Sarah Gavigan of Otaku Ramen has become a true powerhouse in the American ramen scene and is one of the pioneers of American style ramen. Through her mission of bringing ramen to the ramenless, she has grown the Otaku group from a popup to multiple Otaku Ramen locations in Nashville Tenessee. 

In this episode Sarah talks about how she got her start in ramen, how to run a successful ramen shop in the US, and her thoughts on how restaurants will need to navigate a post COVID world.

I had a great time talking to Sarah, and I think this episode is super informative for anyone who has dreams or aspirations of opening up a ramen shop or popup in the future.

Otaku Ramen - https://www.otakuramen.com/

Sarah on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahgavigan/

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What do the music industry and ramen have in common? Tune in to this week’s episode of _ Sharp & Hot _ as Chef Emily welcomes Sarah Gavigan to the studio talking how she went from licensing music in LA to cooking in Nashville for a living.  Sharing how eating ramen had always brought so much joy, paired with the subsequent lack of ramen in the Nashville area, Sarah decided to dedicate herself to learning the craft of making traditional ramen. After testing recipes with friends, she started doing pop-ups all over town with great success. Finally, in 2014 Gavigan and her husband Brad opened POP Nashville, which housed Otaku South until May 2015. This long journey eventually lead them to what is now Nashville’s first dedicated ramen shop – Otaku Ramen. Sarah expands on her second restaurant, Little Octopus, a modern restaurant serving flavors from everywhere, ingredients from here, and options for everyone.

“Running a pop up is like being on a film set: you have to think ahead, organize, and then go for it!” [14:30]

“If you have something interesting and people want it, it’s not a trend, you’re feeding a culture something that they don’t have.” [17:45]

–Sarah Gavigan on Sharp & Hot

This is a Q&A with music supervisor Sarah Gavigan. It is the sequel to the previous podcast and there is a ton of great questions and fantastic answers! If you don't walk away from these podcasts with an understanding of how to license your music and how to improve your music's licensability you might want to listen again and take notes!

I can't recommend more highly Sarah's music licensing workshop! Buy it:) It Rocks!

Sarah's made available extra goodies, videos etc... for all of you here: http://bit.ly/GNxvxl

This is the Above The Noise Music Industry Podcast #2. Although the ATN interviews will be released once a week, this week there are two! The reason for it is a follow up Q&A with Sarah Gaivgan next week (Monday April 2nd at 5pm PST). So take a listen and get your questions ready! More info will be available at www.playitloudmusic.com
Sarah Gavigan

Music Supervisor
Founder/Author, Get Your Music Licensed

Sarah Gavigan is founder/author of the groundbreaking online educational resource Get Your Music Licensed. With over a decade of experience as an award-winning music supervisor, Gavigan has created a unique online community as the platform to share her insight and expertise on the notoriously hard to access music licensing industry.

“After years of being asked the same question, “how do I get my music licensed?” I decided I was ready to give teaching a try. Soon after UCLA graciously allowed me to develop and teach my own course in the Summer of 2009 and again in the Winter of 2010. The natural next step was to write a book, but when I began to see the trend of online learning and the incredible benefits for both the writer and the reader/student I changed course and developed my entire platform online.”

Gavigan has spent the majority of her professional life as an entrepreneur, almost by accident. After owning and running her own talent agency for 7 years, Gavigan was drawn to the burgeoning world of music licensing by a conversation started in a van in Iceland in 1999. The conversation with Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation led Gavigan to understand that Indies were interested in finding a way to get their music to brands and agencies. In 2000 Ten Music was born to provide exactly that service to the growing Indie music community.

Gavigan pioneered a business model that enabled representation for Indies, allowing their music access to the brightest and best in the vast national advertising network. Gavigan began to dedicate 100% of her time to establishing and building a divergent new business model of music representation and branding.

Pairing her passion for independent music with her innate entrepreneurial spirit, Gavigan knew she’d found a distinct niche. Her outspoken thought leadership has defined Gavigan as an industry expert.

Today Gavigan is a music supervisor/producer for advertising agencies worldwide, consulting for brands on music licensing, and writing about her experiences in music licensing and the music industry. Gavigan has presented at workshops and conferences around the globe, including CMJ, SXSW and Belfast Music Week.

For a free video on music licensing you can go here: http://bit.ly/GNxvxl