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Tickets

Tickets

By Howard Gray

Tickets features the visionaries, producers and operators behind some of the world’s most exciting and innovative live experiences.

Joining the dots between disciplines, Tickets seeks to find out what goes into bringing amazing ideas, companies and concepts to life.

In this our second season we’re exploring the future of education, and how emerging forms of technology and entertainment are changing the ways we learn and interact.
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Taking the magic of Broadway around the world with Vincent Marini

TicketsMar 12, 2018

00:00
01:09:40
Pause for a Cause

Pause for a Cause

We're taking a brief pause. But Ticket shall return...

Feb 25, 201900:56
Gary Chou and Christina Xu on entrepreneurship education and harnessing the power of networks
Feb 18, 201901:00:51
David Lavin on representing some of the world's leading intellectual talent

David Lavin on representing some of the world's leading intellectual talent

Think about talent agents and the first image that comes to mind may be something similar to the character of Ari Gold in the TV show ‘Entourage’; fast-talking, fickle, and more focused on the action toys and awards than the quality of the art.


But beyond the caricature, there’s of course far more to this kind of work than meets the eye - and a growing range of talent with important ideas to share with the world.


On this episode of Tickets I’m joined by David Lavin, founder and CEO of The Lavin Agency. 


The agency represents some of the world’s leading intellectual talent; from bestselling authors Salman Rushdie and Margaret Attwood, to Apple founder Steve Wozniak, and Welby Altidor, former creative director of Cirque du Soleil.


During this conversation we get into what really makes for a compelling speaker, where there’s space for new ideas in education, balancing risk and reward, and who’s really worth booking for the $10,000 keynote.



About David

David Lavin is the founder and president of The Lavin Agency—one of North America’s largest intellectual talent agencies. His roster of exclusive keynote speakers includes Margaret Atwood; Salman Rushdie; Nicholas Thompson, the Editor in Chief of Wired; Angie Thomas, the #1 bestselling author of The Hate U Give; and Angela Duckworth, the #1 bestselling author of Grit. And many other interesting people!

The Lavin Agency consists of 35 staff, with offices in New York, Toronto, Vancouver, and Boston. It was founded in 1989, in Toronto, after David spent a few years as a successful live events promoter.

David was Canada’s youngest chess master. He has lived in Barcelona, London, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco, New York, and Ibiza. His thoughts on the speaking industry have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, The National Post, and Hazlitt, and at the TED conference. Every year, David also hosts the invite-only Brain Candy conference—a gathering of exclusive Lavin speakers, staff, and a few close friends of the agency.

https://www.thelavinagency.com/

Feb 11, 201953:08
University Ventures' Daniel Pianko on new opportunities in higher education

University Ventures' Daniel Pianko on new opportunities in higher education

Believe it or not, some of the key fundamentals of university haven’t changed much in over a thousand years.

But with the US student debt crisis continuing to make headlines, employers’ talent needs rapidly evolving, and software still eating the world, traditional higher education - like other industries before it - is now undergoing change like never before.

Today on Tickets I’m joined by Daniel Pianko. Co-Founder and Managing Director at University Ventures, a New York based venture capital firm focused on the future of higher education and the pathways that lead from education to employment. 

In this wide-ranging conversation Daniel shares his insights into the importance of the live experience in learning, the knock-on effects of urbanization, and why having a great product can matter a lot less than you think.


Episode overview

02:30 Daniel’s origin story 

08:00 4 areas of interest for an education-focused fund

10:00 The future of medical school

17:00 University - from DMV to Uber

21:30 The future of work - now, not tomorrow

28:00 Flipped classrooms and using VR in education

33:00 Soft skills and how we teach

37:00 Hybrid spaces and the knock-on effects of urbanization

52:00 Advice for the incumbent university presidents

56:00 New innovations and advice for entrepreneurs in education


About Daniel

Daniel Pianko is co-founder and managing director at UV. With over a decade of experience in the education industry, Daniel has built a reputation as a trusted education adviser and innovator in student finance, medical education, and postsecondary education. A frequent commentator on higher education, Daniel’s insights have been featured in national media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TechCrunch, Inside Higher Ed, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Daniel began his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, and quickly became intrigued by the potential of leveraging private capital to establish the next generation of socially beneficial education companies. After leaving Goldman, Daniel invested in, founded, advised, or managed a number of education-related businesses that led to the creation of UV. Prior to founding UV, he established a student loan fund, served as chief of staff for the public/private investments in the Philadelphia School District, and worked as a hedge fund analyst.

