Sophie Moser 0:02
Hey, I'm Sophie.
Sophia Barber 0:03
And I'm Sophia.
Sophie Moser 0:05
And this is the That's Showbiz, Baby! podcast.
Hello, everybody. Welcome back to episode two of season two, which is exciting. We wanted to kick off the episode today with our fun segment this day in music history. So Sophia, I mean, January 19th was kind of a crazy day throughout history, we realized so would you kick us off with your fun facts?
Sophia Barber 0:35
A lot of wild stuff going on January 19th. But yeah, I will. So first we want to wish a happy birthday to Janis Joplin and Dolly Parton. They were both born on January 19th. Janis Joplin was born in 1943 and Dolly Parton a few years later in 1946. So Happy Birthday to those music icons. Now I'm going to fast forward to 1988 when the manager of Bon Jovi and Motley Crue do- Doc McGhee pleaded guilty to importing more than 40,000 pounds of marijuana into the US from Colombia via a shrimp boat. He received a five year suspended prison sentence, a fine of $15,000, and was ordered to set up an anti-drugs foundation. So what a- What a great time. 40,000 pounds. That's a lot.
Sophie Moser 1:30
Yeah, also a shrimp boat. That's kind of fun.
Sophia Barber 1:33
Yeah.
Sophie Moser 1:36
Well, we can go on a little further to January 19th, 1993, which is when Fleetwood Mac reformed to perform at Bill Clinton's inauguration. So that's pretty fun. I actually read about this in Stevie Nicks' biography, called "Gold Dust Woman," sounded like a very interesting time, I would recommend for an entertaining read. And on January 19th in 2017, throwing it way forward. Yet another, another story of crime. The former business manager of Alanis Morissette admitted to stealing over $7 million from the singer and other celebrities. So this manager, Jonathan Schwartz, was charged with fraud. However, he initially denied stealing the money and his alibi was that he had invested it in an illegal drug business. So that's interesting, and I'm not sure that was a great cover story.
Sophia Barber 2:36
Yeah, that seems questionable.
Sophie Moser 2:39
So anyways,
Sophia Barber 2:42
Yeah, January 19th. This is just like the surface level too. There's a lot of wild stuff that went on. But now we are going to welcome our good friend, Sam Gibbs, that's going to talk to us about her time at USC, her zine that she created and her experience in the music industry, so stay tuned for Sam Gibbs.
Sophie Moser 3:09
Sam Gibbs is a current senior at the University of Southern California. She is studying communications with a minor in music industry. On campus, she is the executive director of concerts committee and a DJ at KXSC. She also helped to create GEN-ZiNE, a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of Generation Z. In the industry, Sam has had internships at a variety of companies, including Live Nation, CA, and most recently, she is currently interning at Dim Mak. As she is graduating very soon, Sam hopes to be an agent and also hopes to start her own music festival. So Sam, welcome. We're so glad to have you with us.
Sam Gibbs 3:48
Thank you guys for having me. I'm really excited to be on the podcast.
Sophie Moser 3:52
Alright, so we like to start off with like a fun question for all of our guests. So, sorry to put you on the spot. But do you have any music you've been listening to and really loving recently?
Sam Gibbs 4:03
I mean, I feel like I have to say the obligatory answer and say "drivers license" by Olivia Rodrigo. But also, let me think about it. I've been listening to a lot of ROLE MODEL recently. Emma Chamberlain's boyfriend, shout out. I'm like, obsessed with her. So that's his title to me. Um, also like a lot of Joji. He put out an album a few months ago that I haven't listened to until just now. And as always, I listen to Travis Scott like every day, but that's not new.
Sophia Barber 4:40
Very nice. Thank you for sharing.
Sam Gibbs 4:42
Yeah.
Sophia Barber 4:43
So we kind of wanted to start off with how you ended up at USC and how you chose your major and minor.
Sam Gibbs 4:50
Yeah, so I like to say that I knew I wanted to go to USC since I was out of the womb. My dad went to USC. He graduated in 1990 and from the moment that I can first remember, he told me and my brother about his experiences at USC and how much it meant to him and how much like basically changed his life. And I went to so many football games and events as a kid. And so I knew when I got into high school, that USC is where I wanted to be. But it wasn't till I like officially toured as a sophomore that I could like, really see myself being there. And I remember walking into Annenberg like the building itself, the new Annenberg building, not that old crusty one, and I was like whatever this is, I want to do it. At the time, I was really interested in being a journalist and doing that. So Annenberg was like the perfect fit. So I decided to do comm as opposed to journalism, because I felt like it was like a wider range and like more variety in the major. And then as soon as I got to USC, I joined concerts committee, and then I declared my minor in music industry, because I realized, I no longer really wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to do stuff in music instead. And so I was like, what better way to do that than just start studying music industry at Thornton and the rest is kind of history.
Sophia Barber 6:16
Nice. Do you ever, because you want to go into music- Do you ever regret not being a music industry major? Or are you happy with how it ended up?
Sam Gibbs 6:25
You know, a lot of people ask me that. And I don't regret being a comm major because it really, you know, I do really enjoy the classes I've taken in Annenberg. And it's taught me a lot about sociology, theory. Like everything I learned about racial theory, social theory, like gender theory, any sort of like woke politics, whatever, like it's all from Annenberg, and the discourse that you have in the classes there is so rewarding for me. And I love to talk like I never shut up. So being in a school, like a major, where you're encouraged to have interesting discussions in almost all of your classes about things that are really important and like modern, and not just like, you know, stupid history or whatever, it was really beneficial. And it taught me a lot about what I was interested in, besides music. And that's kind of- it also gave me GEN-ZiNE. And I wouldn't have met my two co founders, Eden and Anushka if I wasn't in Annenberg. And GEN-ZiNE has really launched, like so many things for us, and for a lot of other people and for me, so I, I'm glad that I had a different major, because it taught me so many things. But I'm also glad that I got to have that minor in Thornton because that was super, super helpful for what I want to do in my life and my career. So I'm glad I got to do both.
Sophia Barber 7:49
Nice.
Sophie Moser 7:49
Yeah, that's awesome. So you are our director on Concerts Committee, which is so fun. So how did you discover your love for throwing shows? I know you said you got started right away. So like, how did you find concerts? And how did you get involved?
Sam Gibbs 8:05
I was like that kid that like, would research everything before even like starting at school.
Sophia Barber 8:11
Yeah, same.
Sam Gibbs 8:11
So like I knew all the names of the clubs, like, I knew, like all the names of the sororities like I knew like everything about USC that I could possibly know. And so one of the things that I was looking for as an incoming freshmen was like a way to like throw events. In high school, I was on student government. And I was on the part of student government that threw like the school dance, and pep rally and spirit week, and I loved organizing those events. It runs my DNA, because my mom is also an event planner. So I knew I wanted to do something with that. But I was like, you know, I want it to be related to music, because that's what I love. And so I literally hunted down the concerts committee booth at the Involvement Fair. And I was like, I've been looking for you guys, and they were like you were looking for us? And then, you know, I went to the first few meetings. This was in the spring of my freshman year because I was a spring admit. So this was like January. But it wasn't until I came day-of for Springfest that year. And I was helping out with risk, with you know, running for hospitality, which you guys know really well. That I was like, this is what I want to do. Like, the, the organized chaos of it, the creativity, how close everyone got, it was just something that I couldn't see anywhere else. And also, it was amazing to me that a group of like, under 21 year olds could throw such a professional and well attended concert with insanely amazing artists that I was like, Okay, this is something that I want to do and I immediately was like, the people here are my people like these are the people that I'm going to be coming up with. And this is what I want to do. So it was really like an immediate kind of understanding. Once I kind of got into the club. But I wouldn't have known it otherwise, I don't think, I think, I really think like anyone that is on Concerts Committee can agree that the club itself, even though sad, not this year, is really like a really great way to figure out if live is what you want to do. And there aren't really any other clubs like that at USC, like there are other music clubs, music orgs, music lover places like you know, but there's really only like one concert group. And that's us. And so I think it was kind of meant to be for me when I discovered them. And yeah, I mean, it just kind of like all fell into place. After me joining. I was like, I'm declaring a music industry monitor like music is my career like, and that was it. So kind of sealed the deal for me.
