How Festival Lineups Get Picked with Will Runzel (Prodigy Artists) | EF EP 158

This episode is sponsored by Trackstack: the operating system built for music professionals who invest in each other. Trackstack Pro gives you access to a network of labels, curators, and artists where every connection you make is yours to keep. No algorithms, no platform holding your contacts hostage. Just real professional relationships that can turn into collaborations, bookings, and opportunities that can change the trajectory of your career.
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How do festival lineups actually get built — and what really gets an artist booked, signed, and streamed? Host Olivia Mancuso sits down with Will Runzel, founder of artist management company Prodigy, who came up as a talent buyer and promoter before managing some of dance music's biggest acts.
Will breaks down how talent buyers really assemble festival lineups, how he booked now-headlining DJs like Zedd and DJ Snake for almost nothing early on, and how to spot a padded offer. They get into artist branding and vision, audience psychographics, owning a niche instead of chasing everyone, the unglamorous work ethic behind every breakout, and why every release is now an audiovisual project.
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Instagram: oliviamancuso__
Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
00:00 - Introduction
01:31 - Sponsor – Trackstack
02:17 - Who Gets Lied To More?
03:16 - Roots As A Talent Buyer
04:22 - Building Prodigy With Steven
05:49 - The Non-Traditional Path
07:06 - Advice For Young Managers
08:06 - Signing His First Client
10:13 - The Chicago Of It All
11:12 - Chicago's Club Roots
12:43 - Daft Punk Over Kanye
13:56 - Immerse In The Culture
14:57 - His Love For House
16:06 - What He Looks For
17:54 - Stand For Something
19:38 - Know Your Audience
20:54 - Artist Development, Day One
21:43 - His Archetype: The Ruler
23:29 - Building Content Buckets
24:43 - The Unsexy Skill: Work Ethic
27:11 - Build A Long Runway
28:30 - Why Trends Aren't A Strategy
29:30 - The Streaming Life Cycle
31:53 - Only 8% See Your Posts
33:14 - Burner Accounts & Blogs
34:09 - Every Release Is Audiovisual
36:11 - The Oliver Tree Lesson
39:09 - How Festival Lineups Get Built
41:58 - The DJs He Booked First
44:50 - Impact Behind The Scenes
45:30 - Artists Owning Their IP
46:21 - Private Equity In Dance Music
47:58 - What Makes An Artist Unmanageable
48:54 - Manifesting & A Can-Do Mindset
50:23 - Olivia's Manifesting Journey
51:26 - How To Plan For 2028
53:02 - Master One Genre First
54:39 - The Cafeteria Theory
55:19 - Wrap-Up








