Stephen Powers is a creative entrepreneur, Grammy-winning record producer and the CEO of Wisdome LA, an immersive, multi-media art park in downtown LA that many are calling “the future of entertainment.” That’s no accident, as Stephen has deep roots in the music industry, having founded dozens of record companies and produced albums for the likes of Tina Turner, the Beach Boys and many more.
At Wisdome, with its five geodesic domes and dizzying audio and visual technological capacities, there is no longer the traditional divide between artist and audience. Early in his life, he headed off to MIT as a teen to pursue a degree in molecular biology. But a chain of events led him down a very different path in life, where Stephen was forced to find true tenacity to build an incredible life and journey.
This Episode’s Heavy-hitter’s:
Wisdom LA is based on the concept that Domes are the most optimal way to experience live entertainment. Stephen explains that they’ve created a Dome composed of essentially movie screens, so it creates the experience of AR/VR without goggles.
Stephen was profoundly impacted in his early life when his sister lost her life to a drunk driver who caused an accident. Stephen eventually opened a performing arts center in her name, called Charlotte’s Web.
Tragically, ten years later Stephen’s other sister was lost in a plane accident along with her wife and child. Stephen, who was normally a very positive person, became “mad at God” for years until he started to seek out spiritual guidance.
Stephen founded his own very successful record label, and reminds artists that record labels can offer important value like artist development and marketing, although the distribution element has become less important with the popularity of streaming.
Stephen became the Director of Entertainment at the Olympics by a literal hat draw, when the committee needed to replace their current director, and went digging in a drawer to find candidates. They ended up calling Stephen, he had 4 phone interviews in one day, and was given the job.
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1:30 - Origin of Wisdome.LA
3:40 - Be in the moment (With/without phones)
4:40 - Giving back
5:44 - First ever Concert
6:16 - Tragic Incident
10:32 - Another tragic incident / Time for grief
13:40 - Person of Faith
14:39 - Early Lessons (1973)
17:41 - Discovering Talent
19:14 - Big Fish in the Small Pond
21:35 - Olympics Experience
23:00 - Lack of Exposure / Miscommunication in different culture
23:32 - Global Foundation
24:57- A&R
26:20 - Early Mistakes
27:04 - Rock and Roll
29:12 - Rockers out there
30:41 - Bands that inspire Stephen
31:46 - The Secret Sauce
33:26 - Leading by Example
34:04 - Charging Criteria
37:11 - Single greatest piece of advice
38:08 - Stephen's Super Power
38:43 - Stephen's North Star