What happens when an artist needs an event next week, a production goes off track, or a festival layout puts attendee safety at risk? Nicole Carson, Director of Event Production at Warner Music Group, has built a career producing events across music, sports and entertainment. From artist live streams and pop-ups to the company's Grammy party, she shares what happens behind the scenes — and why preparation, strong vendor relationships and crew support make all the difference. In this episode of The Eventex Podcast, Nicole discusses artist hospitality, event safety, accessibility, AI and the industry habits that need to change. She also explains why success happens in pre-production, not on show day. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why event apps are often overused — and what works better • How to manage artist expectations and last-minute requests • Why vendor relationships can make or break a production • How to plan for safety, accessibility and crowd flow • Why excessive event merchandise creates waste • How AI robots featured at Warner Music Group's Grammy party • Why event crews deserve better treatment and working conditions • How rising production costs are changing live events • Why the best event productions start long before show day It's an unfiltered conversation about the decisions, people and details behind successful events — and what the industry needs to do better. 🎧 Discover more episodes of The Eventex Podcast at eventex.com/podcast ▶ Subscribe: eventex.com/subscribe --- About Nicole Carson Nicole Carson is Director of Event Production at Warner Music Group, where she has led physical and virtual events since 2022, from artist live streams and pop-ups to the company’s Grammy party. She works closely with artists, management teams, and executives, overseeing technical riders, artist hospitality, vendors and crew. Before Warner Music Group, Nicole held roles at Insomniac Events, On Location Experiences, BMO Stadium, Fox Sports, and NBCUniversal. Off the clock, she’s an opera-trained rock singer. Nicole is also an Eventex Awards jury member. --- About The Eventex Podcast Events and experiences, unfiltered. Everyone sees the final result. Almost no one hears what it took to get there — the near-misses, the 3 a.m. calls, the decisions that cost more than money, and the stories that never make it into the case study. The Eventex Podcast is where those conversations happen. After years of covering the events and experience marketing industry through the Eventex Awards, rankings and industry indexes, this show turns the perspective around. Instead of looking at the finished work from the outside, it asks what it actually feels like to build it. Each episode is a long-form, one-on-one conversation with someone who has been deep inside something significant — with no script, no pre-agreed questions and no PR polish. --- About Our Host, Laura Schwartz Laura Schwartz is an international professional emcee, keynote speaker, interviewer and award-winning podcaster. As the White House Director of Events for President Clinton, she produced more than 1,000 events on the world stage. Today, in addition to speaking on stages around the world, Laura is on screen as an American Contributor to Australia’s Nine Network, including the TODAY Show. She has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Global Events Industry for seven consecutive years and enjoys collaborating with Eventex to celebrate and highlight the best of this global community. #EventexPodcast #EventMarketing #ExperientialMarketing
