INTERVIEW

Back to Storytelling

Sam Larson, Senior Customer Success Manager at Epidemic Sound US, shares his journey from music composition to customer success, where storytelling remains a core element. From engaging with clients on product solutions to fostering creative partnerships, Sam’s role is all about connection and narrative. Discover how his musical background enriches his approach to customer success, helping clients tell their stories through Epidemic’s high-quality music catalog in a supportive, creative work culture.

Can you tell us about your background in music? How did it all start?

I had been around music from a very young age due to my family being very musical, however, because of that exposure, I kind of rebelled against it for a long time, meaning not even singing happy birthday at parties! Instead of music, I threw myself into theater and then slowly made my way to music and regretted all the years I lost and it very much became my life. I went on to study music in college and graduate school and had dreams to move to New York City and be an artist, however, the pandemic had other plans which changed my career trajectory to Customer Success, which surprisingly had a lot of similarities to my musical career. 

What role does storytelling play in your approach to music?

I came from musical theater and choir, which is all about storytelling; for me, the beauty comes from the question of where do we come from and where we are going? From musical theater I stepped into music theory, and finally to composition, where I always felt most comfortable composing very intentionally around a narrative. During my studies, as a way to challenge myself if I wasn’t working with lyrics or text, I sometimes still base an instrumental work on a poem or a story and try to soundtrack it, how would it sound like, where would it start and where would it end. 

One of Sam’s compositions being performed by the Illinois Modern Ensemble.

How does your role as Customer Success Manager work with storytelling?

The role of customer success is a great position for those who care about storytelling because that is what this role is at its core. One of the greatest parts about engaging with our customers is hearing about their day to day and understanding what their needs are, where they need support, and then being able to represent Epidemic in finding solutions for them. Whether we think about product or workflow improvements, celebrating wins, or thinking critically about what we can do better for the customer, it’s still a matter of representing each party, thinking of where we’ve come from, and targeting where we’re going.

When I first got into this industry, what made me want to go down the customer success route is the long term relationship building, to be by the client’s side. Our relationships have different levels, where it can be anything from training them on our platform to having high level conversations about their overall business strategy; no matter the scale, it’s about being a partner and an advocate.

At the end of the day, we are helping our customers tell their stories and engage with their audiences. 

What made me want to go down the Customer Success route is the long term relationship building, to be by the client’s side.