Taking Time with USC

Meet with a Legend

In the Spotlight

As we’ve noted before, LCO loves to share the successes of our past interns as they climb their way to the top. Please enjoy this interview with Todd Brodginski a past intern who is now the Senior Vice President of MSO PR.

Levine Communications Office: What made your cross-country trip to Los Angeles for an internship worth while?.

Todd Brodginski:I was able to find something very early in my life that I had fun doing and thought had an impact on musicians’ careers.  I hadn’t planned my post-Syracuse life very specifically, so when I was offered the internship and had an excuse to come to California from Connecticut, I took it immediately.  It was a bold move but I can’t imagine any other path.  I’ll never forget my first day on the job, going to our office at 8730 Sunset and then going to the Cat + Fiddle for a drink that night.  Luckily a job opened up a month later and I’ve been loving it all along.

LCO: What was the best advice you received while interning at LCO?

TB:“Lose the suit and tie.”

LCO:Do you believe interning at LCO and with Michael helped you get to where you are now?

TB:Absolutely.  Michael is very much a teacher, very much a leader.  He took time–from when I first started at Levine/Schneider—to explain things through.  He taught us about tenacity and not taking “no” for an answer when you really believe in something.

LCO:What do you like the most/least about what you do now?

TB: My favorite aspects are turning people on to new music, or discovering a young artist and helping them. With the technology that we’ve seen evolve in the last 20 years, it’s amazing to see how fast something (good or bad, true or false) can spread. Least favorite would be the immediacy at which you’re expected to respond to everything, giving us all less time for creativity.  A career in PR is more of a life choice than a job, it can be all-consuming but it can also be rewarding.

LCO:What knowledge can you pass on to PR interns?

TB:Read as much as you can.  Not just blogs but a wide array of magazines and real books (with multiple characters and paragraphs).  It’s good to be well-rounded in the arts, culture and society.

LCO:What is the craziest thing you have encountered in your career?

TB:There have been some crazy times at rock concerts or on red carpets that have been surreal.  One of the wildest was walking the female pop trio TLC down the red carpet at the Grammys, as Puff Daddy and J. Lo (in that green slinky dress) arrived and we nearly got trampled.

LCO:What will you always remember about Michael/LCO?

TB:Michael does a wickedly funny Johnny Carson (via SNL) imitation.

A big thanks to Todd from LCO for taking time to interview with us!