Welcome to the season 3 finale of You Had to Be There! This week, I’m joined by Warner Bailey, who helped build one of the most honest, funny, and unexpectedly powerful platforms in entertainment.

Warner is the co-founder of Assistant Vs. Agents, the meme account turned media brand that spotlights the real experiences of assistants across the industry. We talk about the philosophy of “working your way up,” what actually makes a great assistant, and how humor can serve as both a coping mechanism and a catalyst for change.

Be sure to check out all of the incredible work AvA has been up to by following them at the links in the episode show notes, along with Warner’s curated playlist for this episode. Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll catch you next time for the start of season 4 of You Had to Be There.

Assistants vs. Agents Website

Warner's Playlist

You Had to Be There IG

(Outro music: Sunday - Sea Lemon)

Welcome back to You Had to Be There! This week, I’m excited to welcome Alec Ellin, Co-Founder and CEO of Laylo.

Laylo is a CRM, or Customer Relationship Management drop platform, used by leading artists, promoters, and event teams, including Ariana Grande, John Summit, Sombr, and many more. Since 2021, Laylo has driven over $1 billion in sales across tickets, merch, and content, and launched ticketing partnerships, with more than 200,000 drops last year alone.

We talked about how Laylo got its start, where the company stands today, and the path ahead as it helps artists and live events grow their audiences and build momentum around every drop.

You can find Laylo in the episode show notes, along with a playlist Alec curated for this episode. And next time your favorite artist texts you about their tour, it might just be coming from Laylo. Thanks so much for listening; I’ll catch you next time.

Laylo

Laylo on Linkedin

Alec’s Playlist

Episode outro: Nervous Tics by Maribou State

Welcome to You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. I’m so excited to introduce my guest this week, Erin Singleton, the founder of Softside.

Softside connects music artists & creative communities via officially licensed, fan-designed merchandise partnerships. Erin has created a legit digital home for fan-designed merch, with simplified licensing, artist approvals, and structured revenue sharing that actually supports the creative communities behind it. We also get into their recent merch drop with Geese, designed by fans, who you might recognize from their major breakout year and their performance as last week’s SNL musical guest...!

You can check out Softside in the episode show notes, along with Erin’s playlist she curated alongside this episode. Thanks so much for listening, and be sure to stay tuned for new episodes and announcements coming soon.

Softside Merch Website

Softside Merch IG

Erin’s Playlist