Sophia Barber 10:49
Yeah, no, I totally agree. Like the first day you like, actually do a concert committee show. And you're backstage for like, 15 to 18 hours or something crazy. And it's really hard. But the people that are just at the end, like, wow, that was so fun, are definitely like you can for sure tell if you're meant to be in live from those experiences.
Sam Gibbs 11:08
For sure.
Sophie Moser 11:09
What would you say is one of the biggest things you've learned from being on the executive board for concerts?
Sam Gibbs 11:17
We need a lot of money. Yeah, I'm kidding. Um, I think one of the things I've learned is that even though, you know, you might be a student, you might be young, that if you, you know, prepare yourself and you are professional, and you're confident, people will take you seriously, regardless of their position, their age, their experience in the industry. And if you really, you know, understand their attitude, understand where they're coming from, and are able to answer their questions fully and professionally, they will be impressed with you, and they'll want to work with you. And I think before being on the executive team, I wasn't really sure the relationship with the agencies or any of the labels, anything like that. And it definitely depends on the people that you work with, for sure, but it also depends a lot on you and your personality, and your behavior. And if you don't know, you know how to talk to an adult in the industry, that's okay. But obviously, like, it really throws you in there, it gets you talking to them directly, answering the phone for them, answering any of their questions. And if you're not ready for it, they'll definitely know. So I think one of the things that I've re- like really ingrained in my mind is like, you need to know the answer to literally every single possible question you could ever think of when it comes to your event. And if you don't know the answer, then no one else does. So you need to be 100% prepared at all times when you are talking even to your peers to the rest of our executive board or to a professor at USC, anyone, the Daily Trojan, like any sort of party, if you don't know the answer to a question, they're going to assume that you don't know what you're doing and that your event is not going to end up successful. And they honestly might be right. I think being over prepared is really important. And something that everyone should strive for. Obviously, you can't prepare for everything. We couldn't prepare for COVID as much as we maybe-
Sophia Barber 13:11
Yeah.
Sam Gibbs 13:11
tried, or wanted to. But as long as you know what you're talking about, and you over prepare, overanalyze, go over everything, you'll be totally set. And I think, before I thought there was like some sort of magical charisma, like something you needed to get these people on your side, but the truth is, is that they know when someone is talented, or prepared or professional. And as soon as they see that, and they understand that attitude, you've unlocked their trust. So it really just goes so far in being a friendly, positive, prepared person. And they'll kind of, it'll, it'll let you succeed beyond anything other- anything else really that you could do.
Sophia Barber 13:53
Thank you for your wisdom, Sam. Very good advice. Can you tell us a little bit more about your experiences at Live Nation and CAA?