At UV, Daniel leads the firm’s investments in the pioneering Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, University of Nicosia/St. George’s University of London Medical School, Vemo Education, Qubed Education, Examity and Galvanize. He serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Board of Trustees of Harlem Village Academies.

Daniel graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, and holds a M.B.A. and M.A. in Education from Stanford University. He is the proud father of three children.

Feb 04, 201901:04:41
Marc Lewis on running the world's most successful advertising school

Marc Lewis on running the world's most successful advertising school

Imagine the world’s most awarded advertising school.

Perhaps you’re picturing it housed in an imposing campus of magnificient Edwardian buildings made of stone and marble, or a gleaming high rise in midtown Manhattan.

In fact you’ll find it on the top floor of a former church and nightclub in a South London neighbourhood.

Its unexpected characteristics don’t end there - from the curriculum design to the class size, the mentors to the learning outcomes.

It’s called the School of Communication Arts, and its Dean is Marc Lewis.

In this entertaining and enlightening conversation, we talk about Marc’s personal journey from comedy clubs and tech startups to the world of education, coming back from a mental health crisis, and what it means to find your Telos.

And there is a little bit of swearing, so listener discretion is advised.


Episode overview

03:00 Marc's origin story - from stealing car radios, to copywriting and comedy clubs

17:00 Selling a company, and finding Telos

23:00 SCA v.10

27:00 How v2.0 got going in 2010, and being equipped for diversity

35:00 Inside the curriculum Wiki

42:00 Customizing learning design

51:00 AI, technology...and why didn't cover it in this episode



About Marc

Marc Lewis was a scholarship student at SCA when it last existed in the 1990s. He left to work for Leo Burnett as a writer, but ended up creating technology companies.

Marc’s start-ups created over £50m in shareholder value. but he fell out of love with money and wanted to do something more meaningful. A heart-to- heart conversation with Sir John Hegarty and Rory Sutherland led to the re-opening of SCA in 2010. John and Rory became founding Governors.

Marc runs the SCA learning experience. If he’s not in SCA, then he’s teaching at a Chinese or a French ad school, or out bringing live briefs into the classroom.

Jan 28, 201954:27
SXSW's Todd Hansen on live event programming and spotting talent & trends

SXSW's Todd Hansen on live event programming and spotting talent & trends

In the Spring of 1987, a group of music fans and journalists organised a small live event in Austin, Texas. They were pleasantly surprised by its success - around 700 people showed up.

That first edition of South by SouthWest has become a 10 day conference and festival with over 28,000 attendees heading to Austin each March.

It’s now one of the most recognised and respected live events on the planet, and its core tracks of music, film, technology and education inform as well as reflect what’s happening in modern culture.

Today on Tickets I’m joined by Todd Hansen, SXSW’s head of conference programming.

In this conversation, Todd shares insights into the programming team’s process, what makes for a compelling keynote, and how to handle one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs showing up at 1 day’s notice. We also reminisce about a surprise gig from a member of purple royalty straight out of Todd’s hometown of Minneapolis. 


Episode overview

03:00 SXSW’s history

12:00 Programming for a rocketship

18:00 Predicting trends

25:00 Getting found, getting noticed

32:00 Embracing serendipity

40:00 This year’s highlights, and the role of technology in our lives

45:00 The long drive from Minneapolis


About Todd Hansen

Todd Hansen has spent his career chasing what interests him. The chase began by playing in bands in the ever-creative Minneapolis music scene, and with those relationships in play: a record label was born. 

Co-founding a record label gave rise to other fast-paced pursuits in the 

consulting and entrepreneurial worlds. Later, he started a couchsurfing platform for bands, pre-AirBnB, called Better Than The Van, and soon after that created an intensely popular Tumblr called Rich Kids of Instagram. 

Today, he is the Head of Conference Programming at SXSW, and leads a team of content curators across twenty-five tracks of programming. He's always fascinated by culture, tech and the human condition, and ever-inspired by those creating and collaborating in the arts and sciences: the framework builders of our future. 

Todd Hansen is a history nut, who asks, "What's next?'.

The chase continues.

