Off The Record - The DJ Podcast by Crossfader EP 155. DJs flexing on instagram doesn't work any more - Olivia Mancuso
Feb 26, 2026
Olivia Mancuso, music-industry entrepreneur and founder of Chicago Music Nexus, shares what really builds a DJ career today. She talks social-media resets, testing content, and using comments to guide growth. They discuss relatable vlogs, being interesting beyond DJing, networking at in-person events, and why flashy flex content no longer works.
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Start Fresh When Your Account Loses Focus
- Do consider starting a fresh account when your existing follower base mixes unrelated audiences and slows growth.
- Olivia restarted a TikTok and grew quickly after abandoning an old account that lost niche focus, and a student regrew from 8k to 40k after starting new content.
Start With A Thesis And Pivot From Real Feedback
- Have a clear initial thesis but remain willing to pivot when data shows a different audience is engaging.
- Olivia launched a podcast aimed at ravers but 15 episodes in discovered DJs were the primary listeners and shifted focus accordingly.
Use Comments As Research And Engage Manually
- Pay attention to comments and use engagement prompts to learn what your audience wants.
- Olivia asked followers to rate her show and drop artists in comments, then followed up manually and discovered new artists to feature.