This episode is sponsored by Trackstack: the operating system built for music professionals who invest in each other. Trackstack Pro gives you access to a network of labels, curators, and artists where every connection you make is yours to keep. No algorithms, no platform holding your contacts hostage. Just real professional relationships that can turn into collaborations, bookings, and opportunities that can change the trajectory of your career.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app---------------------------------------------How do festival lineups actually get built — and what really gets an artist booked, signed, and streamed? Host Olivia Mancuso sits down with Will Runzel, founder of artist management company Prodigy, who came up as a talent buyer and promoter before managing some of dance music's biggest acts.Will breaks down how talent buyers really assemble festival lineups, how he booked now-headlining DJs like Zedd and DJ Snake for almost nothing early on, and how to spot a padded offer. They get into artist branding and vision, audience psychographics, owning a niche instead of chasing everyone, the unglamorous work ethic behind every breakout, and why every release is now an audiovisual project.---------------------------------------------Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growthInstagram: oliviamancuso__Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

This episode is sponsored by Trackstack: the operating system built for music professionals who invest in each other. Trackstack Pro gives you access to a network of labels, curators, and artists where every connection you make is yours to keep. No algorithms, no platform holding your contacts hostage. Just real professional relationships that can turn into collaborations, bookings, and opportunities that can change the trajectory of your career.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app---------------------------------------------Lee Burridge bet everything on a sound almost nobody was making — and built a movement the rest of dance music is still chasing. Host Olivia Mancuso sits down with the All Day I Dream founder on conviction, commitment, and what it costs to build your own lane.Lee traces the long, unlikely road to building All Day I Dream and why he let it grow slowly, on word of mouth, instead of chasing hype. He's candid on the realities of running a label on taste alone: the patience, the conviction to back a sound early, and how things you can't control — like how platforms categorize your music — can impact an artist's career. For any DJ or producer, it's a masterclass in belief, patience, and protecting your sound when everything is changing around you.---------------------------------------------👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth:👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

Mark Knight went from freezing on a construction roof to running Beatport's number one selling label. Host Olivia Mancuso sits down with the Toolroom founder. He explains why making a record is like managing a construction project, and why he never took a single day off building the company.Inside Toolroom: 24 staff, 45 plus releases a year, fully self-funded with no investors, surviving on integrity, A&R, and artist development. They also dig into burnout, protecting your mornings, and the future of house music in the US versus the UK.For any DJ, producer, or independent builder, it's a masterclass in work ethic and longevity.Chicago Music Nexus is back for 2026, and this year, we are doing it across two full days. November 20 is Field Day at Concord Music Hall, where you will get hands-on time with the tools, people, and sessions that actually move careers. November 21 is Conference Day at The Joinery, panels and workshops with the agents, A&Rs, and artists actively shaping the industry.Presale opens June 25th. Sign up for texts to get access one day early.Two-day passes are extremely limited. Do not sleep on this.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth.👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

At 38, Bontan still looks 23. He quit school at 17 to DJ pubs five nights a week, took a 6-month pay cut to chase the Bontan project from his parents' house, and just launched his own label North Drum at Fabrik London. He's signed to Hot Creations, releases on No Art, and his latest track just went viral overnight after a major pop star used it on a reel.In this episode, Olivia sits down with Bontan to talk about what it actually takes to build a sustainable career in dance music, from surviving 6 months without income to defending a tour schedule that runs on 3 hours of sleep.Chicago Music Nexus is back for 2026, and this year, we are doing it across two full days. November 20 is Field Day at Concord Music Hall, where you will get hands-on time with the tools, people, and sessions that actually move careers. November 21 is Conference Day at The Joinery, panels and workshops with the agents, A&Rs, and artists actively shaping the industry.Presale opens June 25th. Sign up for texts to get access one day early: https://laylo.com/oliviamancuso/wxgwS3Two-day passes are extremely limited. Do not sleep on this.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

From a perfect SAT math score to a residency at Hï Ibiza, Francis Mercier built his career on networking, not luck. Olivia Mancuso sits down with Francis Mercier, the Haitian DJ, producer, and Deep Root Records founder.He breaks down spinning $300 frat parties at Brown and throwing his own New York parties when no club would book him yet. Francis also shares the seven-year grind to earn a major artist's recognition, and why connecting with people beats raw studio talent.For any DJ or producer, it is a real blueprint on networking, resilience, and timing your move to a music city.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

What does it really take to get signed to a respected electronic label? Hint: it has nothing to do with your follower count. Olivia Mancuso sits down with DJ Tennis, founder of Life and Death, who didn't earn his first real DJ recognition until he was 40.He traces his path from Italy's punk and DIY scene into Italo disco, house, and techno, and explains why wedding DJ work is underrated training. He also shares the rejected record that went Beatport number one for a year, and what he actually signs artists for: character, hard work, and vision.For any producer chasing a sustainable career, it's proof the slow burn wins.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth.👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

Most of what you call career work isn't actually moving your career forward. In this one, I'm breaking down the four habits quietly stalling most DJ careers right now.I get personal about why I'm giving up my studio over a $1,100 rent hike, and why "knowing your worth" can be a costume for ego. I cover Instagram hack culture, the prerequisites you invent for yourself, and the feedback habit that quietly kills creative vision.These habits feel responsible. They feel like progress. But in actuality, they're ceilings that inhibit growth.--------------------------------------------------------👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

What happens when one hate comment almost ends a 30-year career? Olivia Mancuso sits down with Laidback Luke, the Dutch DJ behind Mixmash Records and mentor to a generation of EDM giants. He opens up about losing the underground scene after his first hit, and the silent year that followed his MTV breakthrough. But he's still here. Still hungry. Still winning.This conversation goes deep on what it actually takes to survive — and thrive — in dance music for three decades. Luke opens up about building MixMash Records from a website guestbook, mentoring a generation of artists that changed the game, and why his Kung Fu practice gave him the mental framework to handle the chaos of touring life.---------------------------------------------👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

Going viral takes the same time as making the song. That's the mindset shift Tres Mortimer credits for breaking out of the Chicago local DJ scene. Olivia Mancuso sits down with Tres Mortimer, the producer behind Optics Records and the new party brand Slavic House Society.They unpack the local to touring jump, why content has to be funded like studio time, and how hate comments means your content is working. They cover why remixes are losing grip, and his fresh Planet X signing with Ben Sterling. For any producer trying to grow past their home city, this one is a roadmap.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth:👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx

AJ Christou went from hanging out at Sankys with a fake ID to becoming a resident at the same club, signing with The Martinez Brothers, and playing his first official Miami Music Week set at Wynwood Studios. In this episode, Olivia Mancuso sits down with AJ to break down how a Manchester teenager who hated electronic music the first time he heard it built a career in the global house and tech house circuit.AJ shares the random chain of events that started his DJ journey: buying CDJs that sat untouched for 6 months, learning to mix for his sister's 30th birthday, and getting his first Sankys slot off a SoundCloud mix. He gets honest about why the "gatekeeping" complaint is mostly entitlement, why he moved to New York to study at Dubspot, and the real difference between Miami Music Week and ADE for emerging producers.For any new producer trying to figure out where to invest first (music, networking, education, or production lessons), AJ lays out the exact order that worked for him and explains why showing up to the shows of DJs who play your music changes everything.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx