Maurice Slade

Deepna Devkar, Ph.D. what a treat having you on the podcast! If you’ve ever wondered what goes into building your personalised experience on Max, this is the episode for you. Tune in to hear from one of the minds leading the build of the platform experience!

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I have mentioned #moreivn several times. I want to clarify what exactly morei-vn is and why it needs to exist. If you are a talent in the Media & Entertainment industry, the issues we are trying to address are: • A CompCard alone barely describes your entire work experience. • Organizing your work portfolio on Drive is troublesome. Even with a good folder structure, there will always be cases where it doesn't serve you well (I've tried for over 3 years and have seen multiple talents' portfolios over 3 years). • Most file management systems (Drive, Dropbox, etc.) are just "storage." They do not describe or structure your work to serve the purpose of "promoting" you. • Due to the nature of entertainment work, you often need to update your work portfolio. Some talents update their portfolios weekly. Systems like LinkedIn or similar platforms are not designed for this type of use case. • Social media is a good place to showcase your work, but it lacks searchability. Unless people have time to browse your posts and images, the chances of losing their interest and them dropping off are high. --- What I want to do is create a space where you can centralize all your works in one place with a simple and beautiful user interface that allows you to present your entire portfolio at any time, any place, to anyone. Additionally, I will provide my assistance in guiding you on how to structure your portfolio and profile to make it compelling and captivating. and that is what got morei.vn to start its path. The portfolio of these careers are what morei-vn is going to support: ○　Acting profile (film, VOA, TVC, any kind), ○　Modeling profile (fashion, commercial, any type), ○　Hosting profile (MC, Gameshow hosting, etc), ○　Media profile (Podcast guest, Gameshow guest, etc) ○　Influencer profile (KOL/KOC, etc.) ○　Idol profile ○　Singer, Dancer profile ○　Cosplayer profile morei-vn is still in its close-beta period so you can create a new account by contacting me or the Page (well, it is still me there). It is a startup product that I combine all of my coding experiences, agency experiences, graphic design experiences, BizDev experiences into one, and this product. Let's show out your talents through well-designed Portfolio!

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Life in the FAST lane at Future Ops / AdMonsters #OpsNY with Addy Atienza and Rashaun Hall. TMB (Trusted Media Brands) is part of Fuse Media's Culture Collective, which features Black, Latino, LGBTQ, and other focused FAST channels. TMB brings everything from Fail Army programs to Family Handyman. There’s no Nielsen for FAST! No single source of truth for what is successful… But you can definitely tell from the platform (OEMs) what is NOT working. Samsung, LG, and Vizio are the big three, but you can make good revenue off of smaller players like Fubo. The platforms have a lot of power/control—you have to keep them as informed as possible. Good chance they will start acquiring many content channels. They’re also building their own content—FAST channels are running into “Hey, we’re not going to market your stuff cuz we have something just like it." They also want exclusive content, like Samsung with Conan O’Brien. Cross-channel PMPs is the next big frontier—blending audiences across the Culture Collective. But interesting—60% of the inventory right now is sold direct.

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There are more m&a and fundraise deals than I have time to write about. That’s a good thing cause it signals… …increasing market activity! Below are 5️⃣ recent capital markets highlights that stand out to me across media, agency, and creator economy… 💸 Alignment Growth invested in Wheelhouse — expect more Wheelhouse-led M&A with this new capital, likely in unscripted content and prod businesses 💸 Milk & Honey Music + Sports + Ventures acquired VMG Sports Representation — another datapoint in consolidation of talent rep co’s 💸 Electrify Video Partners invested in Simple History — bolstering it YouTube-native media brand investment portfolio, and putting its $85M fundraiser from 2023 to work 💸 VidCon is up for sale — I think buyerverse is limited, and the new vidcon is going to (ahem, must) look VERY different 💸 Range Media Partners raised funding from Liberty Global, Wildcat Capital Management — see my LinkedIn post on Monday to learn more — I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, creator economy. My dm’s are open. …and that’s me below! #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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The Neighborhood Studios team spent the last few days thinking about our new idea pipeline and its output. Tons of thoughts on this after being in a venture studio for 2 years. Here are some summary stats... - 1,750 new (raw) ideas considered per year. - 110 of those are given a second glance. - 66 of those are seriously considered. - 10 of those become experiments...real products in the hands of customers. - 2 of those are spun-out into studio companies. What the studio team has been discussing over the past few days is that 66 number. That's the number of ideas that 3 people on the team can dig into every year. Venture studios can be perceived as a "startup factory"...an engine to launch startups. The reality is that venture studios are a machine to invalidate ideas. We invalidate many more ideas than we validate. We touch 1,750 ideas per year, seriously dive into 66 of them, build experiments for 10 of them and only launch 2 of them. All that work turns into 2 studio companies per year that have a way higher success rate than the average startup in the wild. Said another way...startups are hard. Talk with Tapan Patel Gabe Hart Whit Anderson IV Jonathan Brinson if you wanna talk about this. They are world class.

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🎥 Three Content trends that are simultaneously true: 1 - There are more distribution channels for content than ever before 2 - There are more sources of funding for content than ever before 3 - There is more content than ever before Tubi has a massive library of content, is the most watched free streaming service in the US, and is now becoming a production company. Tubi is a free, ad-supported streaming platform with less prestige TV series and films than competitors like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. However, they're a hidden giant in the AVOD space, with 78 Million monthly active users and 59% YoY growth in total viewing time. AND that's with Tubi only being available in the US, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. Tubi is now launching "Stubios," a production arm that will fund and greenlight new content. Tubi will fund productions submitted by creators and then continue the financing if it performs well. Issa Rae is deeply involved in the project as a mentor and ambassador. Issa Rae is one of the best examples of someone who started off with a "seemingly niche" YouTube web series (in 2011 with Awkward Black Girl) and is now a massively successful producer-actor-writer with her own production and management company, her Emmy/Golden Globe-winning HBO series Insecure, and many other creative projects. Tubi is hoping to find overlooked "creators" like Issa Rae that they can fund to create the next big thing. Pivoting to this "creator-first" strategy allows Tubi to throw their hat into the ring of "new media" and position themselves as another major option for people trying to get their content off the ground. One of the first creators funded by Tubi is "Lady London," a rapper-screenwriter who first gained traction after going viral on Twitter. This more 'non-traditional' path is becoming a bigger part of what young, diverse crowds ACTUALLY want to see vs. what a major studio exec decides to greenlight. It is truly the best time ever to be a creator, as technology has allowed a million flowers of content to bloom around the world at a lower cost than ever before. Your biggest decision as a creator now is finding the right production partner and right distribution channel. And that could be Tubi. https://lnkd.in/eESQXZeF #tubi #issarae #creatoreconomy #film #production #content #entertainment #streaming #tv

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🎶 In a record-setting year for the music industry, sales of recorded music in the U.S. soared to $17.1 billion in 2023. Streaming led the charge with 84%, while vinyl saw double-digit growth. Discover more about the music boom and the changing landscape from the latest RIAA report. https://lnkd.in/ghEaTMYY #MusicIndustry

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After coaching 10-six figure agency owners over the last few months. These were their biggest bottlenecks: 1. They didn’t know who to trust and where to start ❌ They were stuck at $5k-$50k/m… Because they were previously listening to unvetted information on money Twitter. Or info product gurus who earn their money selling courses. 2. They struggled to sign their dream clients 😞 They were selling productised services for $1K-$3K/m to clients… Clients they didn’t enjoy working with and had a low probability of long term success. 3. They were too involved in the day-to-day 👎🏻 They were operating as a high paid freelancer instead of actually building an agency. Making it impossible to scale to 8 figures. They had no idea how to attract talent and build a high-performing team. Over the last 6 years, I’ve built a team of 100+ people at Genflow… (There were only 7 of us back when I started). We’ve generated $200M + for our clients. Now I’m teaching ambitious agency owners exactly how we did it. It’s a nice way to pass on the knowledge that I’ve gathered over the last few years to help agencies scale quickly, efficiently, and profitably. If this sounds like something that would add value to your agency, you can learn more here: https://www.agency8x.com/

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Launching Bubba News has been a lot different than IJReview or Axios. When I was helping them get started, it felt like there was so much focus on growth or the business. With Bubba News, we’ve been exclusively focused on the editorial product and have yet to do any marketing whatsoever. Subsequently, we’ve seen really steady, purely organic growth from referrals. We’re still relatively small, but by focusing on our editorial quality, we’ve managed to attract and retain a list made up of Fortune 100 executives, the editors of major publications, agency founders, a slew of political and media consultants and operatives, and maybe most important to me personally, plenty of friends from back home or that I’ve made along the way. We’re about to get started with a real marketing push, so we will have to see how that goes, but this chart (last quarter growth) has given me lots of hope that we’re on to something. https://www.bubba.news/

