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Elevated Frequencies: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Olivia Mancuso
I’m Olivia Mancuso, founder of Elevated Frequencies and co-founder of Chicago Music Nexus. Here, I break down how to build a real career in dance music through monthly video essays and the occasional artist interview.
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- 2 weeks ago11 min
How to Sell Merch Before You Have a Fanbase
If you're sitting on a merch idea until you hit some follower number, this one's for you. I go through a record label whose logo got bootlegged across the UK before people there had heard a single release, a Chicago club that moves more shirts off one inside joke than most artists do off their own name, and the artist whose fans started turning up to his shows dressed as clowns without buying anything at all. Then I get into the two things that decide whether anything you print sells, what to do when your design budget is zero, and how customization works if you're playing opening and support slots.For DJs, producers, and anyone building an artist brand.Merlin, who's backing this episode: https://merlin.site/?utm_source=olivi...Turn your Instagram or TikTok into a professional self-updating website in under 30 seconds, free to publish.The Elevated Frequencies newsletter, free, once a month: https://elevatedfreq.com/Every issue has a trend breakdown like this one, a rising artist's career taken apart, one business framework you can use the day you read it, and a tool I think can help you.Chicago Music Nexus, November 20 and 21 in Chicago: https://www.chicagomusicnexus.com/Instagram: @oliviamancuso__0:00 You Already Have Enough Fans to Sell Merch0:29 Merch vs. Streaming: The Revenue Difference0:59 Newsletter Plug1:24 Sponsor: Merlin1:56 Main Character Syndrome and In-Group Signaling2:40 Why Merch Creates a Sense of Belonging2:40 Nervous Records: A Logo That Built an Audience4:09 Who the Logo-First Strategy Works For4:37 Smart Bar: Merch Built on Inside Jokes5:36 Build Around Subculture, Not Memes6:10 Brunello’s Mellow Circus: World-Building Through Merch7:35 Let Fans Help Build the World8:05 Customizable Merch That Makes Fans the Main Character8:49 Why Merch Quality Matters9:41 Budget-Friendly, Useful Merch Ideas10:14 Start Thinking About Merch Early10:44 Chicago Music Nexus Conference
- Sep 17, 20269 min
Why I'm Changing Elevated Frequencies (and Why You Win) | EF EP 169
After three years and 160-something weekly episodes, Elevated Frequencies is evolving, and this episode is Olivia walking you through exactly why, what's coming, and why the change means you get more out of her, not less. Starting October 1st, the show becomes a monthly newsletter (first Thursday of every month) plus a monthly YouTube video essay and the occasional interview, all built to hand you specific strategies for building a real dance music career. Key takeaways:- How to tell the difference between "regular hard" you push through and "out-of-alignment hard" that's a sign to change direction, and why learning that faster saves you years- Why doing less, more intentionally, often beats grinding out weekly volume that's just checking a box- Why Olivia believes we're on the ground floor of something huge for dance music in America, and what that means for the moves you make now- What's inside the new monthly newsletter: the Frequency Report, Anatomy of an Artist, the Lab, and the Plug, and how to use each one- The mindset that lets you give something everything you've got and still know when it's time to change📬 SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER, the new home of Elevated Frequencies. First issue lands October 1st: subscribe here.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Sep 10, 202632 min
How to Build an Empire Around Your Music ft. Josh Baker | EF EP 168
Josh Baker has built an actual empire around his music. He's a DJ and producer who's also built a whole world of businesses around his artistry — the You & Me party series, the Hide & Seek festival, and his artist education platform Synto — and each one feeds the others. In this episode, Olivia Mancuso sits down with Josh to break down how he built multiple income streams, learned to buy back his time by building a team, and created a career that doesn't depend on gigging every single weekend forever.What you'll take away:Why treating your music career like a business is what actually makes it lastHow to build an empire where every venture you own lifts the othersHow to buy your time back by paying people to handle what doesn't need you, so you're free to focus on what actually grows your careerWhy the long game wins: give most of it away for free, build real trust, and sell the restHow to say no and protect your time, because not all money is made equalWhy you should book your own events and grow in small increments instead of chasing big names too soon👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: https://greenroomnetwork.com/creator/OliviaMancuso👉 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Sep 3, 202614 min
How to Make Your DJ Competition Irrelevant | EF EP 167
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.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app--------------There are ten thousand other DJs competing for the same gigs, the same followers, and the same sound as you, and trying to be slightly better than all of them is a losing game. In this solo episode, Olivia Mancuso steals one of the most important ideas from the business world — Blue Ocean Strategy — and translates it for DJs and producers. Instead of fighting to the death in a crowded "red ocean," she breaks down how to build a "blue ocean," an uncontested lane that's so uniquely yours the competition becomes irrelevant, using a simple framework you can fill out for your own project the second the episode ends.What you'll take away:The difference between a red ocean, where everyone competes on the same things, and a blue ocean you create for yourself The ERRC grid — Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create — and how to actually fill it out for your own projectWhy trying to be a "better" DJ is a trap, and being the only you is the way outHow to find your blue ocean by merging two worlds nobody's ever combinedA step-by-step way to test your uncontested lane without overthinking itWant help mapping out your own blue ocean and figuring out what only you could do? Book a one-on-one artist development call with Olivia on GreenRoom to work out exactly where your uncontested water is.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth.👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Aug 27, 202617 min
Why Talent Isn't Enough, and What Actually Builds a Career | EF EP 166
