Why being ‘authentic’ is over, the YouTube Oscars and Instagram’s TV app

0:00Hi, everyone. This is Scalable, a weekly show about the business of the creator economy.

0:04Jasmine Enberg: I'm Kaya Yurieff. And I'm Jasmine Enberg. Every Thursday, we take you beyond the headlines to tell you what's happening, what it means, and why it matters.

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1:21Jasmine Enberg: Here are five trader economy headlines. The Oscars will begin streaming on YouTube starting in 2029. Instagram launched a new TV app in the U.S. Biden White House alums launched a new media studio to fund left-wing creators. Netflix announced another podcast partnership, this time with iHeartMedia. And The Washington Post's new personalized AI podcast hosts are making up quotes. We knew this launch would be a little rocky.

1:53Hi, Jasmine. Hey, Kaya. We have been spending a lot of time reflecting and thinking about the year. And one of the things that we've been talking a lot about is what to leave behind in 2025.

2:07Jasmine Enberg: We also wanted to know what other people in the creator economy have been thinking about as we close out 2025. So we talked to over a dozen industry leaders in different parts of the creator economy, including creators, marketers, founders, investors, and executives from companies like TikTok and YouTube. And we asked them three main questions. We wanted to know their hot take on the state of the creator economy, what the creator economy should leave behind in 2025. And of course, we had to ask about AI. So our question was whether it would be a threat or opportunity to the creator economy in 2026 and to rate it on a spectrum of 1 to 10.

2:44Jasmine Enberg: We'll get into some of their answers later on in this episode. Spoiler alert, some of them are pretty spicy. But we wanted to start with what we want to leave behind in 2025, and that is the word authenticity. To be clear, we are not arguing that we need to entirely get rid of the concept or the meaning of the word. In fact, I think parts of authenticity, meaning being real and being unique, are actually going to become even more important in 2026 as it gets harder and harder to stand out in a sea of similar content, especially with the rise of AI on social media. Yeah, we wrote a whole newsletter column about this this week.

3:22And I think it's so funny because some of the hot takes also mentioned authenticity. I know so many people have grumbled about it privately. People publicly even on panels have been like, OK, I know this is overused, but be authentic or, you know, it's been banned from use on panels. So we just wanted to put it out there loud and clear that it's got to go, which is why we wanted to write about it in the newsletter.

3:44Jasmine Enberg: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, over the past couple of years, there has been this effort, conscious or not, right, to use authenticity less. One of my favorite examples is a panel I think I did at VidCon, maybe 2024-ish, and the moderator literally banned us from using the word authenticity and threatened to throw us off the stage if we said authenticity. Of course, he was kidding, but you can see that there has long been this sort of trend toward not using the word as much, and I think there's this understanding that it really doesn't mean what it's supposed to. But I think more importantly, you know, we've come to this point right now where authenticity really doesn't matter as much to people as creators and business leaders think it does.

4:27Jasmine Enberg: And we've seen this in research from multiple different companies, including Sprout Social, as well as eMarketer and Impact.com. I think part of that is because it's overused and has lost its meaning and people can kind of see right through it and know that it's a business buzzword. But I also think there's more to it than that. People now understand that authenticity from creators is mostly performative. Like it's a trend in itself started by TikTok and by Gen Z really, and has also come to mean things like unpolished and unfiltered and even unhinged content, which was a big departure from, you know, the picture perfect millennial pink Instagram aesthetic.

5:06Jasmine Enberg: And I think now, especially when you have pretty much all businesses, all creators, and even regular people using AI to some extent to express themselves online or to create content, the lines between what's real and what isn't really are starting to blur even further. Like if somebody uses ChatGPT to help them write a LinkedIn post and ChatGPT suggests words that they wouldn't normally use, is that really them or is that AI? Yeah, and I think it's totally an acknowledgement that authenticity is a myth, right? Right. Like everything is so highly curated online. And I think what you were alluding to was kind of the rise of TikTok was so different because it was people dancing and it was their messy bedrooms.

5:47And it wasn't, you know, this overly filtered look that we were used to on Instagram. But like, again, it's not to say you shouldn't be genuine and vulnerable online. But even when people do that, they know that they're putting themselves out there in the online world. And for many people, this is a business. So they have to think about that curation and what they're posting. I think such a good example is how Gen Z approaches photo dumps and carousels on Instagram, because so many of them will post kind of these like artsy photos that like look super unedited and kind of haphazard. And it could be like a random object.

