The First Act Podcast

On today’s episode, Harry sits down with author and livestream expert, Karen Allen. They discuss the history and future of streaming and how it is used to build communities while also developing the authenticity of the creator. Learn how musicians and indie artists can find success on Twitch and other livestreaming platforms, only on this week’s episode of the First Act Podcast!

This week’s episode features legendary Canadian manager and founder of Hidden Pony Records “Parkside” Mike Renaud. Parkside and Harry talk about Mike’s career path, including working with bands like Sum 41 and JUNO Award-winning band The Dirty Nil. They talk about Parkside’s journey and tips for indie artists on honing your craft and using analytics to create your brand. This is an episode you don...

Hey everyone and welcome back to the First Act Podcast. On today’s episode, we have Adam Samuels. Adam just started a new role as a product manager at UTA, helping streamline and optimize business processes and operations. Prior to that, Adam worked in artist management with artists such as X Ambassadors and Yungblud. Today, he and Harry chat about the future of the product manager role within the...

Mia Zeidler is in her fourth year at UC Santa Cruz pursuing a B.A. in Film & Digital Media with a minor in Music Production. Currently working as a music assistant at Creative Control Entertainment, Mia is seeking a career in music editorial for Film, TV, and video games. Find out right now how Mia acquired a skill set as a teenage skater in the streets of California to getting in touch with t...

Originally from Boston. Taylor moved to Nashville to pursue a career in the Music Business. After three years in Nashville, Taylor made the jump to LA where she managed and developed pop artists. Taylor realized her true passion was in shaping the careers and lives of her peers and colleagues, not those of creatives. She leveraged her five years’ experience in Music B...

Few in the licensing or creator industries have had so much success at such a young age. Coming off the huge independent, entrepreneurial success of founding Hungercraft, Kevin began his career in licensing at Jazwares where he had the opportunity to sign and manage massive brands. In 2018 he switched sides of the table and lead the licensing program at Roblox before eventually leaving to found Wa...

Our guest, Eleonora Bianchi, is calling in all the way from Italy. She got her start in the music business at 13 years old and is now Head of Digital Sales for UMG Italy. Eleonora walks us through her unique path breaking in and how she created her own role at UMG. We also chat about how independent artists can thrive in today’s digital world.

On today’s episode, we’ve got Matt Urmy. Matt is the founder and CEO of Artist Growth, a cloud-based software which helps streamline workflow for music professionals. As an independent musician and poet, Matt shared his expertise and perspective on how indie artists can use social media to connect with, and grow, their audience and how to thrive while attracting attention from labels, management a...

Today’s episode featured Samantha Weigand. Sam works at Epic Records and splits up her time as a tour marketing manager and handling label finances. Sam works with incredible artists such as AJ Mitchell, Black Eyed Peas, Madison Beer, and many more. She’s here today to share her path breaking in and how to excel on the label side of the music biz.

On today's episode we've got Elena Robustelli. Although she's only a college senior, she has amassed loads of music industry work experience working at festivals, Atlantic records and is also an active participant at Warner Music Group's career classroom series. Elena shares some incredible tricks on how to stand out and get experience in entertainment as a teenager and also how to market yourself...

Today, I sit with David Winther. David is a music entrepreneur with so much experience forging strategic partnerships and putting together huge live experiential events across the globe. Before launching his boutique creative agency, David spent the greater half of a decade working as a talent agent at UTA. Together, we walk through the interview process and what it’s like starting out in the mail...

Today, I sit with touring industry entrepreneur, Paul Bradley. Paul is the founder of Eventric and creator of the notorious software, MasterTour. If you have entrepreneurial spirit, and strive to make a different in your industry, this episode is definitely one to check out. Paul walks us through his story of being a drummer in a touring band to building the leading touring software used by thousa...

We have playback engineer, Paul Relli Barber. Relli walks us through his career from getting a taste of fame when his band got signed, to producing records in DC and Nashville, to working as a playback engineer for some of the largest concerts.  Relli has worked with One Republic, Miguel, Thomas Rhett, and many more incredible artists who write and sing your favourite songs.  Today,...

Today, we have tour merchandising expert, Angel Juarbe. Angel walks us through his career growing up in the projects of South Bronx to landing his very first internship in music distribution. Angel’s career has had so many incredible twists and turns from discovering and signing Taking Back Sunday, to developing an entire career on the road working with countless celebrities including Shawn Mendes...

Today, we have gaming and live stream pioneer Jimmy Whisenhunt. Jimmy walks us through his career as a competitive gamer, to becoming a commentator for ESEA, to consulting for gaming companies, and forging music and business development partnerships at Twitch for the past 6 years. If you are a gamer, an indie artist, or someone who aspires to a career in entertainment, this is one episode... you d...

Phil Ranta, an executive and futurist in the online media and gaming industry. As a pioneer in this field, he has worked with numerous companies, 2 of which were acquired in the past 6 years! He has worked at Facebook, and as a comedian for a cruise line. What he’s working on now will be a major part of the future of social networking and gaming. This one... you don’t want to miss!

Today, we are expanding our knowledge and will learn what it’s like to break in and build a sustainable career behind the scenes of concerts. We have veteran production manager, Zito here today to talk to us about his path working with Ariana Grande, One Republic, and the Backstreet Boys among many others!

Today, we are expanding our knowledge and will learn what it’s like to break in and build a sustainable career in the drag industry. We have Javier Simons, a talent agent for the Benedetti Group here today to talk to us about his path working with premiere Drag talent including Erica Andrews, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Honey Davenport, and many others!

Josh Helfgott started his career working at NBC, pivoted into technology, and set off on a new journey of creating content. In only a few short months, he discovered his niche and grew to 1M+ followers on TikTok. He shares strategies for all the aspiring content creators out there.

Erin has held numerous roles as a marketing director for both club and arena sized venues. She has personally hired dozens of interns throughout her career and is here today to share her unique path and super hacks for anyone looking to land an internship or entry-level work in entertainment.

Brian Vickers is a music supervisor at the Walt Disney Company. His work consists of placing the right songs into movie and TV trailers. Brian walks us through his musical upbringings in Birmingham, Alabama to his professional music education at Howard University. Brian shares excellent tips for on how independent artists can land placement opportunities their music.

This episode features Jason Ve, VP Strategy & Business Development at 88RISING. Jason walks us through how he self-funded his college education. Jason provides insight on pursuing a career in investment banking and transitioning his career from finance to media & entertainment. Tune in to learn more about his path working at Disney, Nickelodeon, Google, and Deezer, and more!

Erik is currently Head of Radio Strategy & Promotion at Crush Music. In this episode, he walks us through his storybook path starting at Elektra Records, how he learned the music and radio landscape and strategically worked his way up the ranks. This eventually led him to directly working power players like L.A. Reid and Jay Z at Island Def Jam, to meeting a 16 year old Rhianna and helpin...

In this episode, we side-step outside of music and into the world of film, TV, and comedy. Daniel Bachner is an entertainment lawyer who got his first taste of this crazy biz through handling contract work for the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. Daniel is a wealth of knowledge, today he shares his unique path into entertainment along with excellent tips for anyone curious about w...

On today's episode, we have Head of Marketing for Ad Hoc, Morgan Schaffner! I have personally worked with Morgan on dozens of shows together. Only in her 20s, she has extensive experience holding various roles in marketing and touring. We chat about her path in music, important skills that every newcomer needs in order to thrive, and tips on how independent artists can gain the atte...