Summary
Overview
Jack Coyne, host and co-creator of TrackStar, discusses how he built one of social media's biggest shows from a simple format: playing music for people on New York streets in a double-or-nothing trivia game. The conversation explores the evolution from New York City trivia to music, the challenges of balancing viral celebrity guests with everyday people, building a sustainable media business in the creator economy, and expanding the brand through podcasts, live performances, and an upcoming app.
The Origins of Public Opinion and TrackStar
Jack's journey to TrackStar began during the pandemic when he and his brother started making videos together after their travel show ended. Drawing from his experience working with Casey Neistat and at CNN, Jack saw an opportunity in the emerging short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. The company started with New York City trivia, but the breakthrough came when they pivoted to music trivia, creating a more universal format that could appeal to everyone while maintaining the man-on-the-street authenticity they valued.
- Jack worked on a travel show that ended in Australia as the pandemic started, leaving him and his brother without jobs
- The business model was inspired by podcast networks selling to Spotify - they wanted to create a network of shows for short-form platforms
- New York City trivia was the first show, but they realized music trivia could cast a wider net since everybody cares about music
- The visual concept of handing someone headphones to enter a game space became core to TrackStar's identity
" I felt like there's a great opportunity here to basically make one piece of content and you get three spins at the wheel on these three different platforms and they're all sort of competing for the same stuff. "
" I wanted to make a different version of that where people are coming to me that's also just my personality like i don't have the cojones to run up to someone with a camera on their face i'm afraid i get punched "
The TrackStar Format and How It Works
TrackStar's success comes from a deceptively simple format that Jack has refined through thousands of interviews. He uses a sign saying 'Music Trivia Win Money' to attract participants, then customizes the music selection based on their preferences, creating themed episodes around genres or time periods. What started as playing obvious hits has evolved into a more educational experience where Jack researches artists, reads music history books, and adds interesting anecdotes to elevate the content beyond just a game show.
- Jack uses a sign to attract participants rather than approaching people directly, making them come to him
- He asks participants what they like to listen to, then creates a themed progression from easy to harder songs
- Jack spends his free time reading books about musicians to become more of an educator than just a game show host
- His favorite episode was with a pianist at the Steinway store, creating a magical conversation about music
" It's very hard to look see someone holding a sign and not read it yeah so they read the sign and i'm trying to grab people and lure people into my trap "
" Besides just being a game show host, I want to sort of try and be a little bit of an educator. "
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