Last week I had lunch at the Google office, and the 2nd most impressive thing was the Lobster rolls they were serving for lunch. The most impressive? My convo with Ali Rivera, who oversees live music for YouTube.

She is the driving force behind the Coachella livestream deal, which is going into its 15th year next April. But wait, it’s September.. why are we talking about this now? Last week at their Made On YouTube event, YouTube announced it’s extending its deal with Goldenvoice, the promoter behind the festival, till 2030.

Plus everyone in the industry has an opinion towards Spotify. I’m bringing on the Global Head of Music Content & Partnerships, Joe Hadley, to share anonymous opinions and have him react live.

Subscribe to AvA LIVE here 😎

AvA LIVE Lineup Booked In Partnership With:

🍺 The Boston Globe’s Sept. 22 story about a Western Massachusetts lesbian bar’s mask-policy backlash became one of the paper’s most-read articles ever, and maybe Hollywood’s next biggest hit?

UTA, which represents the Globe, is now fielding inquiries for scripted and documentary adaptations. Hollywood loves proven IP, and apparently viral bar drama now qualifies.

“Articles are optioned all the time, of course, but only a select few make it to the screen, such as this weekend’s Robert Pattinson movie Primetime, which was based on a 2007 Esquire article.” - Aaron Couch (The Hollywood Reporter)

Spotlight is the most talked about recent movie based on an article: The Boston Globe’s 2002 investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the Church’s cover-up. Here are some other famous examples:

🏆 The MTV VMAs were this weekend. Had no idea until I started seeing content flood the feed from creators (kinda the norm with many things these days). Madonna brought home 7 awards while Taylor Swift extended her record to 6 wins in the video of the year category.

But by far the biggest moment of the night, and the music video that should have won the top prize, Gener8ion and Yung Lean’s performance of “Storm.” It’s my favorite music video since Jamie XX’s Gosh.

Not surprising considering the mastermind director behind both is a visual genius named Romain Gavras.

🗣️ The Academy’s CEO: 2029 we will see ‘a very different Oscars.’ My guess, and a pretty obvious one, is the level of interactivity is going to set a new bar for major events. Also who the HELL knows what the world will look like then.

“It almost feels risky not to do bring the show to YouTube. As we become more global as an organization, the best way for us to reach a global audience of film lovers, film fans, and young artists is on the platform. It gives us a way to engage that we can’t do right now.” - Academy CEO, Bill Kramer

🎤 Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Grand National Tour’ broke the record for the highest grossing rap tour ever with over $390 million and 2 million tickets sold

🍎 Apple Music’s new 600-capacity live venue has officially announced its inaugural lineup

The list includes Elton John as the first show, followed by Charli xcx, Burna Boy, and more, and every concert will be streamed directly onto their platform. This feels like the first major music streaming innovation in a while and I’m excited to see how it unfolds.

🎥 Universal Pictures becomes the first studio to pass $5 billion at the box office this year, leading the way with 3 of the 5 titles to hit the billion mark so far

Paula Nagon helps run communications and public affairs at the NFL, and is now in her third season. She came up through GQ, Vanity Fair, and People, then jumped to the league with no traditional sports background at all. Today she handles everything that happens off the field: the halftime show, creator partnerships, the Met Gala, and the fan experiences built to pull in people who don't watch football. We got her on AvA LIVE to talk about how she made the pivot and how the NFL is chasing new audiences.

Condensed and edited for length.

Warner: You describe your job as everything that happens off the field. What does that actually cover?

Paula: Entertainment, the halftime show, our work with creators, red carpet events, all the fan experiences. My job is getting people excited about the game who aren't traditional sports fans. This is my third season. I came from Condé Nast, and People before that, so the sports world was a whirlwind. Who knew fans were this crazy and this fun.

Warner: We hear from readers three to five years into their careers who want to pivot into an industry they love and don't know where to start. You did it from magazines. How?

Paula: I started in the heyday of magazines, when it was all glitz and glam. GQ, Vanity Fair, and People taught me how to network and get close to people across the industry. Then the layoffs hit media and it got hard to watch. I went to the Super Bowl in Vegas in 2024 with GQ and fell in love with the atmosphere, the concerts, the panels, the whole week most people never see on TV. What worked in my favor is that the NFL wanted someone whose background wasn't traditional sports. They told me in the interview, "We know sports. We don't need you to know sports. We need you to understand women. We need you to understand culture."

Warner: You keep coming back to new audiences. How do you approach that in comms?

Paula: That's basically my whole job. Our CMO Tim Ellis calls it helmets-off storytelling. We're one of the few sports where players wear helmets on the job, so it's harder to connect with them if you don't know their lives off the field. So we lean into fashion. We got our most players ever to the Met Gala this year, we bring them to Fashion Week, and we spotlight their passions and philanthropy. A casual fan might not care about football, but they care that a player loves the same anime they do. You build that smaller connection, and suddenly they're tuning in Sunday night to root for him.

Warner: One piece of advice for someone who wants your job in PR and comms?

Paula: Relationships come first. I take real pride in personally knowing the producers and talent reps I work with. I know when they get a new puppy or get engaged. When we get coffee, I don't want to talk about work. That's how I can lean on people I've worked with for ten years. Second, evolve as the industry evolves. We work with creators and independent media a lot more now, sometimes moving away from legacy brands. Pay attention to how you actually consume content, then apply that to the job. The disconnect happens when people default to the old way of doing things.

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👋 See you back here on Wednesday

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