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I’m thrilled to share exciting new research No Guarantees has commissioned in partnership with leading trends and generation research firm Culture Co-Op. The report explores what Gen Z and Millennials think about Broadway, examines the reasons they aren’t showing up, and suggests strategic steps the industry can take to cultivate new, engaged audiences. The research shows that Gen Z and Millennials’ lack of Broadway attendance is not due to details like a particular show’s cast, subject matter, or number of awards it has received. Instead, it’s a handful of deep misconceptions about Broadway itself, like confusion about ticket prices, the number of shows playing at any given time, access to tickets, and who Broadway is even meant for. The great news for Broadway is that while Gen Z & Millennials may not know much about individual shows or what’s happening in the theater industry, the Broadway brand remains extraordinarily strong. They are curious about us, and 91% even reported being more interested in Broadway simply by taking the survey! They’re ready to be brought into the fold. This gives all of us the ability to appeal to the existing interest of new, young audiences and develop a modern, actionable strategy to make it happen - to meet people where they really are. There’s so much to dive into so please check out the full report, which you can download at noguarantees.com. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas!

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YouTube Killed the TV Star For years, I’ve been telling you YouTube is the biggest TELEVISION network on TV - and one with an unparalleled advanced TV audience advertising machine. https://lnkd.in/eAykCjRa I’ve been warning y’all in the TV business that your TRUE competition now is NOT each other, but rather Google’s CTV Death Star. Seems Google liked that pitch, and turned it into their #Upfront presentation: “Other media companies unveil new TV shows coming to their services. YouTube used the stage to boast about its massive reach and engagement relative to traditional TV. YouTube‘s message to Madison Avenue: The video giant isn’t traditional TV. It’s bigger (with literally billions of viewers) and better at targeting relevant audiences.” https://lnkd.in/e_G-pZXy This week I dissected Nielsen’s new look Gauge, which breaks down TV viewing by publisher - across all platforms. https://lnkd.in/gaBZ3KfC With this analysis (my version below) YouTube comes in second for total monthly viewing. But, note, it takes ALL of The Walt Disney Company & Disney Streaming combined (ABC, ESPN, Disney+, Hulu) to best The Tube. It took ALL of NBCUniversal (NBC, Bravo, USA, Telemundo, MSNBC, Peacock), all of Paramount (Pluto TV, Paramount+, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, et al), and all of Disco Bros (TBS, TBT, MAX) to LOSE to YouTube. YouTube’s one, simple, massive app is by far the number one channel… ON TV. It’s the first stop on CTVs for most TV viewers under 35 and, everyday, more and more audiences over 36 too. And, crucially, they are better at video advertising than every other TV platform in the game - catering equally well to massive budgets from P&G and local pocketbook budgets from Mom & Pop Shops. Many in the TV ad biz will obsess this week over Netflix’s fancy shmancy Upfront and their Christmas NFL games. But Netflix’s total viewing (see below) is FAR off the competitive set - ESPECIALLY considering only 7% of their viewing is on the ad tier where viewers can (get this) see ads. (Kinda important in the Upfront.) But YouTube also had the NFL - and the NBA - at their presentation. More importantly, on their Upfront stage, YouTube represented the fastest growing segment of entertainment - The Creator Economy. While other TV platforms trotted out traditional Hollywood celebs to talk about a new wave of TV shows, YouTube brought out the biggest stars in the world that you’ve never heard of - Haley Kalil, Cleo Abram, Kinigra Deon, Ryan Trahan, Taty Cokley, Sydney Morgan, Zach King, Valkyrae. These new TV stars don’t just make shows, they command communities - in ways that limited series and procedural dramas never will. TV is not changing. It changed. Years ago. You may have missed it. But don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a video on YouTube about it, so you catch up.

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A really interesting perspective on TikTok and other social media. On the one hand they’ve made it easier to reach and build a fan base but is the paradox that it’s harder than ever for original art to cut through? Live undoubtedly trumps everything else when it comes to music and most other art forms. That’s why the current debate in the industry about both artist development and the grassroots is so important. So the theory goes TikTok etc is helping to create the headliners of the future… I wonder to what extent that is true?? #livemusic #socialmedia #tiktok #grassrootsmusic

