things music intersect. We publish reviews, editorials, news, interview articles, watchlist posts, and we have a YouTube channel called Intersect TV where we produce interview videos and more. The most special thing about Intersect is that we focus on music. We aren’t an entertainment gossip publication. When we publish news, it’s about music and not who’s dating who. When we interview artists, we ask them questions about their music and their career, not about their Twitter beef. We pride ourselves in being genuine and an ally to artists instead of a publication that exposes and tears artists down. We also have a watchlist where we strive to feature as many talented up and coming artists as we can. Any artist can submit their music to our site via the Submissions page(intersectmagazine.com/submit).
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
At least 50% of my day is manifestation for the life that I will have one day. When I drive my Ford Focus, I imagine that it’s that matte grey AMG that I get to push when Intersect’s YouTube channel hits 1 million subscribers. I picture myself in the studio with major artists, having full-circle moments. I visualize my future Intersect Magazine headquarters and my Balenciaga sock boots sitting up on my desk as I relax after a long day of work. I do all of that manifestation. I’ve spent evenings driving through rich Chicago suburbs listening to Drake, and looking at houses to inspire my future home. I really picture how I want to live and most importantly, I pride myself in doing the work that goes along with the manifestation.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewtownsel/
