Jon Vanhala

IT'S THE CREATOR ECONOMY - DON'T BE STUPID Last week, Dax Shepard signed an $80 million exclusive deal for his podcast, Armchair Expert, with Wondery, the podcasting studio Amazon acquired for $300 million. https://lnkd.in/edfDcTPy ICYMI: THIS IS A CREATOR ECONOMY STORY. The Dax-Amazon deal proves my core thesis on the Creator Economy: It is very different and much bigger than most people think. The data is on the wall. Mainstream Media's meltdown is not near its end. The corporate content complex will continue to shrink, making less content, merging into fewer companies, surrendering big chunks of the margins they enjoyed in the last era. Big Tech will take up some of that slack, but not all. Simultaneously, the Creator-led Media Economy will continue to expand, professionalize, and redefine itself around the behaviors of its artists and audiences. #GenAI will empower a new generation of Creators to make small-budget projects with big-budget production values. Many talented artists who the big streamers have abandoned for exclusive NFL games, will migrate to Creator platforms, and bring their high-end content with them. As more brands pour more money into Creator platforms, those Creators will have greater resources to make great (some might even say premium) content. You may not like everything you read above. That doesn’t make it any less true. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost in the corporate Media economy over the last two years. More will be lost this year. And next. Simultaneously, good jobs and real value are being created in the Creator Economy. Big stars are being recruited, and made, on Creator platforms. Huge audiences are gathering to watch Creator-led content, everyday. And big brands are shifting large shares of their media spending to Creator content, over content produced by Hollywood. In the User-Centric Era, audiences use big tech to control what they watch and when. Increasingly - especially for younger generations who will drive the consumer and ad economies over the next two decades - audiences are choosing their favorite Creators over corporate-made entertainment. My entire living is now made through the Creator Economy. At the link, you'll find a sizable and detailed piece on my Creator-made newsletter, Media War & Peace, full of data and case studies showing the full scope of opportunity of the #CreatorEconomy. https://lnkd.in/e3GT8M4m Sure, I wrote the essay because it’s Monday and I needed *something* to keep my subscription flywheel turning. But also, I wrote it so that those of you who are still skeptical and/or curious about the Creator industry might better understand just how much opportunity there is here. Whether or not you read my Creator thesis, if you work in Media, don’t be stupid: Get to know the Creator Economy, or get left behind. (But also, please read my piece! 💀) #creators #advertising #canneslions #vidcon #influencermarketing

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YouTube is rolling out several new features, including more precise playback speed controls, allowing adjustments in .05 increments up to 2x. It’s also introducing collaborative playlists, where users can contribute via shared links or QR codes, and soon, vote on video rankings. An improved miniplayer will make browsing easier while watching videos. Additionally, a sleep timer is now available, letting you pause videos after a set time, with options ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. These updates aim to enhance the user experience, especially for mobile users. https://lnkd.in/gBJvR36x #youtube

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🚀 **The Future of the Internet is Spatial!** Roblox is redefining digital spaces, proving the future of the internet is more immersive than ever. With over 78.8M daily active users, Roblox is expanding beyond gaming into social communication, shopping, and entertainment. Key takeaways: - **Growing Audience:** Gen Z and Gen Alpha are making Roblox their go-to media platform, marking a pivotal moment for brands. - **Brand Activations:** With over 400 brand activations, companies are recognizing Roblox's potential in digital commerce. The spatial internet is here, and Roblox is leading the way. Expect more growth and innovation as brands and advertisers embrace this shift. #SpatialInternet #Roblox #DigitalTransformation #GenZ #GenAlpha #FutureOfTech

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Get the full breakdown on Orion Glasses: key features, specs, and what sets them apart in the XR space. Everything you need to know is here:https://lnkd.in/e9zNnAgA

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The internet is truly amazing... case in point: I write words into a white box on Linkedin... Someone reads those words, wants more, so they click a link over to craftsmanfilms.co... They like the words I write over there, so they click another link to join the email list... Which sends them a weekly email with a link to schedule a call if they're interested in what I'm doing... Which they do. By the time they get on that call, they already know they want to work with me, or invest in my film fund. So the call isn't a "sales" call, it's a "holy awesome, let's be friends!" call (Which is WAY more fun, btw) I highly recommend you take the words you write on the internet seriously. You never know who's reading them, and where your words might lead.

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So digital can have real world outcomes. Behaviour change can stretch across commercial and social needs.