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On Monday, I discussed the long-term prospects for Tubi. On Tuesday, I praised Issa Rae's influencer marketing venture. "On today", these items converged: Issa partnered with Tubi for their new "Stubios" program—a fully-funded incubator for emerging creators. Stubios mirrors our initiative at BlackOakTV. Our "Choice" feature will empower users to greenlight the Black TV shows and films they want to see, illustrating the potential of fan-driven projects. While Tubi leverages its Black Indie vertical's success, we aim for similar engagement at BlackOakTV. So I respect Stubios model, but I question Issa’s choice to align with Fox Corp., Tubi's parent company. A Brief History Lesson: In the '90s, Fox, then a lesser network, adopted a strategy targeting Black audiences with original programming like Living Single and Martin, which became instant classics. These shows boosted Fox’s ratings, enabling it to secure NFL rights in 1994. Almost immediately after rising to prominence, Fox dropped its Black-centric shows. The revenue and prestige from Black viewership and NFL games helped launch Fox News in 1996, an outlet that has since posed significant challenges for Black communities. Present Day: Tubi has been thriving off indie Black projects. Fueled by popular content and the viral power of platforms like TikTok, Black viewership is propelling Tubi’s growth, again benefiting Fox financially. Don't buy that Tubi is all that important to Fox? Well, during Fox's last earnings call, Tubi was mentioned 24 times, nearly as often as the Fox name itself. So what does this have to do with Issa? Issa is partnering with Fox to bring more diverse (read: Black) voices to Tubi. I commend her for the thought, as I'm sure her intentions are pure. And when you can marry business with your passion for Black people, life is great. I know this because I live it every day with #BlackOakTV. But Issa once said, "I'm rooting for everybody Black." Yet, this move ain't that! This move is helping Fox run an old trick that allows Rupert Murdoch's Fox, which I believe is more responsible for Black plight than any other modern major media company, to further its highly questionable agenda. And they need Tubi to do it! The Fox Network is less relevant than it's been in decades. Fox News is going the way of the dying cable business. Fox Sports is irrelevant. Even TMZ is struggling. Instead of letting this decaying company go by the wayside, Issa is lending her credibility to the asset most linked to Fox's future. And she shouldn't do it. The value generated by Tubi still goes to the Murdochs, and there's no telling what crazy thing they'll use it to invest in next. My guess is it won't be something that empowers Black people. I know the world isn't perfect, and we, including myself, can't always line up our beliefs with our work. However, when it's this obvious, I believe we can and should make better choices. And I hope in the end, Issa does just that.

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In honor of Turpentine's 1-year anniversary, we're releasing the Turpentine master plan. https://lnkd.in/g9CMNnhm Here are the main takeaways: 1️⃣ B2B Media companies are underrated: Not only will these outlets be valuable businesses in and of themselves -- Industry Dive sold for $500M to Informa which is worth ~$10B -- they'll serve as strong platforms for launching other products. Just like we've seen with Ryan Reynolds, Mr. Beast, and Kylie Jenner, B2B creators will also build massive businesses on top of their content empires. 2️⃣ By building a media company first, we get to: - Make cash flow from building our distribution channels (negative CAC) - Understand our target customer deeply - Have a top of-funnel of customers ready to give our non-media product a chance 3️⃣ Our wedge is podcasting: Podcasts are the only content medium that can be repurposed to every other content medium (newsletter, video, etc). They're also a great wedge into paid communities and conferences. They're a great way to build (and prove) a network, audience, and knowledge base. Podcasts are vastly underrated as a medium 4️⃣ Step 1 has been to launch and grow shows across sectors and enterprise buyer profiles: - Enterprise buyer shows — CFO, HR, Marketing, and CTO - Sectors/Markets shows — Healthcare, AI, Nuclear, Bio, Deep tech - Companies, Products — “Company Deep Dives” “Customer References” We've launched 25 shows and counting. We're growing. 5️⃣ While continuing to grow our podcasts, we're also getting into other formats that will help unlock unique insights around markets, companies, products, and people that help inform investment decisions and purchasing decisions: newsletters, lists, and vertical communities. Sign up to our founder community here, differentiated by tier: https://lnkd.in/g8UbHtyi 6️⃣ Once we have a critical mass of content, we will begin paywalling the content that is most helpful in guiding investment and purchasing decisions: Tegus for example has built a library of transcripts that people pay a lot of money for. We are also building a library of valuable content. It's actually not the most popular content, so it won't affect our ad-supported media business, but it is worth the most amount of money to the right investors/buyers, so we'll price discriminate accordingly. As for our future investing practice, since we’re also building a diligence-as-a-service arm (i.e. media that diligences companies/products/markets), we will also have some insight into which companies to invest in, as well as an edge in winning deals because we’ll have a great network of enterprise buyers through our podcasts. We're always looking for new shows/hosts across sectors and positions. We're also hiring for a GM of Newsletters and a GM of Events. We're also looking for sponsors/partners who want to work with us to reach founders, investors, and buyers Reach out at erik@turpentine.co

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