Friday 10/29

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Happy Friday fellow Halloween lovers. Happy Halloweekend for those that celebrate. Scariest costume idea out there? Apparently the Ticketmaster seat map…

The entertainment industry is now the SECOND most valuable brand sector in the world, just behind (we tell you below).

Jurassic Park and the 2028 Olympic Ceremonies have an unlikely similarity, The Milwaukee Brewers broke the MLB record for the highest away fan attendance for a World Series, the Backstreet Boys launched a competitive gaming team, and Sundance is co-presenting their legacy film series with Letterboxd. Lots of industry moves today too.

AvA Job Board

💼 Looking for open Entertainment jobs? Today we highlight jobs from The Sphere, Activision Blizzard, NBCUniversal & SUPER (Superfan Live). Scroll to the bottom of this email, or visit our Job Board, which now has 235+ early career Entertainment roles.

Follow our IG page for daily resources, standout jobs (staff picks vibe), and niche industry facts to impress your boss.

5 lessons from this week’s episode:

Take the small stuff seriously. In the William Morris mailroom, Kirk Sommer grabbed an Aretha Franklin fax because delivering it gave him a reason to introduce himself to a legendary agent. “Every task, every piece of mail was an opportunity.” Learn who’s on the other end of the work you’re doing.

Give people a reason to bring you into the room. As a junior writer, Chuck Lorre wasn’t allowed in the room where the writing happened. He stood outside hoping he’d get called in and kept looking for ways to contribute. “I was going to make myself invaluable somehow.”

Build relationships before you need them. Kirk encouraged young assistants and agents to get to know colleagues across departments before a client needed their help. You don’t have to know everything. You do need to know who to call.

Your skills can take you somewhere your original plan couldn’t. Tanya Cohen, one of the youngest agents ever (21) and WME partner (30), spent years representing writers and directors before leaving to build Made By Us Studios. Now she’s applying that experience to creator-led storytelling and microdramas. The format changed. Her understanding of talent, development and production traveled with her.

Being liked and being supported are different things. Doja Cat’s co-manager Gordon Dillard drew a distinction between popularity and an audience that buys tickets, buys merch and listens to the music. Before chasing a bigger deal, build proof that people will show up for what you’re making.

Full episode below:

🎬 Entertainment has officially become the 2nd most popular brand sector globally with a massive $332.5 billion worth of value.

That number includes a 12.4% increase year over year, and has been buoyed by the growth of companies like YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify. The only more valuable industry? Tech.

🦖🏅 What do Jurassic Park and the 2028 Olympic Ceremonies have in common?

Film Producer Kathleen Kennedy led the charge for both of them.

Kennedy spent nearly 20 years with Star Wars at Lucasfilm before stepping down this year, and prior to that she helped usher in cult classic movies like ET. I have never heard the person announced to run a ceremony before, but I am expecting this to be absolute cinema.

🤖 You can now make a full song in ChatGPT. Its not April fools day so sorry to tell you i’m not kidding and I hate it.

Suno launched its MCP tool in beta on October 28, letting users create songs directly inside ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Users can turn prompts, voice recordings, and loops into full tracks without switching apps.

⚾ The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series, and on the path to glory their fans broke the record for best away game attendance in the competition’s history.

BIG win for small markets, and small budgets, everywhere:

Credit: Spotrac

🕺 Backstreet Boys entered the world of gaming with their new competitive team ‘Backstreet Gamers.’ (Insert lyric related pun here)

☀️ Sundance Institute returns for another year of legacy screenings, but this year they are joined by Letterboxd as a Co-Presenter.

Will Letterboxd be sold by then? My guess is yes..

💡About 50 nonfiction workers at RadicalMedia, the company behind Netflix’s This Is a Gardening Show and Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, have secured their first union contract.

The agreement adds RadicalMedia to a growing roster of nonfiction production companies organized by the Writers Guild of America East.

LEGO appointed their first ever Head of Celebrity Talent and Brand First Partnerships, Kelsey Grey Sherman, who joins from WME. Moving up from the mailroom brick by brick…

Searchlight Pictures and their Executive Vice President of Marketing Michelle Hooper are parting ways after 20 years of working together. During that time, she helped the company secure over 200 Oscar nominations, bringing home 49. GOAT activity.

Neon Coast promoted Nikki Boon to Chief Creative Officer after working at the artist management and entertainment company for a decade alongside Kane Brown, Nightly, and more. (Side note from Editor Riley: Nikki gave me my first guest list 5 years ago. Legend!)

BAFTA enlisted a new Chair of the organization after Sara Putt held the position for 3 years, and she will be succeeded by Hilary Rosen.

Lionsgate named Scott Herbst as the President of TV after Sandra Stern stepped down.

Mr. Beast has found his first CMO, Michelle St. Jacques who “has led consumer goods, including Feastables, MrBeast's snack and candy company, since February” according to Business Insider.

Today’s jobs is brought to you by loyd, a platform I co-founded to empower vs. replace the next generation of Entertainment. Every deal, project, and relationship in one platform. My goal is to make working in this industry feel less chaotic, one deal, email and text from your boss at a time. Hit me up if you want to try it out. Would love your feedback.