Jan 21, 201953:10
Adobe's Andrea Rosen on creativity and the future of work

Adobe's Andrea Rosen on creativity and the future of work

Over the last 10 years Adobe’s annual 99U conference has captured the imaginations of creative thinkers from around the world through its 2 day programme of talks, workshops and collaborations, featuring a who’s who of both industry leaders and rising talent. And alongside the New York conference, 99U has now grown into a year-round online resource for building a creative career.

Today on Tickets I’m joined by Adobe’s Head of 99U Andrea Rosen. 

In this conversation we talk about the future of work, how anybody can tap into their own creativity, and where to find some hidden opportunities for creative innovation.


Episode overview:

02:30 The beginnings of 99U

08:00 The secret sauce in the conference production

11:00 What 99U’s audience are gravitating to in 2019

19:00 Creativity: lowercase and capital case thinking

29:00 Creatives taking a seat at the strategy table

34:00 Andrea’s favourite talks from 99U

42:00 Why now for ‘the creative future’ at 99U in 2019

Jan 14, 201948:54
Betaworks’ James Cooper on building products, brands, and communities

Betaworks’ James Cooper on building products, brands, and communities

Spend some time around the world of startups and it probably won’t be long until you hear someone mention the term startup studio. 

It’s recently become a bit of a buzz term for consultancies, ad agencies and brands, but New York company Betaworks have been working in and around this area for over a decade.

As well as their work building and investing in companies, Betaworks have recently opened Studios, their own membership space in the city’s Meatpacking district.

James Cooper is the company’s head of creative, working across a diverse range of projects from GIF sharing platforms to spatial design, voice recognition to meditation. 

We talked about how we can use technology to escape technology, what Betaworks look for when programming live events, the future of the shared experience, and the benefits to looking outside to find inspiration in an always-on digital world.


Episode overview

04:00 Going from digital to physical products

07:00 Why now for building a brick & mortar space?

10:00 The thought process behind Studios’ live event programming

18:00 The role of a creative director in a startup studio

25:00 Inside Betaworks’ ‘Camp’ accelerator program

33:00 The future of the shared experience; from games, to meditation, live quizzes and beyond

37:00 Where James finds inspiration, and how he stays on track 

40:00 Advice for people wanting to build something new


About James

James has been Head of Creative at start-up studio Betaworks since 2013. His role is to explore creative opportunities for betaworks products and tell the betaworks brand story. Some of the betaworks brands include the no.1 game, Dots, which has been downloaded over 150 million times and won many industry awards.

Other betaworks products include GIPHY, the search engine for Gifs recently valued at $600M, Poncho, the most popular bot on Facebook and recent star of Apple's, 'Planet of the App's and Dexter, a bot building platform. James also produced ‘The Intern’, a hit podcast about working in betaworks and the tech world. 

Recently James launched betaworks Studios, a club for builders. Studios is a physical space where the new generation of builders can find one another and learn the secrets of sustained innovation betaworks has uncovered over the last ten years.

Before betaworks, James was a creative director in the ad world where he has won many awards including two gold lions at Cannes. He was a Creative Partner at Anomaly and ran Dare - named Digital Agency of the Decade in London and sold for $50m in 2007. 

Jan 07, 201942:18
How to create compelling workshops, programs and products with Rob Fitzpatrick

How to create compelling workshops, programs and products with Rob Fitzpatrick

In a world that’s now full of influencers, thought leaders and keynote speakers, how do you know who’s worth paying your attention, or your money, to?

What sets the best education experiences apart from the rest?

And how do you know if your new business idea is worth pursuing?

Today on Tickets we delve into the answers to these questions and much more with Rob Fitzpatrick.

Rob has been working in entrepreneurship and education for over 10 years as a founder, author and educator. 

His first book ‘The Mom Test’ has become a staple of the startup world, and next up is ‘The Workshop Survival Guide’ - debunking many of the myths about experiential learning, and giving a helping hand to those wanting to deliver workshops that...work.

We talk about Silicon Valley accelerator programs, the importance of design in education, and the hidden reasons behind getting hired.


Episode Overview

05:00 Getting it right (and sometimes wrong) in the Y Combinator accelerator program

10:00 From boardrooms to warehouses - bootstrapping a new venture

15:00 Writing: from 0 to 100

21:00 Being aware of the trade offs in entrepreneurship

25:00 The best ways to get started with building entrepreneurial skills

33:00 Best practices for workshop design

41:00 In a world full of business thought leaders, who’s worth reading, and who’s worth hiring?