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“We continue to see strong momentum in our podcast business” - Bob Pittman during the iHeartMedia earnings call this morning. Podcast revenue was $105m for Q2, up 8%, and overall revenue was $929m, up 1%, beating estimates. Unsurprisingly, radio revenue continues to decline while podcasting continues to be the highest growth opportunity for iHeart and other more traditional audio companies. Over the last two years, radio revenue has declined 4.3%, while podcasting revenue has grown 8.5%… and it’s not slowing down. The story here is pretty straightforward. Podcasting is the future of audio. Let’s start investing in it. I’ll summarize what we learned in Q2 in my letter to investors in the next week or so. Feel free to sign up: https://lnkd.in/e63PbEh7 https://lnkd.in/er6VKGQc #podcasting #audio #iheartmedia #investing

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Great rundown from POLITICO here on the current status of the TikTok bill to force the sale of TikTok to a non-Chinese entity or else face a ban in the U.S. Important to use all these words vs. calling it simply a ban. What happened? The TikTok bill was attached to a foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. This is a controversial move as typically this is done (per ChatGPT) "when a smaller or possibly less popular bill is attached to a larger, more likely-to-pass bill." 👀 The former bill on stalled in the Senate. The updated bill passed the House Saturday in a vote of 360-58 in favor. Now, it will head to the Senate where it could see a vote in the next few days. Then, it would need to be signed by the president and President Biden has already said he would do just that, even though he has a TikTok page himself. If passed, the bill would required a sale of TikTok within the next year or else face a ban in U.S. app stores. This is all because of national security concerns of China having access to this much American data though I also scoff a bit when American companies like Meta are collecting similar amounts of data and if anything, it would be MORE helpful for the U.S. to focus on user privacy laws especially after I just got back from the UK, where the EU has these protections in place. I understand the concerns about China, but it seems like a diversion from what I think is the larger concern of interest here. Of course, China and ByteDance strictly oppose the sale with the latter saying it would legally oppose the bill per impinging on free speech. The issue there would be that there is a precedent for national security overriding free speech. The ultimate result of all of this most likely will be increased pressure for American companies operating in China. Not knowing much about the U.S. political system, it does appear to me that this will pass. However, that then sets into place one year of legal opposition from Bytedance and increased China - U.S. tensions. Apple and Tesla be like. 👀 #tiktok #ban

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Net-Flix "Profits at Netflix UK soared by 75% last year as a password sharing crackdown, a subscription price hike, and the success of content such as Baby Reindeer boosted engagement and revenues. The figure was up 74% from 2022’s post-tax operating figure, according to the streamer’s latest financial accounts." https://lnkd.in/e2U8YbGu 75% profit growth is truly stunning. Mazel Tov. But let's make sure we concentrate on the KEY DATA here. The entirety of that growth came from the password lockdown and price increase, NOT from increased usage or engagement. Seven episodes of Baby Reindeer - nor any of their other content - DID NOT generate enough viewing to grow Netflix's audience or usage over the last two years. According to Barb Audiences, Netflix's share of viewing in the UK has remained flat since 2022. This is actually good news for them, compared to nearly all other TV platforms like BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and all of Pay TV in Britain - but great news for YouTube & TikTok. Plus, there's data that shows, among younger viewers, Netflix is actually LOSING share of attention to Disney Streaming. "What data" you ask? In a few days, at #MIPCOM, I'll drop a new report in collaboration with Barb that shows Total Viewing across four screens for audiences in the UK across all age groups. As far as I know, it's the most comprehensive side-by-side, apples-to-apples report on video viewing in the UK ever. Until then, let's ALL look for the IMPORTANT facts inside the daily barrage of data and the REAL truths behind the oh-so-clickable headlines.

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GOOGLE: EFFICIENCY Across Big Media and Big Tech, austerity was the watchword of 2023. Big Media made humongous cuts and improved the bottom line. But for those Media players, because cuts rarely connected to a larger long-term strategy, they came at the expense of revenue growth. Big Tech on the other hand... Alphabet Inc. has laid off thousands in the last year - which is not great news. However, despite the workforce reduction, they grew revenues 15% in 1Q - their best quarterly growth in two years. Their Cloud business is growing apace, and "cannot keep up with demand" for #AI. Search, a very mature business, grew 14%. The largest video ad platform on earth, YouTube, grew 21%, generating $8 billion by itself in 1Q. Crucially, after a year of austerity, and with more cuts promised this week, Alphabet grew net income 57% YoY in 1Q. On top of all that growth, Google announced their first-ever dividend AND a stock buyback program on their earnings call. All this is why - despite steep regulatory headwinds - Alphabet will open today with a $2 trillion valuation for the first time in their history. FWIW: Wall Street did not love Zuck's call yesterday, but after a similarly austere year of job cuts, with 27% 1Q revenue growth and 117% net income growth, Meta joins Google in looking incredibly sage and prescient in their strategic remodeling - when compared to the "wise old men" of Hollywood. #earningsseason

