The First Act Podcast

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 helping break Justin Bieber’s career through radio promo.

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 working in Film & TV.

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 attention from promoters, managers and agents!

Today, we have Founder & Group CEO of Sound Diplomacy, Shain Shapiro. Shain has an interesting rap sheet… he holds a PhD in cultural policy, is an accomplished speaker — having delivered the first ever Ted Talk on ‘Music Cities’ and pioneered the model linking music to urban policy that is being replicated all over the world.  We chat about his path in music and how newcomers can stand out and build a network from anywhere in the world.

Today, we venture outside of music and into the world of journalism. Lindsay Christine is a sustainable fashion journalist. She shares tidbits on how to get your career started and keep a positive mindset.

Today, we venture outside of music and into the world of journalism and blogging. Lindsay Christine is a digital nomad who travels the world writing about fashion and wellness. She shares tidbits on how to get your career started and keep a positive mindset.

On today's episode, I chat with accomplished music and entertainment lawyer, Dani Oliva. Dani shares his unique path as a trans-man in entertainment, his involvement with the LGBTQ+ community, and with independent artists. Dani’s story is truly inspiring. Hope you enjoy!

I chat with Parker West about his unique story of how he used Reddit to form a relationship and go on tour with the Chainsmokers.