We were lucky to catch up with Samantha Mackoff recently and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
As a part of the Artist & Label Relations team at music video network Vevo, I work with artists and their teams day in and day out to make sure their content gets to a global audience in the most effective way. One of the most common questions I receive is, “Has the rise of short-form content led to a decline in official music videos?” The short answer is, “Absolutely not.” It’s not a matter of one replacing the other; it’s about how both forms of content can work seamlessly together to encourage discovery and create a dedicated fanbase.
Long-form and short-form content each play a crucial role in an artist’s overall strategy and development. Social platforms have empowered artists to connect with global audiences on a personal level, often with little to no budget, by showcasing not just their music but their personalities. This has created new opportunities to promote music, connect with fans, and drive streams and ticket sales. While viral moments are incredibly powerful, they also have a limited shelf life, making evergreen content like music videos all the more important. Official music videos provide artists with a platform to showcase their vision, creativity, and storytelling in a way that stands the test of time. They create lasting connections with fans, offering visuals that they can return to and dive deeper into the artist’s world.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Growing up in New York City, I was always deeply immersed in the arts scene. I attended a performing arts high school where I was surrounded by a vibrant community of talented young creatives. It was there that my passion for music truly came to life. I vividly remember brainstorming fun, creative ideas to help promote my friends’ artist projects. I quickly realized that my calling wasn’t as an artist myself, but behind the scenes, helping others bring their creative visions to life. That led me to pursue further studies at Syracuse University in the Bandier Program for the Recording and Entertainment Industries where I built the foundation for my career.
Fast forward, and I’ve now been working at Vevo for eight years. In my role on the Artist & Label Relations team, I focus on building and managing relationships with record labels and artists. I help provide programming support for their music releases, identify collaborative opportunities for original content, and educate them on how to best leverage our network. Throughout my career at Vevo, I’ve had the unique opportunity to work with artists of all levels and genres, including spearheading custom live performance campaigns with artists such as Ariana Grande, Chappell Roan, The Weeknd, Halsey, Demi Lovato, and Post Malone.
What excites me most about my role is having the ability to champion emerging artists and play a small part in their journey to becoming global superstars. There’s something uniquely fulfilling about being involved in their story as they evolve and grow within the music industry. This past year, we’ve seen some of the most exciting emerging artist stories, including Chappell Roan and Tyla and I’m proud to say we supported them through Vevo’s emerging artist franchise, DSCVR, early in their career. We also just launched our annual DSCVR ‘Artists to Watch’ program, where our music team films live performances with a roster of artists we think are going to break into the mainstream this next year. We have a really genre-diverse list this year, including K-pop band KATSEYE, R&B artist Bryant Barnes, alt rocker Towa Bird, shoegaze artist Wisp, country artist Tucker Wetmore and more.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I take pride in leading with kindness, authenticity, and professionalism. In my role, building trust with my artist and label partners is the cornerstone of creating meaningful relationships and fostering collaboration. Demonstrating a genuine commitment to the success of my partners, showing up as the best version of myself, and delivering on promises have helped me build my reputation within the industry.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
In the early stages of my career, I hesitated to speak up about my growth because I didn’t want to seem entitled or ungrateful. This is so common among young professionals, with imposter syndrome making us feel like we’re not good enough. Luckily, one of my first bosses encouraged me to write down where I saw myself growing within my career and to be vocal about creating those opportunities. In hindsight, I didn’t realize how impactful that conversation would be. It reshaped how I approached tough professional conversations and taught me the importance of standing up for myself and taking ownership of my career path. If I don’t advocate for myself, who will? Since then, I’ve embraced self-advocacy as a key part of growth and learned that speaking up is essential to creating opportunities.
Image Credits
Vevo