Monetizing passions, scaling marketplaces, and stories from a creator economy vet | Camille Hearst (Spotify, Patreon, Apple, YouTube)

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Camille Hearst is Head of Fan Monetization at Spotify, where she finds new ways for fans to connect and for artists to monetize. Previously she was Head of Product for Creators at Patreon, Product Marketing Manager at YouTube, the second Product Manager at iTunes, and VP of Product at Hailo. She also co-founded a company called Kit, which was acquired by Patreon in 2018. In today’s podcast, we discuss:

• Advice on building a successful career as a creator

• Her take on the future of the creator economy

• The best and worst parts of building products for music artists

• What Apple product teams do differently

• The story of meeting Steve Jobs

• Advice for founders going through acquisitions

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/monetizing-passions-scaling-marketplaces

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Where to find Camille Hearst:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/camillionz

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chearst/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Camille’s background

(04:24) Camille’s role as Head of Fan Monetization at Spotify

(07:40) The best and worst parts of working with artists

(14:15) Trends in the content creation world

(19:29) Advice on building a successful career as a creator

(21:32) The importance of content curators

(22:30) Camille’s startup, Kit

(24:49) Advice on selling your startup

(28:28) The supply side of marketplaces

(34:37) How Camille became the second PM at iTunes

(35:43) The story of meeting Steve Jobs

(43:01) Apple’s style of product management

(45:54) Opportunities on the platform side of content creation

(48:34) Camille’s early years growing up in a creative tech family

(53:45) Favorite frameworks

(52:32) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• Adam Fishman on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-build-a-high-performing-growth-team-adam-fishman-patreon-lyft-imperfect-foods/

• The Federal Reserve says Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour boosted the economy. One market research firm estimates she could add $5 billion: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-eras-tour-boosted-economy-tourism-federal-reserve-how-much-money-made/

• Yelp coins the “Beyoncé bump” for the economic halo created by the pop star’s Renaissance Tour: https://fortune.com/2023/07/19/beyonce-renaissance-tour-economic-impact/

• Lenny Bot: https://www.lennybot.com/

• YouTube streamer faces riot charge after Union Square Park erupts in chaos: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/nyregion/union-square-kai-cenat-twitch-giveaway.html

• Michelle Phan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MICHELLEPHA

• Rover: https://www.rover.com/

• Airbnb’s product management shift: the view from product leaders: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/airbnbs-product-management-shift-the-viewpoint-of-product-leaders/#

• Hiroki Asai on LinkedIn: