Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephan Jacobs.
Hi Stephan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always lived between worlds — creativity and technology, emotion and innovation. I grew up obsessed with sound and electronics, tinkering with music software as a teenager and DJing on vinyl before I could get into clubs legally. Eventually I moved to Los Angeles, fell in love with the underground scene, and started building a life around music, community, and immersive art.
Over the years I toured, released music under Stephan Jacobs and BOSA, and worked behind the scenes in playback engineering and show production for major artists. I’ve always loved being both on stage and behind the curtain — building worlds sonically and technically.
Today, my main artistic focus is Bigger Than Us, a project I created with singer Marieme. It blends music, spirituality, cutting-edge 3D visuals, and storytelling. We performed at Coachella this year, and we’ll be on the Lightning in a Bottle MainStage with The Do Lab in 2026. Bigger Than Us is about elevation — helping people remember their light and reconnect with something bigger than themselves.
In parallel, I built Sus It (susit.ai), a creative-tech platform that started as a playful idea and quickly grew into a widely used tool for analyzing whether media is AI-generated. We’re now scanning thousands of pieces of content a day and carving out a role in the future of creative integrity.
It feels like my journey has come full circle — using technology to protect creativity, while making art that pushes the boundaries of imagination. And it all still comes from the same place: curiosity, passion, and believing that the future belongs to those who build it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Creativity and entrepreneurship rarely are. I’ve had chapters where everything was flowing — touring, releasing music, building momentum — followed by moments where I had to completely rebuild from scratch.
The music industry evolves constantly, and there were times where I felt like I was starting over, learning new technology, and reinventing myself to keep moving forward. Add to that being a parent and balancing real life responsibilities — there were moments where it felt like I was holding a lot at once and trying to build the plane while flying it.
With Bigger Than Us, we spent years crafting our vision before the world got to see the full picture. There were times we questioned if people would understand what we were doing — blending music, storytelling, spirituality, and tech isn’t always the easiest lane to explain. But we stayed committed, and seeing it resonate now — performing at Coachella and preparing for the Lightning in a Bottle MainStage — made every challenge worth it.
Launching Sus It came with its own set of hurdles — building something new in a brand-new category while learning the world of AI, infrastructure, and product essentially in real time. There have been moments of doubt, sleepless nights, and financial stress, but watching it grow to thousands of scans a day and seeing it genuinely help creators made pushing through essential.
What kept me going was purpose, belief in the vision, and trusting that at every stage, there’s another level if you’re willing to keep building, learning, and showing up — even when it’s uncomfortable.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a music producer, performer, and creative director working at the intersection of sound, story, and technology. I’ve toured internationally, performed iconic stages like Coachella, and built immersive audio-visual experiences — but at the core, I’m a storyteller who believes in the power of human expression.
My main artistic project right now is Bigger Than Us, a duo with the incredible vocalist and songwriter Marieme. We combine cinematic electronic production, world-inspired rhythms, and poetic, spiritual lyricism with cutting-edge 3D visuals and inner-journey themes. We performed at Coachella this year, and we’ll be taking on the Lightning in a Bottle MainStage with The Do Lab in 2026, which is a huge milestone.
One thing I want to make clear in this new era of creativity:
I don’t use AI to create my music, songwriting, or emotional core.
I love technology and I build with it — but for my music, I believe the soul still matters. Every note, vocal, arrangement, and story comes from lived experience, collaboration, and intention. The computers help us bring the vision to life visually, but the ideas and emotion come from being human.
Beyond music, I also built Sus It (susit.ai) — a fast-growing tool helping creators and labels analyze whether content is AI-generated. It started as a playful experiment and quickly turned into a platform scanning thousands of media files a day. It’s been powerful building tech that protects artists while simultaneously creating art that celebrates humanity.
What sets me apart is the dual mission:
To push creativity forward without losing the soul of it.
I love innovation, but I believe real art still comes from feeling something — and having the courage to try and translate it.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
For me, mentorship has always happened through real relationships, not transactions. The best guidance in my career has come from people I showed up for, learned from in real time, and built trust with over years — not from asking for advice out of nowhere.
My biggest breakthroughs happened when I put myself in rooms where I could contribute, be helpful, and grow — whether it was underground shows, studios, playback rehearsals, or now the tech world. Instead of trying to “find a mentor,” I try to be someone worth mentoring. Show curiosity, work hard, stay humble, and make things — people naturally want to support energy like that.
Networking isn’t really about networking — it’s about community. I helped start Producer’s Social years ago for that reason: artists need each other. And as my journey expanded into creative tech with Sus It, I learned the same thing is true in the startup world — your mentors often come from the people you collaborate with, build alongside, or meet by showing up consistently.
My advice is simple:
• Be genuinely interested in people, not what they can do for you.
• Build things and share them — momentum attracts guidance.
• Show respect for time — mentors gravitate to people who execute.
• Lead with curiosity and gratitude.
The right guides show up when you’re actively walking your path, not waiting for someone to walk it for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.biggerthanusmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/biggerthanusmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@biggerthanusmusic
- Other: https://www.susit.ai
