Written by LeoB 
Career Spotlight: Devin Lezama, Founder of EDM Maniac
Today’s Career Spotlight features insights from EDM Maniac Founder, Devin Lezama. If you are looking to work with EDM Maniac, there are jobs available.
When did you realize that you wanted a career in the music industry?
I realized about two years ago. I really got into dance music in 2010 and after moving to Los Angeles from NYC I realized I wanted to be as closely involved as possible.
How did you work your way up to the position you currently have with EDM Maniac?
I started EDM Maniac on my own, from the ground-up. We started throwing massive warehouse parties in Los Angeles and built a very devout following from there. After we grew big enough we took our efforts online to social media where today you can find us connecting dance music fans with the dance music culture.
What does your Founder position at EDM Maniac entail?
As the founder of EDM Maniac it’s my job to oversee our day-to-day and to assign tasks. It’s actually a lot of emailing and work behind a computer. Each week we go through what content might be good for posting and it’s my job to assign people to create that content. I also spend a lot of time analyzing what everyone else is doing and finding ways to do it better. When we produce our events in Los Angeles, it’s my job to oversee all of the marketing and promotion for the event.
What is your favorite aspect of your job?
My favorite part is being able to bring people together. It’s probably the best part of this whole journey. We’re connecting people to dance music and the culture and bringing people closer. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Least favorite aspect?
Emailing and phone calls. I spend a majority of my time answering emails and on phone calls. It can get monotonous especially earlier in the week when press releases get sent. We try to read through everything and find out what’s best to share with our audience.
Is there anything you do for work on a daily basis others might be surprised about?
I think people would be surprised to know you have to always be available to break stories and assign people to do research. We want to communicate information effectively and get people the information they need to know and when they need to know it. Dance music fans are a very “need to know right now” audience. It’s great that dance music fans are so passionate and always want know whats going on. However, it takes a lot to get that information relayed quickly and effectively.
How do you feel working in the music industry differs from other industries?
I’ve worked in retail, I’ve worked for technology companies and I’ve worked in the film and TV industry. Nothing is more exciting than music and dance music fans. This industry/community is made up of incredibly talented people, all of whom are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met. I think musicians and artists have a fire and passion that differs from other industries and that really stands out to me. I think music people are far more easy to work with than anyone I’ve worked with in Film and Television.
Is working in the music industry as cut-throat and challenging as many people make it out to be?
As a whole, It has more to do with who you are and how you handle things. If you have a good handle on life and what life throws at you I don’t think it’s as hard. You have to be a very prepared, outgoing, knowledgeable and flexible person to work in the music industry. I wouldn’t say it’s cut-throat though, I would say it’s VERY competitive and I think it’s because the music industry is just a passionate group of people. Like any industry, you have to be careful with what you say and how you say things. It’s more about how you present yourself to everyone that will make the most impact. It has its ups and downs, but what doesn’t?
Do you have any advice for those trying to find a career path in the music realm?
Keep going at whatever you want to be doing. Set goals for yourself. Be genuine and work hard. Figure out what it is what you want — and chase it. Chase it as if you had one last day on earth. You will get there.
Is there anything else you would like to add? Tips, thoughts, feelings, songs, etc.
EDM Maniac will continue to produce events and that has and always will be our focus. Online, we try hard to stay away form being a typical EDM news blog. We’re working hard to create original content and to avoid what most EDM blogs do — tell the same news stories over and over. Our focus going forward is to do the exact opposite of that. We look forward to serving up our new content offerings in the near future.
Kaskade for President.
A big thank you to Devin Lezama for taking the time to share his EDMJob with us in this Career Spotlight. If you’re interested in to work with EDM Maniac, be sure to check out the positions available at EDMJobs.
