The LGBTIQ+ List 2022: Nix Corporan, DICE
The LGBTIQ+ List 2022 – IQ Magazine’s second annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business – was published in the Pride edition (issue 112) last month.
The July 2022 issue, which is available to read now, was made possible thanks to support from Ticketmaster.
To get to know this year’s queer pioneers a little better, we interviewed each individual on their challenges, triumphs, advice and more.
Throughout the next month, IQ will publish a new interview each day. Catch up on the previous interview with Natalie Rudland, senior promotions assistant at Live Nation UK.
The series continues with Nix Corporan (they/them/theirs), fan support team lead at DICE in the US.
Tell us about a personal triumph in your career.
A triumph in my career… honestly? Getting this job in the first place is still insane to me. I’ve always wanted to work in the music industry since I was a kid but was always told I couldn’t make it or that a career in music wouldn’t be sustainable. One thing about me is that I don’t like being told what to do (in typical Aquarian fashion) and I kept being persistent. It took fou years of customer service experience and a global pandemic to get here, but DICE was the third application I put into the ether as live entertainment was starting to revamp last year. One year later, I’m over the moon enamoured by our fans, my team – especially our global Fan Support team (hi pals!) – and I got on a neat little magazine spread. Ha, take that, haters!
What advice could you give to young queer professionals?
Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two of our local pioneers, were some of the gender non-conforming individuals to cast the first stone for Pride. Basic human rights weren’t just handed to them, so my advice to professionals is to not be afraid to ruffle some feathers. Fight for your seat in the boardroom, and don’t lose sight of the end goal. If it’s not meant for you now, it doesn’t mean it’s not meant for you forever so my second piece of advice is to let go and let god (for the spiritually inclined) take course. Finally, and most importantly… drink water.
“Don’t be afraid to ruffle some feathers. Fight for your seat in the boardroom, and don’t lose sight of the end goal”
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
Back when I was a customer service agent, I unintentionally sent a customer “Hi (insert name)” and nothing else on the ticket besides my signature. It literally read “Hi so and so, Best, Nix” and I still think about that to this day. I made sure never to do that again and made sure to train everyone under me never to do that.
Tell us about a professional challenge you’ve come across as a queer person in the industry.
I bought a ticket on DICE for a friend to see Kaytranada last year. As their preferred name doesn’t match the name on their ID, they needed to submit their legal name when registering their account. I never felt more embarrassed, especially as a trans, non-binary person, to tell my friend to provide their legal name in the event they need to show ID. Immediately after this exchange, I scheduled time with someone on our team to see what can be done about this. We’re still trying to find a better solution that’s inclusive to all, but that was a challenge that struck home.
“I never felt more embarrassed to tell my friend to provide their legal name in the event they need to show ID”
One thing the live industry could do to be a more inclusive place?
I think safety is a subject the live industry could use improvement in. DICE’s mission is to get everyone outside, and my personal mission is to get everyone outside and back home. Training our staff and security on how to search people without making it creepy, how to incorporate more inclusive language and maybe allow small defence weapons in certain venues would be cool. While I understand, logistically, it wouldn’t be wise to let pepper sprays and tasers in the building – at the end of the day, we get hurt coming back home from these events and I think we can use improvement on all forms of security in nightlife.
A cause you support
Besides the local queer community, I’m a huge mental health advocate. Publicly speaking on mental health can be frowned upon, especially in POC (people of colour) households but it’s okay to admit that you’re not okay. At work, I do “vibe checks” with my team on days they have lower productivity so they’re able to be vulnerable with me and let me know what’s going on with them. At the end of the day, it’ll reflect in their work and I’d rather them be transparent with me and let it be addressed before I find out something happened after the fact.
“DICE’s mission is to get everyone outside, and my personal mission is to get everyone outside and back home”
The queer act you’re itching to see live this year
I was itching feverishly to see Rina Sawayama live and I got to see her at Terminal 5 back in May. It was a borderline religious experience and I would 10000% see her again!
Your favourite queer space
One of my favourite queer spaces is actually a party that I love in New York – Papi Juice! Papi Juice is a collective formed by queer POC people in New York, and they typically have a monthly party hosted at Elsewhere in Brooklyn. Nothing beats seeing the sea of diverse bodies of all sizes, colours, and walks of life. They often do varying sets in multiple rooms so you have a change of pace in each room.
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