Nicol Kuburoglu is a Junior Talent Buyer at C3 Presents, a subsidiary of concert and promoting giant Live Nation Entertainment. She has immense experience working with world class talent and has booked a staggering number of shows during her time in the US. From starting her career at a world class artist management company to now being in the top of her field in the music booking industry, she has shown the world that anyone can start from anywhere and achieve their dreams. We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicol and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicol, what do you attribute your success to?
Coming from a small island with little opportunity, I’ve always had to fight for everything I’ve achieved. With the support of those around me, my friends and family, I’ve continued to have the motivation to try again, even after failing so many times. I never let failure pull me down, instead use it to motivate me to be even more successful in the future. This core mindset, with my support system has enabled me to get to where I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’m currently a Talent Buyer for the casino’s department at C3 Presents. My job essentially is booking the highest level of talent for casinos across the west coast, specifically in Nevada and California.

I graduated with a BA in Music Business / Management from my dream school, Berklee College of Music. I’d spent 3 years studying and working 2 jobs, one to help pay for my living and one being an internship. I never really had much time for myself while I was there as I was either studying to graduate within 3 years, when my course was a 4 year degree or I was working my jobs. It was a really tough period but it all worked out and I managed to get recommended for this position at C3 Presents through one of my prior internships.

I always find a solution for a problem. No matter the challenge, there is always a way around it. That’s how I’ve overcome all my obstacles so far anyways. This belief has gotten me through everything.

I’ve definitely learnt to be more patient and to advocate for myself. Having been an international student and now a worker, it’s difficult being in the US. Being so far away from my family and my home, I’ve had to learn to do everything myself (with the support of everyone around me). But my love for the music industry, specifically live entertainment has brought me into a place of comfort and joy, and I love where I’m currently at. My parents always told me to love what I do, and I’ve been able to do exactly that. Work doesn’t feel like work for me, because quite frankly I’d do this all for free. My dream has always been to work in live music in the US and I still have to pinch myself in certain moments.

Prior to joining C3, I was an assistant at Red Light Management. I worked for an extremely successful artist manager and his roster; Corinne Bailey Rae, Ezinma, Adia Victoria and more. During my time there I worked on the marketing and routing of Corinne’s 2021 world tour and was chosen to create her marketing posters for her social media and billboards. This was a huge stepping stone in my career as I was one of the first assistants to be given such a senior role amongst a huge tour. In addition to this, I was also a part of the PR campaign between Ezinma and Pantene, which was such an incredible experience and one that taught me a lot about negotiation skills, which I use in my current job today.

When I joined C3, I was given the opportunity to develop our department’s project management system through Asana. It took around 4-5 months to create and test but I officially launched it within our department in January of this year. It’s allowed every team in the Casinos department to have their own system in place to manage each of their properties, which in the long run has allowed our department to confirm and book many more shows. My team alone has been able to book 150 shows since January, which compared to last year, has almost doubled in numbers. It’s excelled our department into being the leading casinos promoter in the US.
One of my greatest accomplishments so far has been booking Ed Sheeran for one of our properties. Definitely the biggest accomplishment for my team so far as it’s pretty uncommon for artists such as Ed Sheeran to perform at casinos outside of Vegas.  A personal favourite has been booking Alter Bridge, who I’ve been a huge fan of since I was 14. In addition to all of this, being able to work and represent C3 at some of their festivals such as Austin City Limits and Innings Festival has been incredible. I could name a bunch of other artists and festivals but these are definitely my highlights.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take them on a little road trip, starting off with a drive through Starbucks hah! We’d drive down to Santa Monica, across the coast towards Malibu. Stop off at The Getty Villa Museum to show them one of my favourite spots. Then stop off by the beach in the sun, enjoy the lovely weather and head into downtown for some dinner. A personal favourite is True Food kitchen. Then we’d head to Barney’s Beanery to grab some drinks to end the night!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My first and biggest shoutout goes to my family. They’ve always been my biggest supporters and always had my back, no matter the situation.

My second shoutout goes to my team at C3 Presents, who believed in me from the very start and have placed me in positions I’ve only ever dreamt of being in. their continued support has been amazing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolxkub

Image Credits
credits to myself

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