6:21Even Instagram, which so rarely updates its filters that are available within the app, has a relatively new one that blurs your images. So it's such a clear acknowledgement that people are kind of using this look now. And I think just in this AI world, right, like creators need to focus on the things that sets them apart, especially from AI content. So that's their personal experience, their expertise, their relationship with fans. So, yeah, it's got to go. We can't bring this into 2026. I know.

6:51Jasmine Enberg: I love the photo dumps example, though. First of all, it reminds me of back in the day when we would just post every single photograph into a Facebook album and not think twice about it. Right. There was literally no curation. That was real. That was real authenticity because we weren't worried at all about we actually weren't thinking about our online footprint at all and that that would maybe we shouldn't be posting like underage drinking photos on on Facebook. That was true authenticity. That was true authenticity. I mean, I agree. I mean, I don't think we could even imagine that someday, you know, we would be in a world where you would think about what you're actually putting out there.

7:27Jasmine Enberg: But I also think, you know, the photo dumps on Instagram, right, to your point, I mean, people are carefully picking and choosing what goes into that carousel. It's also a trend, right? As I'm scrolling through Instagram, I can see so many photo dumps from different people. And, you know, even if you're making one, it's probably one of a thousand lookalike videos. Okay, moving on to major stories this week. The theme of this week apparently is social media on TV screens. So first we had Instagram officially launching its TV app. And then later in the week, Oscars are moving to YouTube, which we'll talk about a little bit later in the episode.

8:05But first to start, so Instagram officially launched a TV app starting with Amazon Fire TV devices in the US. When I was at the information, we broke the news that Instagram was working on this back in June. I thought what was so interesting about the news release is that they're calling this a test. So they're only starting with Fire TV devices. But I mean, they launched a whole smart TV app. I don't know how that's a test, but we'll see. But they did say that they plan to add more features and roll it out to more devices in the coming months.

8:31Jasmine Enberg: I mean, I think it's a way to hedge their bets, right? Like this is outside of YouTube. This is kind of unproven. But you did call it, Kaya. I remember being at Cannes Lions earlier this year and we were in a TikTok press briefing and you asked them a question about CTV. And I was like, what is she thinking? I was like, what is she planning behind the scenes? But yeah, I remember talking to my former colleagues at eMarketer about something similar back in the end of 2024. That was around the time that a lot of the social platforms were pushing further into long form video, also kind of chasing the success of YouTube at that point.

9:02Jasmine Enberg: TikTok did have a smart TV app back then. It wasn't very successful. YouTube wasn't, you know, as powerful and as dominant as it is right now. It did not top the TV and streaming charts by Nielsen until earlier this year. But there are very real business reasons why the social apps are going after living room screens. Meta has said that Instagram will launch this TV app without ads, but it is inevitable that they're going to insert ads at some point. Connected TV advertising is growing much more quickly than social media advertising. So there's a big opportunity there for these social apps to start to capture some of those streaming ad dollars, especially as social ad growth rates become harder to maintain.

9:47Jasmine Enberg: Now, connected TV ads are also more valuable to advertisers, which means they're more lucrative to the social platforms. They tend to be more expensive, right? Because they're being viewed on a bigger screen. They're also harder to skip. Although the flip side of that is that people might be scrolling on TikTok or Instagram while they're watching what's on the TV screen. Totally. And I think those are all very legitimate business reasons for the social platforms and companies like Instagram to get in on the space. But YouTube is also a huge reason because you hear nonstop from YouTube the words The Living Room.

10:23You know, they've done things to their product like reorganizing the TV app for creator channels to make it look more like Netflix and organize, you know, creators have many reoccurring shows and formats. So they're organizing those into episodes or even seasons. And we also learned through doing this fact-checking process is that YouTube has actually been on TV since 2007. So they launched this app starting with the first generation Apple TV. So they're a true OG here. Of course, like the YouTube app on TV screens has not taken off, like didn't take off in 2007. But the fact that they've been at this for so long is sort of crazy to think about.

10:58But I think what's worked so well for YouTube is that they have so much horizontal content and long form videos that just look better and are better suited for TVs. They've obviously also moved into live sports with NFLs and they take it and they're building out packages that look a lot more like modern cable TV packages. They're going to introduce some sports focused ones for YouTube TV next year.

11:21Jasmine Enberg: Yeah, I mean, I think just because Instagram builds it doesn't mean that users and advertisers are going to come, right? I mean, to your point, a lot of YouTube content is long form, horizontal video. YouTube has also said, though, that people watch shorts on their TVs, although anyone I know who does that is our kids, right? And to your point, too, I mean, it has taken YouTube almost 20 years to get big TV advertisers to really start taking it seriously as a TV medium. Yeah. Yeah. And I think like putting together our chart this week in the newsletters is always telling and shows kind of the stops and starts that we've had with this.

12:01Right. Like TikTok, I think, is very clearly going to be next to do this as part of the reporting in June. We also reported the genesis of that story was at Cannes because I asked TikTok whether they were planning a TV app and they gave me sort of a, you know, diplomatic answer. Yeah, but they sort of insinuated that it was an important kind of surface for that. I did some more reporting and TikTok staff have been strategizing about how to launch a new TV app tailored for big screen viewing. They tried this in 2020 and they actually yanked that app earlier this year as they're planning this new one for my reporting in June.

12:38But one of the reasons, I mean, like you said, Jasmine, you know, it's to capture streaming dollars, but it's also to attract older viewers. I think TikTok has this reputation for being super popular with young people. Obviously, they've expanded that audience, but they see further potential to expand to older viewers.

12:52Jasmine Enberg: Yeah. And I mean, I get the impetus for moving on to TV screens to attract older viewers. But if the content is still the same, I wonder how successful that's going to be, which kind of leads me to my big question in all of this, which is it's obviously really early for Instagram for TV. But is this, you know, going to lead to a change in the way that creators produce content for Instagram? Are they going to start leaning into longer videos, for example? Is Instagram going to start allowing more horizontal video, right? I mean, right now, everything is being optimized for mobile viewing. But if the living room screen is sort of the next big surface for social content, we could see big shifts also in things like production value, right?

13:38Jasmine Enberg: And making some of the Instagram content look more like YouTube. So way too early to tell. But there's a lot of big sort of changes that could come from this. And that's, again, another reason why YouTube has done well in the space, because creators on YouTube, the production value has skyrocketed. They've invested so much. If you look at Mark Rober's content and so many others, Michelle Kare's, like, this is TV quality content. And it's not to say that Reels are not highly produced or TikToks aren't, but it's just a different format. It's made for mobile screens. So we'll see. I don't know. You can't, like, copy paste that to the big screen.

14:13Jasmine Enberg: No. And, you know, there's all these independent digital media studios that have popped up to support YouTube creators and YouTube content. And I'm like, are we going to get to a world where there's Instagram independent digital media studios? Who knows, right? I mean, it could open the door to so much more creator opportunity. But again, it really just depends on how, you know, this app does. So moving on to industry hot takes, we got so many great answers from different people from around the industry. And it was so interesting to see that people took a lot of different angles to these answers, right?

14:47Jasmine Enberg: We got everything from specific trends and words that we needed to leave behind in 2025 to sort of hot takes on the state of influencer marketing measurement. And some people were kind enough to send us voice notes. So here are a few of them. My hot take on the creator economy is that the era of chasing follower-like and comment counts as real signs of success is basically done. I think the metric that actually matters now is time spent. So like I'm real watch time, real attention, real engagement from people who genuinely love A, I'm creators content. We're moving from creators broadcasting to everyone to creators building for the people who actually show up for them.

15:36Jasmine Enberg: So I think depth is beating scale and it's creating a healthier, more sustainable creator economy overall. For your second question, what's one thing the creator economy should leave behind in 2025? I want to say, and I wish, my dream is rage bait, but I think you and I both know that that's not happening. So instead, I will say transactional relationships, things that feel really surface level, one off, purely for the check. I think that's something we should try and do less of next year. And I think we need to leave behind this idea that creators should look or act like a traditional advertisement.

16:14So when brands are over scripting creators or treating them like media placements, everyone loses, especially you see a loss in trust. These audiences are buying because creators show how a product is really integrated into their life, not because they hit every bullet point on a brief. In fact, when I notice a creator is hitting bullet points on a brief and it sounds awkward or not in their voice, I'm immediately turned off to that. And so I think letting creators be imperfect and personal is exactly what's going to drive consumer action today. So the era of polished and perfect is absolutely over.

16:47People are really craving what's real. So I think we can leave behind the overly polished and overly engineered content behind and embrace humanity and the human parts of content today. All right, here's my hot take on the state of the creator economy. It's kind of like almost old media time for the creator economy as it's about to be disrupted by AI. If you think about it, we had print, we had television, we had the internet, we had creators, we had social. But now AI as a media thing is kind of the next up and coming thing. And creators will be disrupted at some level. You just heard the voices of Jim Shepard, Dakota Rae Lowe, Amber Vensbox, and Jim Ladderback.