Sam Gibbs 14:03
Yeah, sure. So I worked at Live Nation in the summer of 2019, which was like, almost two summers ago now, which is crazy. Um, it was kind of a crazy summer I was in the, this is like my title. It was like the longest title. So bear with me. My title was digital product innovation college associate. So they don't call you interns at Live Nation. They started this like College Associate Program so that we could like, be taken more seriously, whatever. Um, I worked in the data department, which was really, really not what I was, like, aiming for, but they put me in that department. And I learned a lot a lot about how valuable our data is to companies and how they use our data, how they get it, how they gather it, what it means, and also how it relates to like the concert and music business. And how Ticketmaster and Live Nation like have all of these, like, resources to gather data on people and like sell them concerts that they would like to go to. But I would say like, you know, being there, a lot of people, I think, even like professors at USC, like Leff talk about how Live Nation is evil and Ticketmaster is evil, and they're evil, evil, evil, right. And so I was honestly so thrilled to work there, because I wanted to prove everybody wrong. And the truth is, is that while I don't agree with all of their business practices, the people there were so incredibly nice to all of us, and so incredibly smart, that I learned so much from everybody, even my other college associates. And you know, it was great, you know, I got to go to some concerts for free, that's always fun. But being in an office like that, where they own the whole building, and it's very, very, like, you know, the floors are the different departments and they were like, you should go around all the floors, introduce yourself, get to know the departments, it was very free flowing, open workspace. And you could feel kind of like the creativity and the collaboration throughout that. And I think a lot of people think that Live Nation is super corporate and like, super, like, whatever. But the New York office was so so awesome. And people were super, super friendly and creative, like great people. That was like an amazing, one of the best summers I've had. And then CAA I worked at this past summer. So it was entirely virtual. And it was for a month, obviously wasn't what I was anticipating going into the summer when I got the job. When I got the internship in February, I was supposed to be going into the office. But the month that I spent with them really solidified my desire and my, you know, choice to- wanting to be an agent. CAA is very different than Live Nation. I mean, they're obviously different sides of the business. But I was really expecting to be scared of the people, be intimidated, because a lot of people have talked about, agents are really cold. They're really cutthroat like, it's a very like fast paced business. It is very fast paced, for sure. But every- again, every person I met, every music agent, touring agent, even Rob Light who is Beyonce's agent, head of music at CAA is so incredibly helpful and friendly and inspiring. And you know, you could tell that they really wanted us to be there, and they wanted us to learn, and they were so excited to meet us. And I would say working in an agency virtually obviously, I didn't get that like typical mailroom experience. I wasn't, you know, doing that and doing the other things. But I still really got to learn a lot about what it means to be an agent and the process that it takes to become one, which is a very lengthy process that no one ever talks about.
But it was one of my favorite experiences I've ever had, and it was completely online. And I definitely drank the CAA kool aid that is for sure. They definitely, like they were. I mean, it was impossible to not like to not not want to work there after the end of it. But I would say for anyone that wants to work at an agency, first of all work at CAA, but second of all, you should go into it expecting it to be a very interesting experience. One, because you're going to be doing mailroom stuff, probably, but also too you're going to be around probably famous, very famous high profile clients. So it really would prepare you for like, when you're maybe an assistant or an entry level position to be around those types of people. I think one of the things I feel least prepared for, I don't know about you guys, but just being in school is like, you know, obviously, this is something that you can't really prepare for, but talking to high profile celebrities and talent and dealing with them directly is something that agents do every single day. And also managers, anyone really. So getting to hear from them, how they navigated it starting, like someone like Rob Light, how he got to be Bruce Springsteen's agent, that kind of story and he himself is a fan. So kind of hearing those specific personal stories kind of allows you to be like, Okay, so no- it's not just me that's gonna freak out if she sees Katy Perry in the office, you know. So it was really helpful in that way. And yeah, it was just like a great, I'm so thankful for all- I'm so sorry, my dog is barking.
Sophia Barber 19:16
It's okay.
Sam Gibbs 19:16
I'm so thankful for all the internship experiences I've had. And I guess the only thing I would say for anyone that's thinking about interning at these companies, or interning at any large company is to make sure that you're not just kind of like sitting there waiting for things to happen for yourself. The best thing I ever did was reach out to like everyone in every single department and just be like, Can I meet with you for 20 minutes? Can I talk to you about what you do? Can I have coffee with you and just like, shoot the shit, whatever. And everyone is so willing to do that. And it's the only way it's the only time and place that you're really able to get these people in front of you talking to you personally. And so talk to as many people as possible. Ask everyone, anyone if they need help if they need something, whatever. Make yourself accessible and available for everything. And they will see that and see that you really want to be there and that you are extremely, extremely willing to help. And that'll go so far.
Sophie Moser 20:11
Yeah, that's awesome advice. Thank you so much.
Sam Gibbs 20:14
Yeah.
Sophie Moser 20:15
I guess kind of just right off of that you're currently at Dim Mak. So how is that like, what has that experience been like?
Sam Gibbs 20:22
I started this week. So-
Sophia Barber 20:24
Oh nice.
Sophie Moser 20:25
Exciting.