47:00 Secrets of getting hired as a workshop teacher

Dec 24, 201856:13
Duolingo's Laura Nestler on growing global communities

Duolingo's Laura Nestler on growing global communities

It’s that app with the owl. That app where you can instantly start learning anything from Spanish to Swahili, Hebrew to Hawaiian. But what’s behind the enormous success of Duolingo, the language learning app that now has over 300 million users around the world? Laura Nestler is Duolingo’s global head of community, bringing together learners and teachers from a multitude of countries and cultures. On this episode of Tickets we get into the art & science of building global communities, the unexpected secrets behind preserving a Duolingo streak, and compare notes on London’s best cocktail bars and fried chicken shops... Episode overview: 05:00: Duolingo’s beginning from a Captcha and a ReCaptcha 15:00: How much does an owl need to cry for you to come back to Duolingo?(!) 20:00: How to grow a community internationally (and Londoners' lack of eagerness...and Mexican food spots) 29:00: The growth of Duolingo's in-person events 40:00: Getting a new community off the ground: from 1, to 9, then 90
Dec 16, 201850:45
Kano co-founder Alex Klein on fostering curiosity and creation through technology

Kano co-founder Alex Klein on fostering curiosity and creation through technology

What have Harry Potter, Steve Wozniak, Los Angeles County School Board and the Indian Prime Minister got in common?

They’ve all been part of the story of Kano, a London based computer company intertwining technology, education and entertainment.

Today on Tickets I’m joined by Kano’s co-founder Alex Klein.

We talk about the future of collective experiences, overcoming the dark times as an entrepreneur, the key ingredients of a compelling Kickstarter campaign, and how a 6 year old’s question was the catalyst for what has become one of the most exciting new computer companies around.

Alex’s thoughts on using creativity to mobilise and empower people are inspiring - I hope you enjoy this conversation as much I did.


02:30: Kano's origin story
08:00: 3 key factors for a successful Kickstarter campaign
12:30: Assumptions in the early days of Kano
15:30: What's in the box
20:00: Blending education and entertainment
25:00: Working with teachers and schools
29:00: Alex's advice for entrepreneurs starting out
33:00: New forms of audience building and creating shared experience
37:00: What's in store for Kano in 2019
Dec 10, 201842:41
Tickets Season 2 - Trailer

Tickets Season 2 - Trailer

We're back! Tickets returns for its second season this November. Here's a brief introduction to this season and a bit of back story on how we got to now.
Nov 06, 201804:16
Scaling human connection through music with James Beshara (Head of Music, Airbnb)

Scaling human connection through music with James Beshara (Head of Music, Airbnb)

On the guest list today is James Beshara, global head of concerts at Airbnb.


James leads Airbnb’s growing presence in the world of music experiences, providing guests, hosts and artists with new opportunities to share and enjoy live music.


Inevitably it was at our season finale that we finally encountered a ton of of technical problems.


Luckily James was more than accommodating - letting us overrun so we got a decent amount of time to chat and rescuing the episode by setting up the recording on his side as my laptop was misbehaving so much.


Listen on for James’s insights into the way Airbnb think about experiences, the importance of intimate concerts, and where to find the best green room in LA.


Episode overview
04:00 Airbnb concerts’ start point
08:30 The growth of music consumption in digital vs live
12:00 Scaling human connection through music
14:00 Learnings from Tilt into Airbnb
17:00 The Airbnb concerts business model -from early stage artists to international headliners
22:00 Differentiating in a crowded market
27:00 A pop up green room in Los Angeles
Jun 04, 201831:44
Building a global electronic music brand with Elrow’s Victor de la Serna

Building a global electronic music brand with Elrow’s Victor de la Serna

What do you get if you combine circus performance, immersive theatre, and electronic music? The answer is Elrow, a global events brand based in Barcelona.


The party started at a venue in the city in 2010, but this business goes back to the mid 19th century, staying in the same family for nearly 150 years.


On the guest list today is Victor de la Serna, Elrow’s global talent director, overseeing programming for events around the world.


In this highly entertaining conversation, we talk about the importance of thinking about the long game, how to stay ahead in a competitive market, and when mud and rain aren’t as bad as they seem.




