The Mail Cart: Mar. 27th

👋 Welcome to The Mail Cart. This is Warner, founder of AvA. Connect with me here and also go follow our new IG page for daily resources.

🎙️ There are full circle moments. Then there is today’s interview. I sat down with my first boss and music agent at WME, Alex Bramwell. And no, none of the AvA memes are about him. One of the good ones!!

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Very important reminder before we begin:

⭐ Gender-balanced hiring dropped by 4% across the top 100 films of the year

ReFrame, launched by Sundance Institute and Women In Film, released their report showing a continued drop in representation across director and lead performer roles.

⭐ ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ swings its way into the history books (again) as the first movie trailer ever to reach 1 billion views

My spidey-senses tell me this is going to be a major year for the box office: Project Hail Mary, The Odyssey, Devil Wears Prada 2, Spider-Man, Star Wars… the list goes on.

⭐ CBS Sports reached a landmark deal with WNBA to broadcast up to 20 games in the 2026 season.

⭐ Men’s March Madness viewing hit an all-time high for the first 2 rounds

Broadcasts so far have averaged 10.1 million viewers, a 7% increase compared to last year’s 9.4 million, which itself was already the highest viewership in over 30 years. The women’s side also posted an impressive 9% increase in viewership.

Do we need to say it again? Reality is a luxury good in the era of AI slop

⭐ The world continues to go analog

Maxell was the industry standard producer of cassette players back in my day, but in 2020 they no longer sold outside of Japan due to lowering demand. Fast forward to today, and they are BACK and now wireless.

Why it matters: The anti-phone, anti-social media, anti-slop era is here. The next generation craves the physical world and true IRL moments.

Our new job board features 280+ early career roles in Entertainment, including:

💼 Talent Manager - G&B Digital Management - Apply Here

💼 Senior Talent Manager - G&B Digital Management - Apply Here

💼 Athlete Partnerships Associate (Signings) - Fanatics - Apply Here

💼 Marketing Manager - Spotify - Apply Here

💼 Writer (Gaming) - MrBeast - Apply Here

💼 Comedy Touring Rotational Assistant - WME - Apply Here

💼 Creative Producer - Skims - Apply Here

💼 Associate, Content Merchandising - Tubi - Apply Here

💼 Creative Services Coordinator - AEG - Apply Here

💼 Social Strategist - Forbes - Apply Here

💼 A&R Academy - Sony Music - Apply Here

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💼 Music Central Assistant - WME - Apply Here

💼 Creator Manager - TubeScience - Apply Here

💼 Media Relations Coordinator - Warner Music - Apply Here

💼 Personal Assistant to CEO - The Garcia Companies - Apply Here

💼 Marketing & Development Associate - Roc Nation - Apply Here

💼 Digital Marketing Senior Manager - BMG - Apply Here

💼 Music Assistant (Colleges) - The Team - Apply Here

💼 Marketing & Publicity Assistant - Bloomsbury USA - Apply Here

💼 Rotational Assistant - WME - Apply Here

💼 Content Producer - Fanatics - Apply Here

🎒 Film & TV Intern - HYBE - Apply Here

🎒 Accelerator Intern (Summer/Fall) - Disney - Apply Here

🎒 Digital Ad Platforms Analyst Intern - Warner Bros. Discovery - Apply Here

🎒Influencer and Partnerships Intern - Premier Lacrosse League - Apply Here

It took me 6 months to land an interview at WME. I’d never been to LA, and had no ties to the Industry. Once I landed that interview and eventual job in music central (the mailroom of the music division at WME), I had my eyes set on working for one agent: Alex Bramwell.

He had recently been promoted to agent, had a work ethic that was well known around the building, a great reputation (RARE!!!), and outside of booking a roster of his own clients, booked every show under ~2,500 capacity in California plus all colleges east of the Mississippi. It was the heaviest workload desk in the department, but it also controlled the guest list for all LA shows! The POWER.

I valued the proximity that I had working for him. I was booking shows in the city I was in (LA), and getting to meet a lot of the buyers and see the venues.

Landing that desk helped launch my career in more ways than I can write in this short bio. Alex empowered me from day 1 and we remain very close to this day.

His story, in his words, is below:

AvA: How did you first get your foot in the door at WME?

