We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicki Sage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nicki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The biggest risk I’ve taken in my career was founding Blue Sage Entertainment+. This decision happened over the last 6 months, as I transitioned from running my operations as a sole proprietor running a freelance production company called “Simply Sage Media And Entertainment”, where I personally hired dancers, instrumentalists, AV technicians, etc; to a variety show-like structure, and operated as a middle man between artists and venues. At the same time, I began transforming my longtime digital media service from a videography/photography/web content provider to operate upon a system which acts, essentially as an entire virtual production management pipeline, consisting of templated procedures, content, and in fact entire systems to handle any aspect of digital media creation as well as live event production. This took lots of sweat and tears as it had been a while since I was involved so deeply with technological development (think, high-school robotics!)
The idea to take the backend entertainment production services (that my partner Alec and I developed throughout this year) into an entire company began to form as I was attending shows where I was booked as a single-performing artist practically full-time, between my own larger events where I was able to fully portray the experience I envision for my music, namely choreographed dancing and singing with a live band. I noticed a significant gap in the entertainment industry’s technological adaptations within various aspects of my everyday work, such as: building marketing plans, writing scripts to optimally contact venues, and even deploying boilerplate contracts between the various event participants.
The turning point came when I began to expand the open-jams I was hosting to include matchmaking technology, built into the sign-up form, that allowed instrumentalists and singers to collaborate with other musicians and bands who requested them. This experience made me realize that there had to be a better way to implement various procedures from event planning to execution of production, ticketing, etc. in the industry, without paying the outrageous costs and limited functionality associated with most offerings that can be found online today.
Founding Blue Sage Entertainment+, meant taking more than a few blind leaps, and falling short of the target many times. However, I believed in the potential of what we were creating.
As for how it turned out? We are excited to announce in this article the commencement of this system through the vehicle of Blue Sage Entertainment+, which will offer cutting-edge experiences to the fans of individuals who wish to produce and deploy all of their creative content without the need for a label or other traditional production company structures to be involved unless specifically called for.
Nicki, 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?
Hey there! I’m Nicki Sage, a creative entrepreneur who’s been in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I’ve worn many hats – musician, dancer, actress, filmmaker, you name it! But recently, I’ve stumbled upon something truly game-changing.
Enter Blue Sage Entertainment+. It’s not your average tech company. We’re talking about an AI-powered service that’s revolutionizing how we approach entertainment production. From the initial creative spark to the final product, we’ve got tools that cover it all. But here’s the kicker – we’re not just about making cool stuff. We’re redefining what “service” means in this industry.
What sets us apart from the current widely distributed model is our fusion of personalized AI adaptation with stringent privacy protocols, granting access to cutting-edge LLM-driven APIs and a contextually-rich knowledge base securely, enabling private yet individualized, science-based solutions for any conceivable production pipeline.
But wait, there’s more! We’re not just stopping at entertainment. We’ve got a non-profit initiative called Blue Sage Support+ that’s taking our tech and using it to tackle social issues, especially homelessness. It’s pretty amazing how the same tools that can plan a concert can also help distribute resources to those in need.
The best part? Anyone can be a part of this. Whether you’re an artist looking to level up your career or someone who wants to use tech for social good, we’ve got something for you. We’re still in beta, so now’s your chance to get in early and shape the future with us.
In a nutshell, we’re not just changing the entertainment game – we’re showing how technology can be a force for good in the world. It’s a new era, and we’re excited to have you join us on this journey. Let’s create, innovate, and make a difference together!
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Absolutely. I wish I had the AI-powered tools we’re developing at Blue Sage Entertainment+ when I was starting out. As an independent artist, I spent countless hours on tasks that our venue-matching and communications services now handle effortlessly. These tools have been game-changers for my production efficiency. If I had access to them earlier, I could have fast-tracked my career growth and had much more control over my artistic direction. It’s amazing how much more time I now have to focus on creativity rather than logistics.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My pivot from mainly being a freelance, working musician and entertainer to founding Blue Sage Entertainment+ was a significant change for my career.
Picture this: It’s 2024, and I’m performing at a music festival. The energy is electric, the crowd is pulsing, and I’m living my dream. But backstage, it’s chaos. Our sound system is glitching, the lighting cues are off, and our social media team is scrambling to keep up with real-time fan engagement.
That’s when it hit me. As a millennial born in the 90’s, I’ve watched technology transform every aspect of our lives. Yet here we were, using outdated systems to manage complex, multi-faceted events. It felt like we were trying to navigate a spaceship with a paper map.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be a better way. So, I did what any self-respecting creative would do: I called my business partner and soulmate, Alec Julias, and we decided to make a pact to revolutionize the industry.
So I walked away from all of the residencies I had established in Chicago for my music, and moved across the country to Denver, CO where I crashed from Airbnb after Airbnb while building this system and business from the ground up.
We didn’t have the luxury of playing it safe. We had to create something groundbreaking, or we’d lose everything.
So we got to work. We developed AI-powered tools that could generate creative scripts, compose neural soundtracks, and manage events with unprecedented efficiency. We created systems that could analyze audience reactions in real-time and adjust performances accordingly.
It wasn’t easy. There were nights I missed being on stage, moments I doubted everything. But every time we successfully deployed a module of our system, every time a client’s eyes lit up seeing what our tech could do, I knew we were onto something big.
This pivot was driven by nothing more than a dream, and a hope for a better life–every ‘”pioneer’s” fantasy. And I am so glad that I am able to launch our unique, cutting-edge concept in such a forward-thinking market!
With Blue Sage Entertainment+, I’m not just adapting to the changing landscape of the music industry – I’m actively shaping it by putting all my efforts into constructing an intelligent platform that will one day serve any imaginable industry.
As both the founder and a user of our platform, I’m in a unique position to bring about the inevitable new technology updates in a way that is creatively empowering but also mindful of all users and even the attendees.
In essence, Blue Sage Entertainment+ is the culmination of my artistic journey and our vision for the future. We’re creating AI-powered tools that revolutionize how artists manage their careers and events. Blue Sage Entertainment+ empowers creatives to be their own bosses, producers, and promoters, while optimizing audience engagement. Our platform bridges creativity and cutting-edge technology, allowing artists to focus on their craft while Blue Sage Entertainment+ handles the complexities of the modern entertainment landscape. From AI-generated scripts to real-time performance analytics, Blue Sage Entertainment+ is transforming the industry, one artist and one event at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://nickisage.com
- Instagram: nickisageofficial
- Facebook: nickisageofficialmusic
- Twitter: @SageNicki
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nickisage
- Other: bluesageplus.com(Blue Sage service portal)
Image Credits
Alec Julias, Nicki Sage (self), Krista Knowles, Reygel Oliveros.