Sam Gibbs 20:25
Yeah. It's been really, really interesting, because so Dim Mak, if the people listening don't know is the record label that Steve Aoki started in high school. So it's very, very, like, ingrained with his culture, his personality. But the most interesting thing is that it's not a traditional label in the sense that they have a roster of artists that they manage and handle, they only do releases. So it's a release based label. So it's totally different than what, you know, I was expecting, but it's a really, really great learning experience. I mean, I've only worked there for three days, so far, so I haven't done too much. But the things I've done have been really, really interesting to see how a label that doesn't have a roster kind of handles different artists, different teams and how that works. And they honestly have a really great, you know, workflow, and obviously, it's totally remote. But I can tell, you know, just from being in the slack, that they're a great group of people, the culture seems great and fun. And yeah, I really like it so far. It's kind of out of my comfort zone, because I'm not like an EDM head at all. But it's definitely going to open me up to that more than I have been exposed. And I'm excited to spend the semester with them and see how much I can learn. Yeah, I'm hoping I get Steve Aoki on a Zoom call one day, we'll see if that ends up happening, not so sure.
Sophia Barber 21:42
You can. You can do it, Sam.
Sam Gibbs 21:44
Okay. Thank you for the words of encouragement.
Sophia Barber 21:49
Of course. So, do you have any, like crazy internship stories that you can tell, that come to mind?
Sam Gibbs 21:57
I don't know if I do. I'm trying to think, I guess the funny one that isn't from the ones that I talked about. Last spring pre-COVID, I worked at a really small marketing agency called The Spellbound Group. They do a lot of like marketing for legacy clients, like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and like a lot of dead people. So that was really interesting. Because one, like doing marketing for dead people, when they're dead is like, so bizarre, but also makes so much sense. So that was an interesting series in itself. But I think the funny story that I have is that they asked me and the other intern if we would model their merch for them. So I- like a couple of times, we would go out and like walk down, we were in West Hollywood, like walk down the residential street, and do these like, iPhone photo shoots, in the merch, and I would literally like, I'm like, okay, like, what- I don't know how to model like, I'm, I don't, I'm a music industry kid. Like, I don't know what this means. So, you know, the other intern took my photos and we uploaded them, and I started noticing that they would post the pictures of me on the like, actual band Instagram. So The Doors Instagram posted a picture of me in their merch. And my friends were all tagging me in it. And I would read through the comments and some of the comments and be like, Wow, she's beautiful. Like, she's so pretty. And then some of the comments would be ike, those jeans are awful. She looks way too young to listen to the doors. And I was like these people don't even know me. I'm just an intern. It was so funny. And they still post some of the pictures to this day on the variety of the Instagrams, and sometimes I like to peep the comments to see what people are saying about me. So I guess that would be my funny intern story. I had to model merch for those people. Yeah, it was quite an interesting time reading the comments about myself but would recommend you're ever curious what people would say about you as a model.
Sophie Moser 23:59
That's so funny. Wow. Living the influencer life.
Sam Gibbs 24:02
I know.
Sophie Moser 24:08
Um, something, something else really cool that you have done. You created GEN-ZiNE. So can you explain, like what GEN-ZiNE is and how it came to be?