Episode overview
04:00 The family business from 1870 to today
22:00 Why Barcelona is such a hotspot
24:30 The secret behind the ‘Tickets’ name
27:30 The tipping point for Elrow from local party to global brand
35:00 Elrow’s themes
46:00 Staying ahead in a competitive market, and maintaining work/life balance
51:00 Taking over one of London’s busiest shopping districts
May 28, 201857:50
What’s next in travel and tourism ticketing with Leith Stevens of Redeam

What’s next in travel and tourism ticketing with Leith Stevens of Redeam

Think about the last trip you booked. You may have done it all from your mobile phone.
Flights - Kayak or SkyScanner.
Hotels? Expedia, Tablet, or maybe Hotel Tonight
Transfers - well, Uber and Lift make it easy

But what about a tour, an exhibition or an attraction at your destination? Even if the booking is online you may still need a paper ticket to gain entry. It’s a headache for both consumers and businesses alike.

On the guest list today is Leith Stevens of Redeem, a Colorado based startup building digital ticket solutions for experiences around the globe.

In this conversation Leith gives us an insight into the inner workings of the tourism industry, the most interesting shifts in the ticketing business, and valuable advice for startups in all industries looking to go and build the right thing.

Episode Overview
04:00 How technology has impacted travel and tourism - from flights to hotels and tours
13:00 Lessons learned from startup 1 to startup 2
16:30 Disney’s Magic Band and the growth of multi-day passes for attractions
21:00 The fragmented tours and attractions market in 2018
23:30 A branding and digital marketing challenge
25:30 Starting Redeam - failed experiments and successful anchors
31:30 Trends in the ticketing business
35:30 Growth in the timeslot model
39:20 Resellers, distributors and secondary markets
41:30 Taking a trip to the Mexican cenotes
May 21, 201845:34
The evolution of spaces to places with Bart Higgins, Partner at WhatIf Innovation

The evolution of spaces to places with Bart Higgins, Partner at WhatIf Innovation

As the retail apocalypse looms large, the hospitality and entertainment industries are sitting up to take note, and the world of commercial office real estate is coming under threat like never before. The big question is what happens next.
On the guest list today is Bart Higgins, a partner at the international innovation consultancy WhatIf.

Bart runs the firm’s 4D Experience practice, helping companies across retail, workspace, hospitality and entertainment identify new business models, create better experiences and build their internal capabilities.

In this conversation Bart shares his insights into what other industries can learn from retail’s struggles, the future of the company town, and how real estate owners can reimagine the experiences they provide.

Episode overview:
05:00 Lucky breaks and designing a workplace for Wired Magazine
13:00 Reimagining retail store design - people, place and technology
19:00 Lessons from Little Waitrose and Whole Foods
27:00 The new commercial opportunity in the world of work
30:00 The office apocalypse, the 3 models of real estate ownership, and 3 big shifts
37:00 The future of the company town
42:00 Advice for real estate developers
45:00 The emergence of an important new hybrid role
47:30 Managing tension between old and new working styles
52:00 Thinking human
55:00 Iron Maiden and supermarket shocks
May 14, 201801:00:02
Fusing music and technology with Sonar Festival’s Ventura Barba

Fusing music and technology with Sonar Festival’s Ventura Barba

Make a list of the most respected international festivals and Sonar is bound to feature. Starting in 1994 as a 3,000 capacity event in Barcelona, Sonar has grown to host over 120,000 attendees in the city each year and now has a presence in locations as diverse as Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Hong Kong.


On the guest list today is Ventura Barba, CEO of Sonar’s parent company Advanced Music. Having known the Sonar founders since that very first edition, he spent time at BMG and Yahoo Music before reconnecting with the founding team in 2009.


In this conversation we talk about how Sonar take their concept into new cities around the globe, the importance of featuring new technologies, and how brands are deepening their partnerships with festivals.


Episode overview: 02:30 Sonar from 1994 to 2018 07:30 Expanding around the world and thinking about creative networks first 16:00 Sonar’s technology focus 26:00 Going out of your comfort zone to enable longevity 28:00 Brands as co-creators
May 07, 201837:01
Storytelling in VR with Time's Mia Tramz

Storytelling in VR with Time's Mia Tramz

On the guest list today is Mia Tramz, Editorial Director of Enterprise and Immersive Experiences at Time Magazine.
Following a degree in Visuals Arts at Columbia University, Mia began her career as a photo editor before branching out into VR through her role running Time’s Life VR initiative.

In this conversation Mia talks about how she tackles telling compelling VR stories across over 30 brands, what’s it like to run a startup within a large organisation, the 4 levels of VR immersion, and reveals a life-changing night in the company of Gwen Stefani and Weezer.

Episode overview:
09:00 Taking a visual arts degree into photo editing and VR
12:00 Approaching VR across 30+ brands
19:00 Advice for startups interacting with brands and agencies
22:00 The 4 levels of immersion and the roadmap for VR and AR over the next few years
33:00 Identifying and hiring talent
40:30 The most exciting tracks for storytelling in VR
44:00 Productivity tips and staying ahead
47:00 90s concerts from Weezer to Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Apr 30, 201851:41
Blending digital technology and physical space design with Parc Office

Blending digital technology and physical space design with Parc Office

On the guest list today are Will Prince and Charlie Marshall, principals at Parc Office, a New York based experience design practice.
Blending digital technology with physical environments, Parc’s projects include Google’s Cultural Institute, flagship store design for Adidas, reimagining Le Meridien hotel in Istanbul, and creating a modern day fashion Museum for Gucci in Florence.

Listen on for the duo’s insights into the impact of Instagram, how they assess new technologies, customising experiences for local audiences, and tales of jet-lagged Parisian bar crawls.


Episode overview

09:00 Parc’s founding principles

14:30 Positioning and meeting market needs

21:00 What clients are thinking about today

28:00 Retail strategies

35:00 Innovation and the trough of disillusionment

45:00 Choosing technologies and learning from failure

55:00 Designing for the hospitality industry

62:00 The dive bar experience
Apr 23, 201801:08:59
Building, financing, and operating arts and music spaces with Dhruv Chopra

Building, financing, and operating arts and music spaces with Dhruv Chopra

The numerous challenges facing venues of all shapes and sizes have been well documented over the past few years.
So how do you go about creating a new place for arts and music in one of the world’s most competitive real estate markets?

Dhruv Chopra is one of the three co-founders of Elsewhere, a 24,000 sq ft space in New York that opened at the end of 2017. After a childhood playing in a wide range of bands, Dhruv spent 5 years as an investment manager at Capricorn, before making the move to start his journey with Elsewhere.

Listen on for Dhruv’s insights into fundraising, managing risk, making the most of data, and the 3 key pillars for local talent to thrive.

Episode highlights:
09:00 The start of Popgun promotions (now the in-house promotion team at Elsewhere)
16:00 Taking Elsewhere from idea to opening night
23:00 Utilising data and handling construction
29:00 The logistics of operating a venue
33:00 Being friends and founders
42:00 The future of art and music spaces
51:00 The 3 key pillars to support creative talent
Apr 16, 201858:40
Talent programming from nightclubs to auditoriums with Dave Gamble (Royal Albert Hall)

Talent programming from nightclubs to auditoriums with Dave Gamble (Royal Albert Hall)

On the guest list today is Dave Gamble, programming manager at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
After starting out at the Roundhouse venue in Camden, he spent 5 years as a promotions manager at the legendary Fabric nightclub before moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2015.

Recorded on the day of the venue’s 147th birthday, in this conversation Dave explains what makes the Royal Albert Hall such a unique performance space, the day to day of being a promoter in a venue holding over 1000 events each year, and what he looks out for when booking emerging talent.

Episode overview:
03:00 Recent highlights at the venue
08:30 Dave’s journey from TV and radio workshops to a career in talent programming
19:30 The day to day role of a promoter
35:15: History of the Royal Albert Hall
48:50: Dave’s reading list
Apr 09, 201855:50
Next generation guestlists and Nordic innovation with Johan Ekelund

Next generation guestlists and Nordic innovation with Johan Ekelund

On the guest list today is Johan Ekelund, CEO at Keyflow, a Stockholm based startup helping event producers and venues connect with their guests in more meaningful ways.
Johan’s background spans advertising and technology, working as a marketer both agency and client side and also as a product manager for leading video on demand platform.

During this conversation Johan shared his thoughts on how brands will be investing into live entertainment in the future, the opportunity for dynamic pricing in event ticketing, and what makes the Nordic region such a hub for innovation.

