 But we're going to start in a minute anyways, right? So it doesn't matter. People are like, what's their sound? They say, I have sound now. Hello, this is a test. Hello, this is a test. And they might be able to hear you. Hello, everybody, and happy Monday. Hi to everyone from around the world tuning in for this edition of Ad Big Together. My name is Ko Im, and I'm the community editor and flagship podcast co-host here at Ad Week. Thank you for joining us. We have an exciting conversation today, but before we dive into it, we wanted to remind you about our Ad Week subscription so you can get unlimited access to our essential content and resources. Just go to the link, adweek.com slash offer. Our guest was super personable. You may know him as a producer and award-winning artist. He's also a philanthropist, and we wanted to check in with him on how he's doing in quarantine and how he's entertaining folks from around the world over the internet. So here is our conversation. Please also comment with your reactions. Enjoy. It's a cool imaginative show, and it was incredible. They sampled in crowd cheering and crowd response. So it looks like they're going with you. It was a really, really cool virtual experience. So that's the norm, right? And obviously you have drive-ins and things like that that are kind of inching towards doing the IRL, but I think it's a bit too early for that now still. I think we need to get to that vaccine stage or whatnot, but I think all of us artists are like, we're just, how do we get out there and play safely? Like, what do we do? You know, and it's like, we're all wanting it. Like, I mean, I like playing for my quarantine crew. It's great. Like, seeing some new faces like jumping and getting all excited is, you know, the exciting part of DJing and playing so many shows. Yeah, and in fact, for athletes, right? They pump in fan noise, but it's not the same playing in an empty stadium. So I'm glad to hear that you felt a little bit of that simulated experience. What do you think brands and companies and producers can do to continue to fuel that creativity within this entertainment space? Where are you looking for inspiration and what kind of conversations do you have as somebody really in front of people and even, you know, coming up with new ideas? I mean, I think like, you know, as far as brands getting involved, the big one is gaming, that whole industry. You know, everyone's gaming. Like, gaming has gone up. Like, not just gaming, but like viewing gaming. Like, you know, the streams like people watching like YouTube streaming on gaming. It's like, I think it's like the highest out of all the different categories is gaming. So people are watching gaming. That's for sure. Watching and playing. So to do when you combine both worlds, music and gaming together, because what Fortnite did when I was able to perform inside Fortnite, like, I mean, like they, they definitely disrupted the marketplace with that one. I think, you know, big props to them because like no one's done that yet. No one's done like a live stream inside of a game, you know, especially as large as Fortnite, which is basically the culture of the youth generation. You know, like, if you're like a tween and up, you're playing or even younger, you know, if you're a kid and like toddler and up, you're either playing Fortnite or you know about it, you know? So that was very cool to be able to do that. And I've done some other ones like that where it wasn't like gaming per se, but I worked with other brands and we did virtual sets and did zooms. I think that's also a really cool way to interact is seeing the zoom come in. So you can like log into the zoom and you see it like someone dancing in their bedroom and I'm like, no, what up? You're sure it's no. And like, I remember like at one point during one of my streams, you know, someone got really very cool, who got very excited and they just grabbed like a, like I think it started out as a donut and they just donated himself. I'm like, you know, you just donated yourself and then like, so I was like, like I could do one better and he grabs a cake from the fridge and like, like three, two, one. And they got like just cakes himself. And then like it was like, I don't know, 10, 20, 30 people just ending up finding cakes and, and cakeing themselves or whipped creaming themselves. And so that was like the most, that was great because we broke that kind of, that stream of being able to really get into each other's worlds, you know? Yeah. So the zooms were great. And I did that with the Chips of Hoy. I did like, they brought in like as a virtual prom. That was cool. So I like, I got a DJ a virtual prom. So it was a prom for like a bunch of kids that they got in so then like, I can kind of see them and they had like their get up on and stuff. Well. So like, like there are things that you could do like that that are happening that, you know, lift people's spirits, make people happy, you know? We're stuck in our homes and, you know, like we're staring at our computer screens and, and, you know, like music, art, gaming, all these things are, are like, these are things that are hopeful, you know? It's like, I think one of the most important things in this pandemic is the ability to, to imagine it, to dream and like think of new things, you know? Think about all the new tech that's going to be coming out because of the pandemic. So I'm excited about that. I'm excited about like all these minds coming together, thinking about and putting all this research, research together to, to, you know, have new measures brought up and with new tech that makes it safer for us to be able to get back to, you know, what we love. I really believe and that, that the end of the year will be a change. I'm like, hopefully for it, as long as everyone just stays like, you know, bunkered down and safe and wearing the masks. I think it's so important to wear the masks. And like, I wear gloves too sometimes, you know? I wear gloves if I'm like going to be, if I have to like charge my Tesla or something, you know, I'll wear a glove, you know? And it's like, just keep yourself as safe as possible. And then in a few months, I'm, I really believe with all this people working away, you know, on new tech and new research on hopefully new vaccine, you know, we'll start being able to do the things that we love to do. Yeah, you're talking about, you know, creative solutions, accessibility and influence, you know, as someone with your platform to keep reading that message is super important. I also know that you have the Aoki Foundation and you've done, you know, campaigns that are not just entertaining, but you know, also like one promoting a restaurant with Postmates and so really promoting local and business. Do you think that the charitable aspect of live events will be more integrated and bigger perhaps? And as we have, you know, bigger continuing new needs in this, you know, new kind of normal? Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna digress from that a little bit, but like I just, we, I was on my Aoki Foundation call yesterday, it was interesting because the call was basically how do we fundraise in this time? Mm-hmm. You know, I mean, it's like people's pockets are empty. Like people don't have money, you know? And like there's a lot of orgs that need help, like, you know, need funding, need, you know, that kind of thing. But like one thing we can do is raise awareness. But like how do we actually have that conversation that the fundraising conversation when we don't have events? Because a lot of the time for us we would create these IRL events. Actually the last Aoki Games, the last Aoki Foundation was called Aoki Games. And we had like these obstacle courses set up that was really fun and interactive. And we raised a lot of money. We raised a lot actually to $100,000 and made a very fun event that was educational as well. But you can't do that. So like, you know, it all relies on being able to communicate the message, being able to talk, you know, find the camera into the computer screen. So it's not as compelling as IRL, right? So, you know, just trying to see what that looks like now. What does having a charitable organization where you can help raise money for things that are important to the org, how do you do that most efficiently? And this is it. This is basically it from the time being. So, yeah, but yeah, it's happening still, but it's just like a huge reduction of what it could be. Yeah, yeah, and we talk about, you know, gaps that we need to fill and, but also there's some positives coming out of this time. You know, a lot of people prioritizing, reallocating and also talking about different things. And a lot more people kind of getting back, getting into creativity and opening their doors. So like TikTok, right? We get to see like what you're doing in your home and what other families are doing. And I love that aspect. It's allowing more diverse creators to come into this phase. And I think a little bit of the barriers are broken. Would you kind of agree with that? You know, TikTok is for the common person, right? Like you have other apps, other platforms that are made for like, that it's all about like who's got the biggest numbers? Like who's the most famous in their space? And obviously with music and with music kind of being the guide, you know, like the bigger artists you can see like they're in our sports too. With TikTok, it's like, you just be creative and then you could be like a Charlie or an Addison, you know? And if you're consistent, you could really have an influence by just, by, you know, advancing inside the culture of what TikTok's all about. Cause it is like a very insular world. Like you have to stay within the confines of how it works. You don't work within that space. It won't become viral. It won't do its thing. So as long as you understand like the Gen Z rulebook, if you can really speak the language and you can do it, you don't have to be Gen Z to be able to have an influence. You know? So I'm not, it's a completely different way to engage social media than any other platform. 100%. Like with my other platforms with Twitter, with Facebook, with Instagram, with YouTube, I wouldn't say Twitch, but with those named ones, it's like, I'm really, I just really want to promote my music. You know? That's like my main thing is like, how do I get my music out there? Promote it in a certain way. And, or the things that I put out there, like let's say like this T-shirt, you know? Like that's for those platforms. Like what I create, I'm just trying to like get out there to people so that they know about it. With TikTok, you don't do that. Yeah, yeah. It's really insular. Like you said, how much do you think you'll be doing more live to promote music and to keep people entertained? And what are you looking forward to if hopefully end of 2020 is a little bit of a turning point? What are you looking forward to? Where do you want to go? But first, how much more live will you be doing? Yeah, I mean live, like you're talking about virtual, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, virtual, like I'm, I don't want to do it too much, you know? Like I, you know, I don't have any plans to do a virtual set yet. I'll figure that out, you know, later on. But yeah, I'm sure I'll be promoting another virtual set soon. I just don't have a date on that yet. And then next year, 2021, you know, it's all about like that vaccine. We got to get that vaccine out there, flatten the curve in America. You know, I don't know the science behind all this, a lot of the stuff, but like, hopefully we get to that point where we can get back in the shows. Yeah. So 2021, where would be the first place you would get on a plane to if you could? Where's Japan? It's my favorite place. Like I need to go to Japan. I need to, like I miss it. It's so, it's so culturally, the food, the people, the fashion, the music, working with some Japanese artists now, which is exciting. Yeah, the art, I mean, everything about Japan. Yeah. Yeah, I was supposed to have Japan on my calendar, but that no longer happened. But one day again, one day again. Steve, any last words? No, no, thanks for interviewing me and I appreciate it. Yeah, we really appreciate having you on and we look forward to all the other content that you create and like Steve said, wear a mask. Yeah, exactly. Please. Welcome Steve, thank you for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me. And thanks again to Steve for speaking with us on Friday, what a nod to creativity and this time. I also want to give a brief shout out to our segment producer, Nick and our live producer, Josh today. Don't forget that these are weekly conversations, Mondays at 12 p.m. Eastern on all of their platforms. Next week, we're going to talk to Jason White, the CMO of Pure Leaf on the future of cannabis. In the meantime, don't forget to subscribe and go to Advik.com slash offer to gain unlimited access to all of our essential content and resources. Stay in the know with an Advik Pro subscription. My name is Co-In and thank you for joining us. Have a wonderful, wonderful week.