Sam Gibbs 24:19
Yeah. So GEN-ZiNE is a media platform for anyone that is in Generation Z to talk about issues, topics, articles, anything that comes to their mind that they feel is important to our generation to talk about. We really want to like break open those echo chambers and talk about the issues that are super taboo that people don't normally talk about with each other that you want to kind of just break it open and be like, let's talk about this. Let's dissect it. And so when I was a freshman, I took an upper division communication class called designing media for social change. And that semester, we were working in conjunction with Vice. And they were doing a documentary series about women across the country with Gloria Steinem. So the whole class was like watching this documentary and talking about women's issues and like feminism, and how media can help amplify and create social change. And so our final project is something and have it be in the theme of disciplining the body, like gendered violence, because that was what the documentary centered about. So myself and two other classmates who are also freshmen, we were the only freshman in the class. Also, Eden and Anushka, we created a zine, which is like kind of a magazine but a little bit more grunge, a little bit more DIY. And we did it all ourselves, we wrote all the articles about disciplining the body, gendered violence. So some of the articles were about dress codes, some of them were about period poverty, a lot of different things. And we published it. And we printed out copies. And we obviously presented it in class. And we decided, after we did that, we liked it so much that we wanted to keep doing it out of the class. And so we did another issue that summer. And the theme was multiculturalism. And then after that, we just kept going and kept growing and expanding. And we published, I have to count 12345 6, issues to date. And now we have an Instagram, a website, a blog, a podcast, potentially a documentary, coming soon. So we've done all these things and we've expanded to be like a contributor program, so anyone can write for us, and we have an art team. And it's just like crazy, how much we've grown. But the main message still is there about amplifying voices of Gen Z and talking about issues that are important to us that, you know, mainstream media doesn't cover because what- for whatever reason, they're not important enough, or they're not relevant enough. And so one of the, one of the most important things that I've learned, and that I think people really value about GEN-ZiNE is that anyone can write about anything, and it'll relate to someone, you know, we had someone write an article about having an STD. And I think a lot of people, especially our age, are terrified of that. But also, don't worry about it at the same time. You know, it's not like a thought many people have, especially when we have a terrible sex education curriculum in our country. And we wrote that, and the, the response that we got on our Instagram was so overwhelmingly positive and supportive and saying, I've never thought about this, or being like, this, this happened to me, you know, and just getting people to think about these things, talk about them with each other, and to make them less of a secret, taboo sort of thing. And that's what GEN-ZiNE is really all about. And we're still going we're planning our final college issue right now. Tears, tears. After college, you know, we're probably going to continue, but who knows where we'll go after that. And it's just been a wild ride. The three of us and our team know, it's so much bigger than when we started. Yeah, it's just been wild the whole time with GEN-ZiNE.
Sophia Barber 28:05
That's awesome. everyone listening, go follow GEN-ZiNE on Instagram, and read all of their stuff.
Sam Gibbs 28:11
Shameless plug.
Sophia Barber 28:13
Yes. Um, so we have one last question. And you might not have an answer to it, because things are really up in the air. But do you have any post grad plans?
Sam Gibbs 28:23
The answer is no.
Sophia Barber 28:26
Okay, that's what a lot of people have been saying. So no worries.
Sam Gibbs 28:29
It's not like I want the answer to be no, it's just simply too early for music and entertainment careers-
Sophia Barber 28:34
Literally.
Sam Gibbs 28:35
recruiting right now. And also like, Hey, we're in COVID still, and like no one's hiring. I'm hoping, you know, my lease at USC doesn't end until July. So that's my date. That's my timeline. I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna give myself this summer. Because normally, I would be like, Oh, I need a job in May. I don't think-
Sophia Barber 28:52
Yeah.
Sam Gibbs 28:53
you know, and I don't think anyone would argue otherwise. But my plans are to get a job. I just don't know where, how or when. So that's the plan. Just not sure how to execute it right now. I would love to work for CAA. I have no idea if they're hiring. That would be great if they started hiring right before graduation. We'll see though I could literally end up anywhere. I'm really open to anything, but I do want to stay in LA. So I won't be leaving anytime soon. But I won't know where I will be working for quite some time. So no, I don't have any plans as of now.
Sophia Barber 29:27
No worries.
Sam Gibbs 29:27
But I hope to find them soon.
Sophia Barber 29:29
Very nice.
Sophie Moser 29:33
Well, thank you so much for coming to interview. It was so fun to talk to you. And can you tell the listeners where they can find you, like drop any socials you want, whatever.
Sam Gibbs 29:45
Thank you guys so much for having me. If you guys didn't know Sophie and Sophia are my hospitality directors at concerts and they are queens.
Sophia Barber 29:53
Oh thank you.
Sam Gibbs 29:55
Um, you guys can find me. I'm just gonna plug. I mean my personal Instagram is Sam.Gibbs but if you guys want to follow @uscconcerts and @thegenzine to support our endeavors and my endeavors, that would be great. And you can find all of my stuff there. Thank you guys so much.
Sophia Barber 30:15
Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai