Dan Steinberg previews Promoter 101 podcast reboot

Emporium Presents co-founder Dan “Steiny” Steinberg has previewed the return of Promoter 101, telling IQ nothing is off-limits for the popular live music industry podcast.

ILMC regular Steinberg will be joined by his co-host, artist manager Luke Pierce of Works Entertainment, to kick off the new series with a special live edition at Pollstar Live at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on 17 April, featuring Paladin Artists’ Steve Martin, Andy Somers and Chyna Chuan. New episodes will be available on podcast platforms from 24 April.

Speaking to IQ, Steinberg says the reboot will offer “a new take on the business”.

“Luke and I are more experienced now, and have fresh eye with our time away from the show, we want to do more of a push for quality interviews and less about the volume,” he says. “So instead of two shows a week, we will be doing one, and we are hoping that the extra attention and time, will produce an ever better episode as an end result.

“We ended the show when we thought we had covered pretty much everything we wanted to take on at the time, but now it is a very different business and we are excited to talk about the changes we are seeing. We also have grown our circle of peers in the time off, and want to bring the extra crew to the table, plus there where a few folks we never got on the show, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I want a second bite at that apple.”

“My favourite moment was going one-on-one with Rapino… He told me not to go easy on him”

In its original run from 2016-23, the show hosted live music business luminaries including Live Nation’s Michael Rapino, Arthur Fogel and Phil Bowdery; CAA’s Rob Light and Emma Banks; agents Tom Windish, Marc Geiger, Lucy Dickins and Alex Hardee; Rock Werchter’s Herman Schueremans; John Meglen of Concerts West; AEG Presents’ Steve Homer and Jim King; and MTG founder Louis Messina, to name but a few.

“My favourite moment was going one-on-one with Rapino at Pollstar Live [in 2018],” reveals Steinberg. “He was so open, and answered everything. He told me not to go easy on him, and he was so ready for everything I threw at him. Plus, the 2,000-plus in attendance was a trip.”

In terms of guests for the new series, Steinberg says the duo are gunning “for some monster interviews” as well as returning favourites. His ultimate wish list includes Allison McGregor, Marty Diamond, Barry Marshall, Doc McGhee, Michael Cohl and Irving Azoff, plus the “next generation that have come up since we went off the air”.

“We want to talk to the new voices, too,” he continues. “And honestly, enough time has passed that some of the past guests have accomplished so much more, we have to bring them back for the next chapter of their success and failures. I love a good success story, but we learn so much more with a mammoth failure adventure.”

“We just want it to be a safe place for the industry to talk about today’s issues, safe from traps and gotchas – we are a gotcha-free zone”

What’s more, Steinberg stresses that no topics will be off the table.

“Nothing has ever been off limits for us,” he says. “Luke loves to jump into and stir the pot, and I have been known to push the limits on some questions. We just want it to be a safe place for the industry to talk about today’s issues, safe from traps and gotchas – we are a gotcha-free zone. That is one thing we will carry over from the old days: guests should never fear our question or the edit, we want the guests message to their words, with no spin from us, but we want a chance to ask the questions everyone wants answered.”

Emporium Presents, which operates under the Live Nation umbrella, has promoted shows by the likes of Jason Mraz, Kris Kristofferson w/ Merle Haggard, Keith Urban, Indigo Girls, Trailer Park Boys, Yo Gabba Gabba, John Prine, Eric Church, Dolly Parton, The Black Keys, Godsmack and BB King.

Signing off with a message for Promoter 101 devotees, Steinberg adds: “We have missed you, and we hopeful we can bring you a show that is worth your valuable time to listen to. Time is the most important thing, and we don’t want to waste anyone’s – especially our listeners.”

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