How He Built Diplo

How He Built Diplo

Kevin Kusatsu managed Diplo for twenty years without a contract. This is the playbook.Kusatsu co-founded TMWRK and took Diplo from a support act in 2006 to the most streamed song in Spotify history. In this episode he opens the books. We cover: - Why he never signed a management contract with any client, ever - The Tony Hawk thesis: hold a space no one is occupying - Why Diplo never signed himself to a label, and how the singles strategy became the industry template - The cashier's cheque that bought Major Lazer's rights back from Downtown Records- The Because Music handshake and what it paid a decade later - Hiring mtheory, the marketing engine behind Lean On - Pricing every deal for year five instead of this quarter Read the companion article, How he built Diplo:https://www.theblackhoody.com/p/how-he-built-diplo Subscribe to The Black Hoody for the frameworks behind the music and comedy business: https://www.theblackhoody.com Guest: Kevin Kusatsu Host: Luke Girgis #Diplo #MusicBusiness #ArtistManagement #MajorLazer #TheBlackHoody

Inside the Business of Comedy in 2026 with Emilio Savone

Luke Girgis interviews Emilio Savone, owner of New York Comedy Club, on The Black Hoody Podcast to break down what's really happening inside the business of comedy in 2026.Luke Girgis is the publisher of The Black Hoody, a publication for music and comedy industry executives, managers and agents and the host of The Black Hoody Podcast. Emilio Savone is the owner of New York Comedy Club (five locations), Forza Management, Pinch Records, and StandUpTix.Subscribe to The Black Hoody on Substack: https://www.theblackhoody.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2c0N05IbTYzZFd5R1lVV1dUY0sxdUIzMlU5QXxBQ3Jtc0tsMWltelozLVdOSTlCUllRRVJCQWlhaVdINHJ2eEh1XzR2aVdPNGlMNzNwdUo0R2VpLVJjT1B3TnQ2NzBISXFBQURUMUw5XzI4M3RBMEZ6SzhTQUlQQ0EwdGN2T1hCeW00YWp6MTV3VWpocWhmc21HMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblackhoody.com%2F&v=Eq8rhYVpBv4]

Comedy Cellar Booker - Estee Adoram

Estee Adoram has been the booker of the Comedy Cellar for more than 40 years. Luke Girgis and Estee Adoram discuss how the Cellar grew from one show a night in a basement nobody wanted to visit into the most iconic comedy club in the world. They cover the recommendation system that controls who gets an audition, why Estee has never formally "passed" a comic, the distinction between real comics and career comics, and the new venue being built across from the Blue Note that could become the best comedy room on the planet.Luke Girgis is the founder and host of theblackhoody.com, a Substack publication and podcast for senior executives in the music and comedy industries. Luke Girgis also runs Be Like Children, an artist management company, and has spent 20 years working as an artist manager. Subscribe to The Black Hoody on Substack: www.theblackhoody.com

Assistants Vs Agents - What is happening in Hollywood?

Warner Bailey built a 100,000 person community by making fun of the most powerful people in Hollywood while sitting at a desk ten metres away from them. In this episode of The Black Hoody podcast, host Luke Girgis sits down with the founder of Assistants vs Agents to talk about the broken economics of entry level entertainment jobs, how a meme page became a media company now repped by UTA, and whether AI is about to wipe out the very audience Warner built his business for.Luke Girgis and Warner Bailey go deep on the real numbers behind assistant pay in Hollywood, the business model paradox of building a company for people who can't afford to pay you and what UTA representation actually unlocks.Luke Girgis is the founder and host of https://theblackhoody.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTV0OXo3eVZQb043UXNpRmIwd3BheGlJbWRjUXxBQ3Jtc0ttUWNveVRweW1Cck9rN3JGbDU5RW9DZTFPRVlqWkVjVk95VTJiQ2ROX0R3QzBqX0dXblIwbnpwXzBzLTcybGJmWENvcVltSi1pN0xNOEVWNUNUYk0tREtXTXVxamVrZzVWdFppcnJ4WFg5enpCX3FEcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Ftheblackhoody.com%2F&v=k0mwXyrShLM], a Substack publication and podcast for senior executives in the music and comedy industries. Luke Girgis also runs Be Like Children, an artist management company, and has spent 20 years working as an artist manager.Warner Bailey is the founder of Assistants vs Agents (AvA), a meme page turned media company that has partnered with Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple TV+ and more. Warner was previously a talent agent assistant at WME and worked in touring at Live Nation.

Comedy Cellar Owner Reveals All!

Noam Dworman owns the Comedy Cellar, the iconic New York comedy club that turns away 20,000 fans per week. Today, the greatest comedians in the world like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Louis CK, and Bill Burr pop in at the cellar regularly to test new material and refine their craft before taking it to the world. In this episode, Noam pulls back the curtain on his comedy empire and reveals: * How he built the Comedy Cellar into a legendary institution- His history as owner of the iconic New York music venue Cafe Wha? * The rigorous standards comics must meet to perform at the Cellar * The unique culture that makes the Cellar an irreplaceable launching pad for comedy This is episode three of The Black Hoody Podcast with Luke Girgis, interviews with entertainment executives, agents, artists and managers building remarkable businesses. If you have guest suggestions for future guests, email me: contact@theblackhoody.com