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🚀Free NFT update 🚀 Are you really part of the #web3 avant-garde if you don't own at least one podcast NFT? Over on Farcaster, Lens and Zora, far from the web2 brands who still think it's 2022, NFTS are once again about art. Writing, music, film... podcasts. It's experimental, but it's working. Thousands of Podcast NFTs for shows such as UFO, Mint, Coop, Unchained, and Rehash are being minted daily. Is it going to bring down the walls of Spotify? No. Of course it isn't. It's never been a zero sum game; it's not about destroying the gatekeepers and tearing down the ivory towers. NFTs give you a choice. - Ownership - Distribution - Curation - Community If you want to experience how easy the process is, mint the latest episode of Thinking on Paper with Heale CEO Todd Haselhorst right here - https://lnkd.in/eBPrSzVn And you can get the answer to two blockchain solutions with one stone. Mint an NFT podcast, and learn how blockchain technology is revolutionizing logistics to be cheaper, faster, and smarter. #nfts #logistics #podcasts

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Here are your TOP 10 Generative AI Headlines of the Week for the Media & Entertainment Industry (this week ending 7/19/24): (1) IATSE members voted and r-AI-tified! #Hollywood’s below-the-line union voted this week to ratify two new 3-year contracts - both with surprisingly more than 85% of the vote. But not all were on board. Some guild members urged “no” votes, saying that the contract’s AI language “allows our combined crafts ... to be put at direct risk of an emerging technology not designed to enhance creativity but instead to learn from and ultimately replace us.” (2) It’s the smoking gun all creators have been looking for! WIRED proved that major genAI players like NVIDIA, Anthropic and Apple (yes, THAT purportedly "artist friendly" Apple!) scraped at least 173,536 YouTube videos to train their AI. All without consent or compensation, of course. (3) If this is what genAI video can do now, just imagine the next 6 months! The next 1-5 years? David Usher shared an incredible video that showed how much genAI video evolved in just the last few months. How much will genAI transform the Arts in the next few years? Talk amongst yourselves as you lift a drink. Or several. (4) From the “No, Duh!” department. #AI is THE key selling point for new smartphones, reports Axios. (5) Animate this! In this week’s quarterly earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted the current use (and power) of genAI in the animation sector. (6) “Tu lista de reproducción perfecta!” Yes, Spotify’s new Spanish speaking generative AI-powered DJ feature says it can create your perfect playlist for you. (7) Mickey’s mouse ears hear the AI sound too! The Walt Disney Company’s music group just struck a deal with genAI music startup AudioShake to “unlock new listening and fan engagement experiences” for its catalog of music. And if IP-king Mickey is doing it, everyone will be doing it. (8) But you can’t just set it and forget it. TheWrap’s Alex Kantrowitz spent a week with Amazon’s AI team and concluded that genAI’s initial hype cycle is bumping into reality. My “take” is that the hype is real - and justified. GenAI will transform our creative lives more than we think. It just takes time to see the forest from the trees. (9) Meanwhile the Zuck is doing the unthinkable - he’s holding back! I know, it’s shocking that Meta’s CEO would hold back on anything that can generate massive revenues and overall stock “pops.” But #Meta is withholding its multimodal AI models from the European Union over concerns about the EU's AI regulations. (10) Land your next great gig with the help of your new genAI executive coach whispering in your ear! It’s your new interview “hack” to land your next dream entertainment gig as you bluff your way through your next interview. Want More (plus real analysis and insights to go with it?) SUBSCRIBE TO MY WEEKLY AI-FOCUSED NEWSLETTER VIA THIS LINK https://lnkd.in/gtsk8AH8 #media #entertainment #hollywood #music #tech

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"Does the chair know we gonna look like some punk a** b*tches out there?" Season 3 of The Wire. The Barksdale organization, run by Stringer Bell, is in dire straits: ❌ Their distribution network has gone away. ❌ Low product quality is destroying their brand. Stringer forms a covert partnership with a former rival that will dramatically improve the quality and reliability of their product. Now he just needs distribution. Stringer tries to apply theoretical business concepts to the distribution network and hatches a plan to buy corners for distribution. The plan seems logical on paper. But he has a massive problem: He’s never won or lost a corner. To Stringer, a corner is just a piece of real estate that can be bought, sold, leased, or otherwise exchanged. In reality, a corner is a monument to an individual’s will. Poot—who actually works the streets—pushes back. Because he knows something his boss doesn’t realize: Theory doesn’t always apply on the ground.  This scene has obsessed me for years because I've lived it. I've worked at too many companies where leaders set the strategy with zero connection to the reality on the ground. Clean theories may be more comfortable than messy reality. But the cost? Wasted time and resources—or worse. Many production companies bleed money because they don’t understand the same disconnect appears in the Film and TV industry: ➤ State websites advertise massive tax credits (but forget to mention the 5-year wait that could bankrupt your production). ➤ Location scouts promise full crews and resources (until you discover every equipment house within 200 miles is booked solid). ➤ Agencies guarantee responsiveness (right up until your time-sensitive project hangs in limbo). We built Conduiit, Inc. Incentive Index Tool to solve this problem and give production teams insight into the truth on the ground at a glance. No empty promises — just the real data you need to make educated decisions. Because we've seen how theory collides with reality, and we're tired of watching good projects fail from preventable blindspots. Success isn’t engineered in the ivory tower. It’s forged in the trenches.

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