Podcast appearances and mentions of betsy mchugh

State of the Arts Episode 133: The Father's Day Special just released! This week I commemorate Edwin Anthony Osborne II, my grandfather on my father's side. The Osborne family relocated to the United States from the United Kingdom in the late 1700s for business purposes. There is a strong possibility that they were related to The Duke of Leeds in Yorkshire (the lineage has not been traced recently. But it's on my bucket list to do so). My Pa Pa Ed's grandfather George Osborne fought courageously in the Civil War. He continued to be an entrepreneur after the war. Although Great-Great Grandpa George lived in the beautiful melting pot that was and still is New York, he and my great-great grandmother were not thrilled when their British Episcopalian son Edwin Anthony fell in love with an Irish Catholic recreational writer by the name of Betsy McHugh. My Great Grandparents eloped despite both of their families' outrage. The star-crossed lovers were "disowned" by both the Osbornes and the McHughs. Sadly their families never spoke to them again. But they made a life for themselves on Long Island and had three children (one of them was my Pa Pa Ed). Pa Pa Ed excelled in school and was blessed with the writing gene from his mother. After attending New York University he was hired as an entry-level reporter by Editor-in-Chief William Anderson of the Brooklyn Gazette. He fell in love with his employer's daughter Oressa, my Nana. They enjoyed the thrills of the metropolitan area together. Like my Nana, Pa Pa Ed also loved the New York City nightlife, live music, dancing, the beach, sailing and amusement parks on Coney Island. Surprisingly enough though, my Nana was the Brooklyn Dodgers fan, while my Pa Pa was not very interested in following sports. After they married, Pa Pa Ed and Nana Oressa settled down in Rockaway Beach, Queens and my Dad was born. Pa Pa Ed loved dogs. So, they always had at least one canine companion. He was also the Scoutmaster of my Dad's boy scout troop. Pa Pa Ed believed in helping children find their confidence to become leaders in the future. With very strong feelings about human rights, Pa Pa Ed had written many articles that were considered extremely progressive for that time. At a young age, he assumed the position of Editor-in-Chief when his father-in-law William Anderson retired early due to some health issues. Pa Pa Ed's writing skills did not go unnoticed by larger papers. The New York Times gave him a part-time position as a columnist as well. And occasionally he did some freelance editing for a Long Island newspaper. Tragically as my grandfather's career flourished he was diagnosed with liver cancer. Out of convenience he left his positions to take a job as Chief Editor of a local paper near his home. This shortened his commute time as he endured cancer treatments. He passed away quite abruptly when he wasn't even middle-aged yet. My Nana Oressa sold their home and moved back in with her father William along with my Dad. Pa Pa Ed's stellar writing abilities, passion for social justice and compassion for both people and animals were passed along to my Dad. In time my Dad influenced me with all these attributes. I have so many fond memories of bringing my writings to my Dad to edit, fawning over animals with him and our long talks about social issues. I never met my Pa Pa Ed. But I can sense his legacy every time I write, every time I pet my cat's cuddly fur and every time I do my best to stand up for what is right.

Betsy McHugh is the Founder and Chief Product Officer at Hurdl, pioneering "the next generation of fan-based marketing" at live events (the statement which we endorse). Event attendees get an LED wristband upon entering a venue, which can then be activated via SMS to answer a short set of questions. Those who choose to answer survey in turn become a part of the light show, get special offers, merch deals, and any other incentives determined by the artist's team. The Nashville-based startup claims to identify 8 times the data on who is in the audience versus other methods (for the organiser to then start a conversation with those fans). The system has a 67% average audience opt-in rate with 95% of those who do so answering up to 5 survey questions. On this Music Growth Talks episode Betsy shares how acts like Deadmau5 and Why Don’t We have already benefited from the platform. Listen to the episode in full to learn about the new ways to enhance fan experiences at your live shows, and to hear Betsy's take on the experience economy. ⏯ Go to http://dottedmusic.com/2018/podcast/mgt120-betsy-mchugh-hurdl for the show notes and http://musicgrowthtalks.com to subscribe to the podcast. Become a patron to access a secret podcast feed with patron-only episodes at https://www.patreon.com/andrewapanov

Global brands recognize that live events are filled with potential customers, but often their approach to engagement involves techniques fraught with data and privacy concerns; facial recognition and biometric screening being two especially hot topics. Direct-to-consumer marketing startup Hurdl has found a solution to this problem, using LED wearables to provide an opt-in experience with off-the-charts 1:1 engagement results. Hurdl is able to gather audience data by giving fans an LED wristband upon entering a venue, which attendees can choose to activate via SMS. On average, 67% of the audience will activate and 95% of those who do so will answer up to 5 survey questions. In return they receive special offers, merch deals, and more as determined by the organizer, while their LED wristband allows them to be part of the light show at the event. I invited Betsy McHugh, the Founder and CEO of Hurdl Enterprises back onto the show to learn how she is pioneering the de-anonymization of persons in event venues with a new kind of entertainment experience. We also talk about how this wearable technology is bridging the gap between artist and audience while being both accessible and affordable.

Hurdl is bridging the gap between artist and audience using wearable technology and a healthy amount of innovation. Ultimately they are upgrading experiences in the multi-billion dollar live event space which hasn’t seen a change in more than 30 years. In November Hurdl introduced wearable tech to the live music scene and even became the star of the show at the Country Music Association Awards. Could technology now engage large audiences to create new relationships and personalized euphoric experiences? The PIXL LED wearable turns fans into interactive event experiences while its patented software provides clients and brand partners a new 1:1 communication network with all attendees for direct, real-time engagement to increase pre-, during and post-event revenue. Hurdl was one of 11 startups chosen from more than 30,000 applicants worldwide to work in close collaboration with TechStars Music which many of you might remember from episode 204. "We’re proudly pioneering a new, direct channel for our clients to include and engage their entire audience in a way that I was never able as an artist manager for 12 years,” said Betsy McHugh, Hurdl founder Betsy has lived and breathed the live music scene having worked with John Mayer and Bon Jovi, as well as in management roles for artists including Keith Urban and Hunter Hayes. I'm quite excited about how Hurdl is bridging the gap between artist and audience while being both accessible and affordable.

Betsy McHugh, the founder and CEO of Hurdl, invented a device to help music artists collect audience data at concerts and other live events.