Keynotes, Speaking, Podcasts, and Publishing

Dr. Gigi Louisa Johnson has been inspiring audiences with visions and lenses of possible futures. Bring her to share ideas with your organization or team for inspiration on possible futures, new technologies, personal augmentation, or changing work and creative systems.

Selected YouTube Clips

Selected Events

2024

EPIC International Summit, Santa Barbara, CA

  • Panelist, “Future of Work”

 

2023

Barcelona and Pamplona, Spain

  • Keynote and Workshops, “Music Futures Barcelona”; “Music Futures Navarra,” Spain
  • Keynote and Faculty Workshops, “Co-Futuring Education,” UIC, Barcelona, Spain

EPIC International Summit, Santa Barbara, CA

  • Workshop, “Futuring: Rethinking ‘Place’ “

SXSW (South by Southwest), Austin, TX

  • Guest Panelist, “The End of Events, The Dawn of Engagements”

Augmented World Expo, Santa Clara, CA

  • Panelist, “The Great Debate: Generative AI Will Change the World, For Better Or Worse”

National Association of Music Merchants, Anaheim, CA

  • Panelist, “Wearables in Music”

 

2022

Mallen Scholars and Practitioners Conference in Filmed Entertainment Economics (Virtual)

  • Presenter, “Streaming Impacts and Future Models of Film, Television, and Music”

Screen by Screen, Remote Music Conference (Virtual)

  • Speaker, “Online Tools for Artists: Tools to help run your business”

World Domination Summit, Portland, OR

  • Workshop, “How to Live a Nonlinear Life” 

Friends of the National Library of Medicine, Post-Pandemic Libraries: The Upcoming Era of Change—On the Future of Work and Information (Virtual)

  • Keynote, “Rethinking and Retooling for the Digital Future” 

CyBER Symposium, Westcliff University (Virtual)

  • Keynote, “Changing ecosystems of local and creative work in this Pandemic era and beyond” 

Academy of Management Conference (Hybrid)

  • Professional Development Workshop Lead, “Translating Theory to Practice: Making meaning through scholarship and practice on leading organizational transformation in the future of work” 

 

2021

Mallen Scholars and Practitioners Conference in Filmed Entertainment Economics (Virtual) 

  • Speaker, “Pandemic Disruption: Rethinking Music, Video, Streaming, and Community” 

SXSW (Virtual)

  • Speaker, “Tectonic Mergers: Frictions in Music Education,” SXSWedu
  • Speaker, “Navigating Accelerated Changes in the Music Industry,” SXSW 

“Be Present Everywhere,” roving virtual panel on current activities in global music at 10 conferences across 2021 (Virtual)

  • Panelist

MEIEA (Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association) Annual Conference (Virtual)

  • Moderator, “Build Back Better: Student Insight Edition”

Simmons University, Library Science Graduate Program (Virtual)

  • Guest Lecturer, “Current/Futures of Automation in/with (Daily) Work: Machine Learning, AI, and Robotics—and Living as an Augmented Human Self” 

Amplify Music 2021 Virtual Conference

  • Moderator and Co-Host, 4-Day Conference
2020

​UC Cybersecurity Summit (Virtual)

  • Opening Keynote, “Augmenting Selves: Creating Lives and Futures in a Trained and Tracked Digital World” 

she.grows France and Italy, SheSaidSo Regional Organization (Virtual)

  • Panelist, “Roundtable: Exploring the Future of the Music Business” 

Music Cities Together (Virtual)

  • Co-Host, Webinar

Amplify Music 2020 Virtual Conference

  • Co-Host

Music Finance Forum 2020 Presented by Winston Baker (Virtual)

  • Speaker, Music Finance

MONDO NYC, Berlin, and Rio Music Conferences (Virtual)

  • Panelist

2019

Web Summit, Lisbon, Portugal – video

Digital Entertainment World, Los Angeles, CA

  • Panelist, “The Future of the Music Business”

SXSW, Austin, TX

  • Panelist,“Blueprint: Finding Sonic Voice with Social Sound”
  • Moderator, “Music Industry 3.0 – The Great Rebalancing Begins”

EPIC International Summit, Santa Barbara, CA

  • Keynote Speaker, “Building Creative Lives and Futures in a Trained and Tracked Digital World”

General Assembly, DTLA, Los Angeles, CA

Music Finance Forum Presented by Winston Baker, West Los Angeles, CA

Santa Monica Public Library and City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, Santa Monica, CA

Fielding Graduate University, Regional Gathering, Palo Alto, CA

  • Keynote and Working Conference Lead, “Future of Work”

House of Blues All Access, Los Angeles, CA

  • Moderator and Panelist, “On Stage: Technology and Music Creation”

University of California Office of the President, Oakland, CA

  • Keynote Speaker, “Augmenting Selves — Challenges of Creating Lives and Futures in a Trained and Tracked Digital World”

COMPOSE LA Event Series with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

  • Host and Moderator, “Future of Music in Los Angeles”

1st Annual Bruin TEK Forum, UCLA, Los Angeles

  • Panelist, “Data-Driven Management”

Amplify Music on the West Side, Santa Monica, CA

  • Co-Host and Moderator

Amplify Music in LA, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

  • Co-Host and Moderator
2018

UCLA BruinTech and UCLA AMG

  • Keynote Speaker, “Designing for Whose Normal?”

Teen Summit, LA County Alliance for Boys & Girls Clubs

  • Panelist, “Forward Futures: Workforce Development”

UCLA BruinTech, Los Angeles, CA

  • Speaker: “How are Careers Changing and How AI and Search are Changing the World”

Wonder Women Tech, Long Beach, CA

  • Panelist, “The Future of Intersection of Technology and Entertainment”

The 20th Annual Mallen Scholars and Practitioners Conference in Filmed Entertainment Economics, Potsdam and Berlin, Germany

  • Research Presenter, “Playlisting Video”

Collision Conference, Music Notes, New Orleans, LA

  • Fireside Chat, “Tech changed consumption: What’s the next disruption?”

MusicBiz, Nashville, TN

  • Panelist, “Supercharge Student Career Superpowers”

SXSWedu, Austin, TX

  • Workshop Facilitator, “How to Teach Designing Your Creative Career”

     

    2017

    UCLA Mobile Experience Conference, Los Angeles, CA

    • Keynote, “The Mobile Living Experience: Smart Phones, Smarter Choices?” 

    SF Entertainment Commission, San Francisco, CA

    • Keynote, “Smart Phones, Smart Audiences” 

    Music Industry Research Association Conference, Los Angeles, CA

    • Speaker, “How Streaming Influences Concert Choices and Music Consumption” 

    Transforming Hollywood 8, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

    • Moderator, “Music Streaming & The Splinternets: The New, Competing, Cultural Curators” 

    MusicBiz 2017, Nashville, TN

    • Speaker, “Tech Tools for Music Industry Exploration” 

    Private investor conference, Los Angeles, CA

    • Keynote Speaker, “Accelerating Technology and its Impact on the Music Industry,” 

     

    Interviews

    TV: BBC One Breakfast, CNBC, KABC-TV, WBZ-TV (Boston), WKOW-TV (Madison, WI), KING-TV (Seattle, WA)

    Radio: BBC Digital Planet, BBC World Service, NPR Morning Edition, NPR Marketplace (multiple visits), KCRW’s Which Way LA, PRI/KCRW To the Point

    Print: The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Business Week, Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Los Angeles Business Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News, Investor’s Business Daily, American Way, Reuters, Le Monde, and 15 regional newspapers

    Podcasts

    Through Innovating Music, Creative Innovators, and Amplify Music Communities, host Gigi Johnson explores the future of music, arts, and technology.

    Listen to global voices — artists, entrepreneurs, technologists, and community leaders — sharing real stories of resilience, leadership, tech disruption, equity, and the future of work in creative industries.

     

    Key themes from Rethink Next Podcasts

    • Career Transformation in Changing Times
    • Innovation in Music & Creativity
    • Local Music Ecosystem Resilience
    • Career Reinvention & Creative Leadership
    • Music Tech, Platforms & AI
    • Equity, Access & Future of Work in Music