Episode overview:

07:00: Developing the Jagermeiester brand in Sweden and creating a Netflix competitor in the Middle East
12:00: Keyflow’s evolution from a guest list app to a way for venues to form closer connections with their audiences
20:00: How venues and promoters in the table service industry identify and build their audiences
23:00: The shift in brand spend around live entertainment
28:00: Dynamic pricing for entertainment
36:00: Does consolidation create opportunity or stifle innovation?
40:00: What makes Sweden and the Nordics so innovative?
49:00: Decision making, and being ‘all in’ or ‘all out’
Apr 02, 201855:48
Curation and community with Michelle Grey-Campion

Curation and community with Michelle Grey-Campion

Following stints at leading members club Soho House and Neuehouse, for last 2 years Michelle has been the creative director of the New York Times’ highly respected Times Talk series, featuring a veritable who’s who from across the world of arts and culture.
Michelle’s a highly respected curator and programmer, but has a background you may not expect - with a master’s degree in molecular genetics she’s also been a magazine editor and a TV presenter.

Recorded just as she’s about to set off on the next chapter of her career, we talk about our need to belong, the role of the creative director, why hybrid talent is thriving again, and the ups and downs of have a dissenting view.

And that metallic sound you can hear in the first few minutes? It was Michelle’s necklace... it took us a while to realise.

One other thing; there are a few naughty words in today’s episode so listener discretion is advised.

Episode highlights:

03:00 Psychographics vs Demographics
07:00 Michelle’s story - from molecular genetics to talent curation
15:00 Members' clubs and our desire to belong
23:30 The resurgence of polymath talent
31:00 Why brands needs for external curators
36:00 What brands get wrong when programming events
Mar 26, 201840:11
The future of the built environment with Ross Guttler

The future of the built environment with Ross Guttler

Sustainability is a topic that’s got a lot of attention over the past few years.
We know it’s important to create sustainable experiences but what’s the next step we can take? How could we make the built environment better for our health? And how does wellness really inform the quality of experiences we have?

New York based research firm Delos have been exploring this theme for nearly a decade, working across sectors including air travel, sports and hospitality to help companies create multi-use spaces that have a genuinely positive effect on our wellbeing.

On the guest list today is Ross Guttler VP of business development at Delos.

Over the course of this wide-ranging conversation we got into the future of retail and mixed use space, why IT departments will be running buildings, the science behind productivity, and explorations into the London rave scene at the turn of the millennium.

Episode highlights:

04:15: Ross’s journey from ski slopes to real estate
12:30: What goes into making a building better for our health
20:15: The distinction between wellness and sustainability
25:15: The future of the retail experience and the impact autonomous vehicles
32:00: New uses of real estate and hot topics in the industry
Mar 19, 201846:49
Taking the magic of Broadway around the world with Vincent Marini

Taking the magic of Broadway around the world with Vincent Marini

Over his career Vincent has produced and directed high profile shows across the globe. He's been the artistic director of one of Ameria's premier state theatres, worked as a special consultant to Cirque du Soleil, and served on the board at a number of cultural trusts and institutions.
In his role at Base, he's responsible for bringing all the company's key projects to life - from theatrical plays and musicals, to concerts, magic shows and cutting edge hologram technology experiences.

It's clear from the start how much knowledge and passion Vincent possesses for both his craft and the industry more broadly. This episode is a must for producers, directors, creators and impresarios across creative mediums.

Episode highlights:

02:00 Vincent's career story
07:30 Running a unique theatre space
16:30 Working with creative constraints
22:00 Embracing failure
24:50 Future trends in live entertainment
30:30 Take productions around the globe
40:00 Holograms and VR
54:00 Base's main projects for 2018
61:00 The role of arts and cultural trusts
Mar 12, 201801:09:40
International boxing and brand partnerships with Adam Morallee

International boxing and brand partnerships with Adam Morallee

Adam was just about to fly to Las Vegas and was on the move when we recorded this episode, so the audio quality is a little lower than usual. However, the insights are well worth it. Over the course of our 50 minute conversation Adam explains where lawyers, managers and agents can work together more productively; how an international boxing matchup gets made; where the money flows in the modern sports industry; what brands are looking for when partnering with talent; and who he's tipping for the top in 2018.
Jan 17, 201853:27