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.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app----The most talented producer in the room almost never wins. The most connected one does. In this solo episode, Olivia Mancuso breaks down the two things that actually build a lasting career in dance music — proximity and reputation — and why both get built in person, over the long game, not over a DM. She digs into how relationships compound over the years, why this industry has an access problem rather than a talent problem, and how to get into the rooms where careers are actually made, all of which is exactly why she co-founded Chicago Music Nexus.What you'll take away:-Why talent alone won't build your career, and the two things that actually do-How relationships compound over years, and why the long game beats chasing quick wins-How to build a reputation that opens rooms you're not even standing in-Why the industry has an access problem, not a talent problem, and how to get in-How to break through the two biggest things keeping artists out of these rooms: cost and travel, and feeling like an imposterChicago Music Nexus 2026 is November 20th and 21st in Chicago. Day one is Field Day at Concord Music Hall, a full day of hands-on activations built around what a working artist's career actually needs. Day two is Conference Day at The Joinery, with panels and workshops led by working agents, A&Rs, managers, and artists. Grab tickets at chicagomusicnexus.com.👉 Want to come to Nexus and get paid to bring your people? The Chicago Music Nexus ambassador program is open, and it was built for the people who already carry this community. Apply, get your own code, and put it in front of your people — they save money buying through you, and you earn a commission on every ticket that sells. Sell enough and your pass to Nexus is free, on top of everything you've already banked. It's not about follower counts, it comes down to whether people trust your taste and show up when you tell them to. Apply here.👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth.👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Aug 20, 202635 min
Anyone Can Drop a Banger. Almost Nobody Can Build a Night. ft. Mishell | EF EP 165
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.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app-----Anyone can learn to drop a banger. Learning to actually build a night, to take a room from the very first record all the way through the peak to the close, is a completely different skill, and it's the one most artists skip. Mishell didn't. The Tel Aviv–born house and indie-dance artist came up playing all-night, open-to-close sets, and he'll tell you that's the only way you really understand what it means to be a DJ. Host Olivia Mancuso sits down with him to get into the craft most people skip, how he grew his Mess Makers events into a community that sells a thousand tickets in twenty minutes, and why building a real career in this industry is a marathon, not an overnight thing.What you'll take away:Why the all-night, open-to-close set is how you actually learn to DJ, and what you skip when you rush straight to the peak-time stuffHow to read a room and take a crowd on a real journey, instead of blasting the same high energy from the first recordHow he scaled his Mess Makers brand to a thousand tickets in twenty minutes, with no lineup and no linkWhy you shouldn't chase money at the start of building an event or a brand, and what to invest in insteadHow analog gear helped him build a sound that's actually his, instead of sounding like everyone elseWhy there's no timeline, and how to build a career that lasts instead of a moment that fades👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Aug 13, 202642 min
Do You Actually Need to Chase Bigger Rooms? ft. Deeper Purpose | EF EP 164
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.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app---------------Every artist gets told the same thing: get bigger. Bigger rooms, bigger festivals, bigger numbers. But do you actually need any of it to be happy, or even to call it success? Deeper Purpose isn't sure you do. The Croydon-born house DJ and producer — championed early by Jamie Jones and Lee Foss — walked away from a management team that only wanted him to scale, and realized he was happiest playing 200-capacity, dark and dingy clubs. In this episode, he sits down with Olivia Mancuso to talk about figuring out what you actually want from a career, and building one, along with his label, In 2 Deep, entirely on his own terms.What you'll take away:How to figure out what you actually want from your career before you chase someone else's version of successThe power of saying no, and the six-month check-in he uses to course-correctWhy becoming a great DJ - not just a producer - is what actually builds a careerThe honest, unglamorous truth about running your own record labelHow getting burned on money at 19 taught him to watch the business side earlyBuilding a career you can sustain and be happy in, instead of chasing scale👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: 👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__ 👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
- Aug 6, 202644 min
The One-Way Ticket to Ibiza That Built Hot Creations ft. Lee Foss | EF EP 163
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.Use code ELEVATED for 50% off Pro for 3 months at trackstack.app-----In 2001, Lee Foss bought a one-way ticket to Ibiza with no plan and no way home — just a hunch that he'd find his tribe. He did. That summer, he met Jamie Jones, and the friendship that followed became Hot Creations, one of the most influential labels in modern house music. In this episode, the Chicago-raised DJ, producer, and Repopulate Mars founder sits down with Olivia Mancuso the day after his Chicago birthday show to trace the whole arc — from DeKalb raves to Ibiza, from building a 15-year label empire and helping launch artists like John Summit, to getting sober and reinventing himself two decades into his career.What you'll take away:-How betting on yourself — even with no plan and no safety net — can change your entire trajectory-How to build a music career (and a label) that stays sustainable for 20+ years -What it actually takes to break out of a scene that isn't the industry's "center of gravity"-How Lee spots and bets on new talent — and why being from Chicago is a calling card, not a crutch-The reality of running a lean, independent label that outsells majors with 80-person teams👉 Want personalized guidance on your music career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Olivia on GreenRoom where you can get tailored advice on branding, business strategy, and sustainable career growth: https://greenroomnetwork.com/creator/OliviaMancuso👉 Instagram: @oliviamancuso__👉 Video Editor/Audio Engineer: James Fixx
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About Elevated Frequencies
I’m Olivia Mancuso, founder of Elevated Frequencies and co-founder of Chicago Music Nexus. Here, I break down how to build a real career in dance music through monthly video essays and the occasional artist interview.
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