Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences – May 16, 2024

Meeting Topic: Finding Your Guides and the Realities of the Music Industry

Moderator Name: Hannah Fraley

Speaker Name: Ali “AMAC” McGuire

Meeting Location: Zoom

Summary

AMAC introduces herself, and tells us about her career, things she has accomplished, and what she does now. Everyone in the meeting was given a document called “Finding Our Guides Workbook.” Something AMAC continuously talked about was identifying our “Why’s.” In other words, as an individual in the audio industry, it is an absolute necessity to understand yourself and the decisions you’re making. She emphasizes the need to be completely honest with yourself when asking yourself why you’re doing certain things, and to not be too hard on yourself if you don’t like the answer you find. AMAC then tells the story of her career, using herself as an example to better ourselves. She encourages us to go with the flow of whatever opportunities arise, learning as much as you can, because you never know who you might meet on the journey. After that, she explains how important it is to prioritize your health over anything. Staying up all night and bragging about the amount of work you got done does nothing but fuel your ego. AMAC ensures that there IS indeed more than “one shot,” and that it is very much okay to say no to certain things that aren’t right for you. After all of these topics were discussed, the floor was open for questions.

Written By: Adam Finney