Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Iovine.
Jamie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I have worked for Beats by Dre as well as a backstage producer for the WWE. I have been coming to Meltdown Comics since the day I could drive. Meltdown has been a living breathing hub of creativity and freedom of expression for over 25 years now and I count myself as someone who has benefited from Meltdown’s open doors. 3 years ago, I approached the founder (Gaston) and propositioned a business partnership to take the Meltdown brand into the stratosphere.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been a completely smooth road but nothing ever worth it in the end is. As with most media businesses the times have been changing with how people take in their entertainment. DVD’s are on the way out, as are most print mediums. We are lucky that comics are one of the last few tangible items people like to come in and physically purchase. We have had to find different means to gain a profit and I think we have been successful in that with our event planning and merch curation.
Please tell us about Meltdown Comics.
We are a brick and mortar comic book store that has been around for 25 plus years. We have books encapsulating all different types of genres and tastes as well as books for every age and demographic. We also have a podcast network called the Meltcast network with hundreds of different shows garnering hundreds of thousands of listeners a week. We teach classes for aspiring writers and artists young and old as part of our “Geek U” program. We host stand-up comedy shows almost nightly and have worked directly with Comedy Central on “The Meltdown” comedy show. What sets us apart from other businesses is we aren’t just a retail space, we are a living breathing hub of creativity. A lot of amazingly talented people have come through our doors and we are proud to provide the means for people to express themselves.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything we do, success or failure, is a learning process for us that makes us better in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Address: 7522 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles CA 90046
- Website: meltcomics.com
- Phone: (323) 851-7223
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @meltdowncomics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meltdown.comics/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeltdownComics
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/meltdown-comics-and-collectibles-los-angeles-2
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