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

Forbs, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of my biggest projects is the Media Industry Guru Podcast. I decided to launch this back in late 2021 in the pandemic when the entertainment industry was kind of on a hiatus. I wanted to help out college students, recent graduates, and early career professionals by providing them with resources by sharing people’s stories. I’ve interviewed entrepreneurs, creative executives, and artists. I’ve interviewed Shadoe Stevens (one of the many idols of mine), Taylor Swift’s former manager Rick Barker, to Greg Moore (Earth, Wind and Fire Artist) to music industry executives including Emily White.

Forbs, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was able to get into the music industry through a few different ways. I stumbled upon taking a music industry introductory business class at Tulane University taught by Professor Chris Finney. I loved his class so much so that I wanted to turn that class basically into a major. Unfortunately Tulane didn’t have a curriculum and so I thus became entrepreneurial and set out to petition to the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts a self-designed coordinate major in music business paired with my mathematics major. It was successful after numerous pitches and letters of recommendation. From there, I worked at WTUL Tulane’s college radio. That’s where I got my interest in music but I actually first interned in TV Development at Irwin Entertainment and then right after WVUE Fox 8 in News Broadcasting. I knew that these experiences were adjacent to music. Right after, I was able to garner an internship for 2 semester until the pandemic hit over at Live Nation in the Marketing Department. After, even during the pandemic I got the fortunate opportunity to intern at companies including TikTok, Red Light Management, Mi5 Recordings (dist UMG), Atlantic Records, and SiriusXM. This is where I was able to learn the ins and outs of the music business and see how it takes a lot of HUSSLE!!!

Thus, I decided to create a platform for others. I developed the Media Industry Guru podcast back in 2021 and have interviewed over 150 people. On top of this, I also work in Curation and Editorial for Pandora Music, a subsidiary of SiriusXM where I’ve developed content in the EDM and Kids and Family Spaces.
With these experiences, one thing that is in common is giving back and helping out artists. I also provide management consulting services for artists and have clients including Bruce Gordon, Rosso Rosso, and Brett Altman.

One big takeaway is knowing how to balance and also knowing how to professionally hustle is key.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think being a creative professional one of the most rewarding things is being able to give back and see how it helps the person grow professionally and personally. Every single episode I produce I wrap up the interview with two final questions…Any personal or professional goals? Any parting words or pieces of advice that you’d like to share with someone who wants to be in your shoes. Hearing these responses from each of the episodes I’ve created listeners have been able to soak in this virtual mentorship but I too have also taken in the advice as well.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This is a little bit of a pivot but on top of being a creative with The Media Industry Guru Podcast, I’ve also been getting my MBA at NYU Stern specializing in Finance and Strategy. It is quite a lot but I’m excited to graduate in May 2025.

Contact Info:

• Website: anchor.fm/forbs-west2
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forbzwest/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forbs-west/
• Other: Instagram Media Industry Guru Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/mediaindustryguru/ Interested in an interview, please email: mediaindustrygurupodcast@gmail.com Interested in Artist Management Services, please email: forbswest1998@gmail.com

Image Credits
Yellowbrick 40 Under 40 Publication Feature