That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

by | Sep 14, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Zack Zalon has shifted and grown along with a transforming music industry.  He began as (and still is) a musician, then blossomed at the Troubadour before launching into websites, marketing, Farm Club, Virgin, and through that Moment of Mojo into taking his background and the now-possible world of artificial intelligence into Super Hi-Fi.  We wrap up with advice to his younger self after this intriguing journey across music and digital transformation.

Guest: Zack Zalon, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Super Hi-Fi

Zack Zalon is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world’s largest music experience providers. Current partners include Peloton, iHeart, The Associated Press, Universal Music Group, Napster, and Target Spot.  Zack also is a musician, with a recent release in 2018 of “Into the Great Divide.”

Prior to Super Hi-Fi, Zalon served as co-founder and managing partner for We See Dragons, a “S.W.A.T.-style” digital agency that developed consumer platforms for brands including National Geographic, Johnson & Johnson, Ticketmaster, Comcast, Citibank, Experian, and Madison Square Garden.  Earlier, Zalon was Managing Partner at Wilshire Media Group; President of Virgin Digital, the global digital platform for the Virgin Group; President of The Factory Network;  and general manager of Doug Weston’s Troubadour.

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Everything Old is New Again . . . with Ted Cohen

Everything Old is New Again . . . with Ted Cohen

by | Aug 25, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

This week on the Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson podcast, we are joined by Ted Cohen, who shared tales of doing things for the right reasons and seeing decades ago the dimensions of our current music streaming playlists and challenges.  He talks about genuineness of artists vs. overproduction in livestreaming and concerts, pricing the risks of new markets, scarcity, negotiations, how business challenges repeat, and how some people don’t see or know the past launches in their very own businesses.  He shares his search and joy for things that are “effing amazing” as a whole with elegant execution.  And he shares the joy of paying it forward from those who got him started as mentors. 

Guest: Ted Cohen, Head of Development, Mediatech Ventures; Managing Partner, TAG Strategic

Known as “part connector/part evangelist/always a futurist,” Ted Cohen is Managing Partner of TAG Strategic, an LA-based digital entertainment consultancy. Additionally, Ted is Head of Corporate Development for Mediatech Ventures, the Austin-based VC/incubator/accelerator. Previously, as SVP-Digital for EMI Music, Cohen led global digital business development. Prior to EMI, Ted led Consulting Adults, clients included Universal Studios, Amazon, Microsoft, and Napster. Cohen also held senior positions at both Warner Bros Records & Philips Electronics. A 40+ year digital entertainment industry veteran, Cohen created & chaired MidemNet and served on the Grammy National Trustee Board. Ted continually looks for the next innovative technology & his next challenge, he really loves his life.

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Welcome to Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson

Welcome to Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson

by | Aug 1, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Welcome to the 2020 launch of the new podcast, Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson. Gigi engages with innovators and creators who are changing the way that we create and reimagine in music, art, live events, virtual events, video, film, education and social innovation. Guests share their work and personal stories of how they became passionate about innovation and transformation in various creative and social change sectors.
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​This podcast will inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, and/or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support.  We’ll expand your ideas of creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, and build communities.

Creating Fearlessly in Virtual Reality

Creating Fearlessly in Virtual Reality

by | Jul 10, 2017 | Synthesis: Cross-Sector Shifts

Please enjoy the “Innovating Music” podcast that our Executive Director produced in association with her role at the UCLA Center for Music Innovation at the Herb Alpert School of Music.This Episode: How do you create new and innovative systems for producing content in a new space? For Connor Illsley of Combo Bravo in Toronto, you innovate by “creating fearlessly.” Connor schemes how to create the most amazing creative scenario that is true to the artist — and THEN figures out how to make the new tech work to serve the artist. He shares the thought process behind Jazz Cartier’s 2016 music video Red Alert/100 Roses pair, as well as projects since. He shares with us how VR can open up opportunities with music as it lets us create more abstract approaches that just recreating reality.

Guest: Connor Illsley, Co-Founder, Executive Producer and Technical Director, Combo Bravo

Connor co-created one of the most innovative new music Virtual Reality experiences for Jazz Cartier in 2016. Along with his business partner at Combo Bravo, John Riera, he has stepped into VR projects for the UN, Nordstrom, and GE. His work brings him around the world — from Uganda to the Bahamas to a GE wind farm — to bring innovative approaches to VR as a new art form to the 360 screen. Combo Bravo is a full service production house, working on immersive media and now volumetric scanning in capturing the real world in VR and AR.Great links: