In this episode of Dan Schawbel’s “5 Questions” podcast, Jeremy Zimmer, co‑founder of United Talent Agency (UTA), discusses his unconventional path into the entertainment business, the enduring tension between creativity and commerce, and how talent agencies must evolve. He explains why he left Boston University at 19, describing it as a mutual decision driven by a poor fit with traditional education. Zimmer outlines the core challenge for talent today: finding avenues to tell original, large‑scale stories that resonate with audiences, especially in film and television. He describes UTA’s strategy of building multi‑hyphenate capabilities—anticipating artists’ interests in books, podcasts, product lines, and more—so the agency can support creators even before they articulate a need, which also serves as a retention tool. The conversation moves to emerging technologies: Zimmer separates blockchain as a distribution platform, NFTs as a method to monetize unique content, and digital talent as the forebearers of the creator economy, emphasizing their future significance. He stresses the importance of understanding consumer behavior in the streaming era, noting that artists must grasp how fans discover and engage with content across platforms. Finally, Zimmer offers career advice, using the metaphor of a mirror to encourage self‑reflection, honest assessment of strengths and weaknesses, and willingness to make hard changes to advance one’s career.
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This is Matthew McConaughey.
Natalie Portman. James Patterson.
Michael Ian Black. And you are listening to 5 Questions with Dan Shaubel.
Jeremy, welcome to 5 Questions.
Well, thank you. It's great to be here.
What motivated you to leave college at age 19 to join a talent agency?
Well, I was motivated as a result of, well, it was a mutual, it was sort of a mutual decision between myself and Boston University where I think we mutually decided that continuing there was not the best path for either of us. So I'd say that I was never a particularly good student and my time in formal education had run its course.
I was always very happy to graduate elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. I was like, this is not for me.
Yeah, I didn't end up graduating. I just ended up, you know, a mutual decision. It was time for me to move on.
Yeah. I wonder if it's like more common for people who are more entrepreneurial-minded to just not like the school system because it, you know, it's like very status quo. So for me, I was like, oh, I can't wait to get to this next phase of my life so I could do my own thing.
I mean, some people say that one of the best definitions of an entrepreneur is that they're otherwise unemployable.
Yeah.
And I think, you know, college, the structure of it was not easy for me. I'm sure today I'd be diagnosed with ADHD and that would be, it'd probably make it easier for me to deal with.
Probably. I mean, all the Sharks on Shark Tank, I believe, are, or at least half of them. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities across the entertainment landscape and what role does talent play Well, the biggest challenge and opportunity across the entertainment landscape today is how do we—
and it's been really the challenge across all entertainment and art forever, which is, you know, how does the intersection of creativity and commerce, you know, what happens at that intersection? And how do we, you know, make sure that the people who are creating the content continue to run it as a business while at the same time fostering and encouraging talent to do their best work and to dream the right dreams. And so what role does talent play in how the industry evolves? They play an essential role in the middle of it. And the hardest thing for talent right now is finding the avenues to tell original stories that have size and scope and really can move an audience. And I think that that's the challenge talent is facing, particularly in movies and television right now.
Yeah, I've heard also that there are a lot of people have said there's like fewer big, like action heroes than there was like decades ago. And so it's harder for maybe one person to just carry a movie.
I don't know, I can't remember. I think it was Bette Davis who said, you know, the stars didn't get smaller, the movies did, something like that. I think that's part of it is Right now, the definition or the sort of default definition of a powerful movie is a small movie that's, you know, that's all driven by a social issue, or as opposed to, you know, a big, powerful sweeping drama. You think about movies like Out of Africa and Reds and some of the movies that really powered the industry for so long. They're not making those kinds of movies.
Yeah. And the way in which you think of talent, I think is really smart. And I completely agree with this, developing multi-hyphenated brands. Like I think of myself as, you know, speaker, you know, author, podcaster, researcher, you know, hyphenate. And so can you give a few examples of how you've done this with some of your artists?
Well, you know, again, I, we really, we, we operate from the artist, the talent out. So our talent wake up on any given day and say, you know, I'd really love to do this, or I saw so-and-so was, had created a shoe line. I'd love to do that. I, I have a real passion for that. Or, you know, I love telling stories. I'd love to tell stories in the audio format. Are you guys capable of helping me build a podcast business? So Our challenge, our, our process is to build the capability ahead of the client's— ahead of the client's awareness to know that they might want it so that when they wake up and say, you know what, I just, I, I had a dream last night, I had this incredible idea for a book. Great, we can help you do that. So that's what our cha— our, our mission is, is to always have The capability to help our clients do the things they want to do, and sometimes even before they know they want to do it.
That's smart because it's a retention play too, because if you can't do it, then they're like, oh, you know, my talent agency doesn't offer this. They don't, don't know what they're doing. They don't have the capability. So I'll go to another talent agency. So it sounds like—
Well, I'd like to say, I'd like to think it's purely aspirational and not defensive at all, but maybe there is a, a bit of a retention play in there, as you say.
Yeah. And what you and UTA have done so well is you're staying ahead of the curve. Like you were saying, like you've signed a series of NFT projects like Proof. What role do you think NFTs, the blockchain, and digital talent have in the future of entertainment?
Well, there you can kind of separate those things because the tendency is to put them all together. I do think the blockchain as a new distribution platform is, is a good— can be, has the potential to be a very potent and differentiating force where artists can create content and monetize that content directly to their fan, their consumer without an intermediary. And, and that the potential of that, if, if realized and unlocked and not subsequently intermediated, I think is really, really potent. NFTs are, you know, a brilliant way to capture that, whatever that story is, that art is, whatever that is in that form, and capture it in that non-fungible token and allow that to be distributed to people through an NFT. And digital talent, which is, you know, this massive bucket, and the idea that these are all put together in the same sentence is You know, digital talent is a, you know, is really the forebearers of the creator economy. And, you know, we've been in the digital talent business for a very, very long time before it was a thing. And, you know, we've seen the evolution and the power of digital talent, those people who have grown up natively on platforms where they have a direct relationship with their consumer. And we're, You know, we're huge believers that their role in the future of entertainment is gonna be very significant.
Yeah, when I was growing up, no one was talking about how many times did an artist's song get streamed, right? And now you hear that way more than how many, you know, CDs were sold.
How many records did they sell?
Yeah, I know. So that's very transformational. And so it seems like you're also looking at this from the consumer perspective too, because in terms of distribution, in terms of their needs, maybe they're looking for music in other forms like NFTs and different ways to get that music. social media, TikTok, and everything like that. So it's both from the talent perspective as well as consumer behavior.
Well, you have to, you know, to be a great advisor to talent, you have to understand the consumer and their relationship with the consumer and how to evolve that relationship. Because, you know, if the, if the tree's falling in the forest and no one's hearing it, who knows if it makes any sound? So that's how artists have to understand their relationship with the consumer ultimately.
Absolutely. And what's your best piece of career advice?
Well, I always say that the greatest business tool available to you is a mirror, but you have to be willing to really use it, which means you have to really take a look at yourself and what are you bringing to the party and what are you doing well and what are you not doing well and what are you willing to give up in order to do something really well? And the mirror becomes this sort of very unfiltered Reality that if you can dare to really use it, can be a really powerful tool for advancing your career.
Well, it answers a lot of questions for you. Why aren't you getting parts in shows or movies? Like, why isn't certain things happening to you? And maybe you have to kind of reflect on, you know, what makes you good or what— where you need improvement to be able to change that.
You have to be willing to ask yourself the tough questions. And not look to everybody else. Why aren't this? Why aren't that? But you got to be able to look in the mirror and go, you know what, I'm— because I haven't— the script isn't good enough. I haven't worked hard enough. I haven't committed myself deeply enough. And those are, you know, sometimes hard realizations to come to.
Well, that's great advice. And thank you so much for being on the show.