Bramwell: At UC San Diego I started interning, and eventually ran, the student government group overseeing concerts. I booked and oversaw 30 events my last year, including scaling the Sun God Festival up to 20k+ attendees, twelve hours of programming, and three stages, headlined by Drake – so it’s safe to say I had unique experience preparing me. While there, I heard of a student who held the head position the year before I arrived on campus, Rishi Shah, and eventually met him. Rishi now runs Versus Creative agency and was gracious enough to flag my already-submitted resume to his childhood friend and WME Partner Dave Tamaroff, who pushed it to the top of Benjamin Scales’ pile (thanks gents!).

AvA: What were those early years like, and how did you separate yourself from the other assistants around you?

Bramwell: 12+ hour days, grinding. I was fortunate (/strategic) to work for five excellent but very different agents over my assistant years, and gleaned different wisdom from each. I aimed to be undeniably reliable for the respective agent I worked for but also took every opportunity I could to prove myself to co-RAs on client teams, while also taking on as many extra tasks helping the department that I could find, like revamping our new hire training program or designing decks for (then WME global head of music) Marc Geiger’s various presentations.

Alex and his VVIP +1 at his annual pilgrimage to the Ohana Festival.

AvA: You’ve been at WME for 15 years, which is rare in an era where job-hopping feels like the default. How has staying at one company helped you grow?

Bramwell: WME has always been synonymous with representing the highest caliber of talent across all entertainment verticals, but the number of touchpoints that WME now has in its arsenal is beyond anything I expected. There has never been a shortage of opportunity to learn thanks to my colleagues’ unique skillsets, especially in other departments outside of music touring.

AvA: What’s a mistake from early in your career that still sticks with you, and how did you recover from it?

Bramwell: I left for a holiday weekend and amidst one hundred other balls we were juggling I failed to flag a delinquent deposit payment from a questionable promoter for one of my first boss’ clients. I eventually had to take it on the chin once I realized, and by doing so we got the crisis averted, I just had a bruised ego. I still implore assistants to immediately own any mistake, present the best solution you can, and trust that most outcomes can be fixed if your team works together rather than you sitting on it.

AvA: Now that you hire assistants of your own, what do you look for that may not show up on a transcript?

Bramwell: Passion, gratitude, and positivity.

If you were starting your career again today, anything you'd do differently?

Bramwell: Come prepared with a POV and questions – but don’t be afraid to ask to chat with someone who you’re curious about. The legendary agent Don Muller jabbed me about this during my interview to work for him over a decade ago and I’ll never forget it. DM: “I hear you really want to work for me? Yet you’ve been here for over a year, why haven’t you come in?” Me: “Because you’re Don Muller, you’re busy repping Pearl Jam, Rage, Foos, the Chili Peppers, Weezer, System, and basically every band I grew up obsessed with.” DM: “Ah whatever, I put my pants on one leg at a time just like you.” Don’s one of one, and the epitome of humility, but I find most folks are likewise happy to chat.

Team Peter Cat barely standing after the last of their first 30 gigs.

AvA: Memorable project, show or moment that you'll never forget?

Bramwell: Fortunately, these moments come so often that it’s hard to think of where to begin; I honestly never forget any time when the lights come down in a small sold-out club for a new signing. Alas:

Getting to work with a legend like Tom Petty, booking and attending his six-night underplay run at the Fonda in 2013.
Being Don’s assistant in 2013 planning Pearl Jam’s first-time headlining a stadium, the iconic Wrigley Field no less, only for an epic thunderstorm delay mid-set, getting the curfew waived by the city so the guys could come back out and play ‘til 2am. Then, a decade later, me being PJ’s co-RA, and returning for their two sold out Wrigley nights in 2024, standing on stage watching my forever-idol Ed captivate 40k+ people.
Watching Greta Van Fleet step on stage for their sold-out show at the Forum, reflecting on booking (and having to work the door for) their first LA show at the Viper Room for 200 people just five years earlier. Few rock bands from the 2000s can claim that level of ascension even in a market as big as LA, let alone already having done that in 100+ arenas.
The essentially-overnighter in the office as the co-pilot to Kirk Sommer in 2015 leading up to the massive on-sale morning for Adele’s last arena tour.
Signing Peter Cat, an indie band from India who’d been a band for ten years yet never made it to America, during the pandemic just based on a love of their music during a dark time, no knowledge of how many real fans were in America or when the world would open up … then the joy of their first 30-show tour entirely selling out … and the relief of seeing them play for the first time after three years of chatting from halfway across the globe and being blown away.
Lola Young’s return to the stage in the last month with her masterful Grammys performance (and win!), triumphant show at the Orpheum LA, and overwhelmingly emotional, stripped-down Apple Music Studio filming last weekend which is NOT to be missed when it comes out.