Giggs Podcast
The Giggs Podcast, hosted by Nikki Sanz, Founder & CEO of Giggs, the professional career platform for the live event industry, dives into the world of touring and live events to share the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unbelievable moments of gigging life, along with invaluable lessons learned on the road.
We’re here to fill the gap in content about what it truly takes to work on the road. Our episodes explore every discipline within the live event industry, showcasing big wins, hard-learned lessons, and everything in between. We honor the pioneers of this industry, offering invaluable insights from the older generations who shaped modern touring.
Whether you’re an aspiring tour manager, a seasoned backline tech, or just passionate about the live event scene, this podcast is for you. Join us as we take you behind the scenes to explore the highs and lows of gigging life.
Giggs Podcast
Giggs Rewind: Rachael Bronstein | Managing Money on the Move
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We're bringing back one of the most practical conversations from the Giggs archive. Nikki Sanz sits down with Rachael Bronstein, founder of Life's Jam — a financial coaching service built specifically for the touring and live events community.
70% of music industry professionals are freelancers. Just under half report feeling financially anxious or stressed. Rachael has spent the last few years building the resources most of this industry never had — coaching tour managers, road crew, and music professionals through the unique financial chaos of feast-and-famine income, 1099 tax surprises, and the lack of a safety net most W2 jobs come with.
This episode gets into the actual mechanics: how to handle 1099 tax planning, when to set up an LLC (and when not to), how to build an emergency fund big enough to handle the off-season, what order to put your money in (debt, retirement, brokerage), and why mental health and financial health are more interlaced than most people realize.
What you'll learn:
- Why financial coaching is different from financial advising — and why most touring pros need the coach first
- How to plan for taxes when you're paid as a 1099 freelancer
- The pyramid approach to where your next dollar should go
- Why MusiCares now subsidizes coaching for industry pros who qualify
- How to use credit cards strategically (and when to cut them up)
- Why "spend less than you make" is still the simplest financial wisdom there is
- How to build a plan that handles both the tour high and the off-season low
Sponsor: MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/
Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live
Host: Nikki Sanz