We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amelia Cordischi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amelia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When we launched ECHO in 2018, we wanted a title that was both memorable and reflective of the wide range of entertainment our publication would cover. We brainstormed countless ideas, enlisting family and friends to weigh in on what resonated most. Ultimately, we landed on East Coast Hollywood (ECHO), paired with our slogan, covering entertainment from coast to coast. The name perfectly captured our focus on entertainment while giving a nod to our Boston roots and Will’s move across the country to Los Angeles.

Amelia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

ECHO is an online entertainment publication and a go-to source for audiences looking for what’s new in music, television, and film.

The idea for ECHO was born from Will’s and my shared appreciation for music and movies. Many nights, you’ll find us at concerts or catching the latest hit show or movie—in fact, we actually met at a Jason Derulo concert. It was a dream of ours to share those discoveries with others and we’re realizing that dream through ECHO.

By combining my background in media—spanning marketing, PR, radio, film, graphic design, and photography—with Will’s extensive experience in entertainment journalism, we’ve created a publication that resonates with a global audience. Sharing the media we’re passionate about with our followers every day is something we’re incredibly proud of.

What sets ECHO apart from other publications is that we don’t just cover what’s trending now, we discover what’s next. Take Gayle, for example. In 2020, we sat down with the then-little-known artist who had just released her single “orange peel.” Fast-forward a year, and she went viral on TikTok with her bold anthem “abcdefu,” earning a record deal, a GRAMMY nomination, and an opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Gayle is one of the many artists that we are proud to say ECHO covered and introduced to our readers before she was “big.”

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like many businesses, COVID turned everything upside down for us. At the time, we relied heavily on covering live performances and new music releases, both of which came to a sudden halt when the pandemic began. To keep ECHO moving forward, we brainstormed and realized that artists were also searching for ways to stay relevant and connected with audiences. In response, we launched ECHO: The Podcast and began interviewing artists over Zoom. The response was immediate, with enthusiasm from artists, publicists, and audiences who were also missing music and connection. Since then, the podcast has continued to grow, with over a hundred episodes released.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That results aren’t always immediate. Building ECHO has been a labor of love and a testament to patience. Over the past six years, we’ve experienced ups and downs, with periods of both rapid growth and slower progress. During those slower or more challenging times, it’s important to take a step back and remember that these moments are just small snapshots of the bigger picture. When you focus on the overall trajectory rather than a single moment, you’ll often be amazed at how far you’ve come.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://readechoonline.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readecho/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readechoonline/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@readecho
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/ameliacphotography/

Image Credits

Main photo (in Taylor Swift pit) – credit – Lauren Scornavacca

Photo of Amelia in the photo pit – credit – Julia Finocchiaro