By Dani Lauren

My name is Dani Lauren and I am currently in my sophomore year of college  at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. I am a singer/songwriter and also  the founder and executive director of the Dare to Reach Foundation, bringing people together in song to raise hope and awareness for pediatric cancer. However, from January to June of this year I am living in the wonderful city of London, 3,450 miles away from home. I accepted a six-month position working for Kobalt Music Group, boasting the largest independent publishing company in the world, and I’m having the time of my life. Of course, it has been difficult at times being a nineteen-year-old in a foreign country all by myself, but I am learning quite a lot about the global music industry.

Originally, I chose London as the place I wanted to work for my six-month internship because the music industry is strong and it’s different from New York, which I grew up fifteen minutes away from. Most importantly, as an artist, I wanted to get a feel for the place that all of my musical idols came from. After I get settled here I plan on renting a guitar and checking out all the local music venues and trying to play as much as I can. Even though I am working in the business portion of the industry, I would love to get a feel for both sides.

On a personal level, living alone in a foreign country is a lot more liberating than I expected. On a day when I was feeling homesick, a good friend told me that this was the one time in my life that I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, no strings attached. If I wanted to go to a museum one day, I could. If I wanted to go check out that local band everyone’s been talking about at work, I could. If I wanted to give myself four hours and £30 to find the best latte in London, I could. This is the first time in my life where I really have to stretch my boundaries and get out of my comfort zone and I plan on making the most of my time here. Hopefully I can get a good song or two out of it.

If you want to follow my adventures in London, I will be posting here on Musicovation every other Friday! I will be talking about the London music scene as well as life as a member of the Synchronization department of an innovative music company.