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For this post, I interviewed Vinnie Potestivo - a man who has guided successful careeer strategies of not just stars of the music universe but also TV shows and major corporations. He himself has won an Emmy. He is extremely generous in sharing advice, behind-the-scenes stories and just general wisdom for creatives who want to grow (and protect) careers.  

• 00:00 Introduction to Vinnie Postivo
• 04:05 Vinnie takes us into his first stint at MTV... asking Whitney Houston a question.
• 04:39 Vinnie explains the mistake of saying 'let me know how I can help you' and what he said instead that started his successful career at MTV, as well as opening doors for others.
• 08:51 What used to be successful that's no longer working for music careers: Waiting. Why you shouldn't.
• 11:18 The bottleneck of music industry past that's been broken.
• 12:52 The importance of user experience now. Beyonce's career-making collaboration deals.
• 14:07 The importance of owning and combining your audience.
• 15:20 How Mandy Moore stepped into her own authority, and why that's important to be successful now.
• 16:44 How audio capability is changing things
• 18:56 AI and the ChatGPT factor.
• 20:25 An acting exercise I give my vocal students.
• 21:09 Why a music label deal now could be best negotiated as a joint venture.
• 23:07 The Presence factor's impact on an artist's career.
• 24:03 Stories from Vinnie's talent development work.
• 27:01 The SNL performance mistake that sabotaged Ashley Simpson's career.
• 30:21 The need for crisis training. Some funny examples from musical theater gone wrong.
• 39:50 How Vinnie is turning podcasting into shows.
• 40:08 How SMS marketing works for music careers, and the importance of fragmenting your email list.
• 44:30 Seth Godin insights we both find valuable for music artists.
• 45:57 Where to find Vinnie, his podcast and his service

More about Vinnie:

Vinnie Potestivo is an industry-leading talent and media development strategist widely known for launching celebrity brands & media properties that continue to influence modern pop culture. He is Founder of VPE, VPEtalent, the Verified Podcast Eschange and the Discovery to Downloads Mastermind.

With over 25 yrs experience, Vinnie and his teams have become well-trusted connectors who sell, develop, produce, launch, distribute and amplify talent brands such Mandy Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Simpson, Tyrese Gibson, Lauren Conrad, Diane von Furstenberg, , Danielle Fishel, Kristin Cavallari, Kelly Osbourne, TJ Lavin, journalists including SuChin Pak and the list goes on and on.

Formerly cofounder of MTV’s Talent Development & Original programming department, he has gone on to cast or produce original television series including reality TV shows like Punk’d, the Osbournes, The Challenge, Wild n Out, Real Housewives of New Jersey and many more. He’s worked with brands including Macy’s, Samsung, Nikon, MajorLeagueBaseball.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out another post I did on this subject: