The Mail Cart: Friday, October 23rd

👋 Here is one thing I learned in my first (checks date) 34 years of life:

No one really knows what they are doing. It’s Friday. Stop worrying if someone is mad at you or about your overwhelming inbox. We aren’t curing cancer here in the Entertainment Industry, unless you are, then you’re a hero and I love you. My birthday wish today is you do something bold for yourself that you’ve been convincing yourself not to do. Just don’t text your ex..

❤️ GIVEAWAY: AvA and Live Nation want to give back to all you assistants out there. Well at least the ones in LA… So we’re giving away 2 tickets to see JAY-Z at SoFi Stadium this Saturday. Comment on the post below to enter.

This stop motion film took 16 years to make, and AI was barely a thought at the time of production beginning…

Warner Music combined their sync operations, Saturday Night Live adds a new host into the top 5 most appearances of all time, Eminem’s former employee is facing up to 5 years for stealing and selling his music, and John Mayer started a label alongside Universal Music. Lots of Industry Moves today too <3

AvA Job Board

💼 Looking for open Entertainment jobs? Today we highlight jobs from Sony Music, Netflix, Dick Clark Productions & ESPN. Scroll to the bottom of this email, or visit our Job Board, which now has 225+ early career Entertainment roles.

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

Speaking of careers, Did you or a friend recently get promoted? Or have a friend who deserves a shoutout? Submit a next gen career move here.

I’ve never gotten more texts and emails in my life about a single clip:

6 lessons from my conversation with Ari Emanuel.

⭐ He (and I) see huge value in "paying your dues"
This is probably a hot take, since 80% of our audience thinks paying your dues is unfair, but if I didn't spend my early years as an assistant working long days deeply understanding the biz & shadowing people I still admire, I would not have been able to launch AvA and this newsletter successfully. Shortcuts are rarely a positive thing long term, although there are so many more ways to find success now, which is a great thing.

⭐ Early in your career, who you work for matters as much as where you work.

Find someone who actually takes the time to explain why a deal works or how they made a decision. That’s the education you take with you when it’s your turn to make (or roll) the call.

⭐ Being junior doesn’t mean your opinion has to wait.

At CAA, he challenged a proposal to require two years in the mailroom followed by two years on a desk. Safe to say that worked.

⭐ Taste takes work outside your job description, and will future-proof you from AI.

In his words: “AI is the greatest average. It doesn't have new ideas. It doesn't have taste. It doesn't have a point of view. Those are all things we have as humans, and they're very, very valuable. The only way you get them is by reading a lot, going through situations that teach you things, and observing."

⭐ Learn a business model well enough to recognize it somewhere else.

Understanding who owns the audience, who controls distribution and who gets paid gives you knowledge you can carry into the next part of the industry.

⭐ The opportunity may arrive in a format you weren’t planning to work in.

On Hollywood’s future, he pointed to podcasts, creators and microdramas. If you’re early in your career, get specific about what attracts you to entertainment. Finding talent, telling stories and building audiences can lead you toward businesses you hadn’t considered.

🎨 Laika’s latest stop motion film ‘Wildwood’ took 16 years to complete, and it is the most open statement for human made art imaginable in the age of AI.

They are the studio that made ‘Coraline’ and so many other classics, and we highly recommend supporting this in theaters to encourage more of the same!

And this film wasn’t distributed by a studio. It went out through Fathom Entertainment, which is jointly owned by the major theater chains. Friend of The Mail Cart Matt Belloni had a great breakdown.

🎵 Warner Music Group merged the sync teams from its recorded music and publishing businesses into one global unit, which will be led by Ron Broitman. (This is probably the financial equivalent of moving your food around your plate btw)

🤖 AI Video Startup Higgsfield (now valued at $5.4 billion) took on a massive investment from Nvidia. Higgsfield and similar Gen AI companies, remain the single worst thing to happen to the art, artists & IP ever. I said what I said.

🎙️ Saturday Night Live enlisted John Mulaney to host for a 7th time, bringing him up to 5th for most hosting appearances on the show.

He is tied with Scarlett Johansson, and they are behind only Buck Henry & Tom Hanks (10), John Goodman (13), Steve Martin (16), and Alec Baldwin (17).

💸 Spotify’s Q3 revenue beat expectations, with 306 million paying subscribers and ad growth accelerating to 9%. The bigger play: use music to get people in, then podcasts, video and audiobooks to make the subscription harder to cancel (and easier to charge more for)

🏰 Eminem’s former employee pleaded guilty to stealing and selling his music… and is facing up to 5 years in prison.

Interscope Records announced a variety of executive level promotions shortly following Universal Music’s layoffs. This includes Michelle An as their new President & Chief Creative Officer, Lauren Carter + Ramon Alvarez-Smikle as Co-Presidents of Urban, and more.

Sundance Institute hired Tracy Brady as their Chief Marketing Officer, and her appointment comes after years of teaming up with the company from the outside.

NFL replaced Tony Romo’s spot on CBS Sports as a commentator with JJ Watt who is now already set to call the upcoming Super Bowl.

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged their recent executive staff purge, and he probably should have just said nothing after hearing this statement…