17:29You can check out the full array of responses on our LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and our newsletter. So it was interesting because we tried to organize all of these things and look at the themes that emerged. So the first theme was that the creator economy has matured, but people still feel like it's undervalued. The industry obviously is now mainstream and touches everything from politics to sports to marketing, of course, which some experts told us they feel like is taking away some of the kind of hype and buzz, while others believe things are kind of just getting going. So Sam Clannan, who leads creator products and efforts at LinkedIn, said that he thinks that we're still unbelievably early in terms of the arc of the creator economy.

18:08And he points out that so much of the advertising going into audio, for example, is still going to traditional formats like radio versus into podcasting. So I'll quote from him directly. He said, ultimately, all demand generation is going to have to primarily go through content and people that have a voice and an audience and credibility. And we are some minute fraction of the way there.

18:29Jasmine Enberg: Yeah, I mean, I would agree with Sam, at least from the business perspective, right? I mean, audiences have shifted, but the dollars really across the entire marketing landscape haven't fully shifted into creators just yet. The second theme that emerged from all of these quotes is that everything is starting to look the same. And Kudzi Chikumbu, who's the vice president of creator partnerships at Tubi, put this one the best. It's a direct quote, and he says, we are witnessing an influx of sameness. And I think what is happening is this. There are more creators, there are more platforms, there are more channels, and there's more content than ever before.

19:07Jasmine Enberg: But instead of that leading to more variety and diversity in content, which is, you know, one of the promises of the creator economy, content is just starting to look more and more alike. And I think it's not just on social media. We're really seeing this across all different types of entertainment channels. There is this pressure to not only consistently create content, but make sure that it's predictable and brand safe. And I think that's pushing a lot of creators toward the middle and making them much more risk averse and unwilling to take big swings with their content. And then you also have creators who are chasing the algorithm in order to get reach.

19:47Jasmine Enberg: And then you have all these AI content creation tools that are just making it so much easier and more tempting to copy what's already working for other creators and continue on in the trends. So I totally agree with all of this. I do think we are witnessing an influx of sameness, to quote Kudzi. But I also think that it offers a lot of opportunities for new creators and new voices to really break through with interesting things in 2026. Totally. And I think a good example of this, Jim Shepard pointed out is the in your 20s trend, and then it extended to in your 30s. And it's like, that same music over and over again.

20:25And it's like, it's so important that you do XYZ. And it's like, that trend has been for weeks. And it's like, I cannot listen to that song. And it's just like, everyone's piling on. And yes, they have their niche. But like, the whole Reels algorithm is the same trend. So I think that was a good example from Jim, which was his answer for what we should leave behind in 2025. Another theme that people pointed to was measurement. So everyone in the industry knows that measuring the effectiveness of campaigns is a mess, but nobody can agree how to fix it. I think what we mean by this is that, you know, unlike other forms of advertising like TV campaigns, there is just not a standard way to measure creator campaigns.

21:06So what we've heard from our experts is that vanity metrics like number of followers, likes, all that stuff is out. And that depth and watch time and that kind of stuff really matters. And proving real business outcomes is in. But there isn't a strong consensus on like what the measurement should be. What are the metrics that matter the most? Jamie Goodfriend predicts that out is EMV or earned media value, which has become a popular one within influencer marketing. She says this metric is on a quote farewell tour. To quote her, she says, everyone knows it doesn't connect to business outcomes, but it's safe, measurable, and no one wants to be first to say it's broken.

21:43So she thinks that's starting to change. I think the other thing that's interesting is that the lack of this clear system can put an unfair expectation on creators, because how are they supposed to perform if there's not a standard benchmark? And Kim Larson, who's the global head of creators over at YouTube, you know, points out that you wouldn't expect a positive ROI from every marketing campaign right out of the gate. So you shouldn't expect that from a creator campaign either. The last point here, which I think is interesting, is that creators themselves also need better ways to measure their own audiences.

22:14Obviously, they have kind of demographic data from the platforms. But Megan Lightcap, who's an investor at Slow Ventures, which has a fund that invests directly into creators and their businesses, I thought had a really interesting take where she says, there are far too many creators who don't know who their audience is beyond demographic data from platforms. Practically, this means they have no idea why their audience follows them and or why they keep coming back.

22:39Jasmine Enberg: Yeah, I think the measurement question is such a good one. And I think it actually extends beyond influencer marketing campaigns, right? I mean, Brent Weinstein from CAA, who we also talked to for this, talked about, you know, how in 2026, what we need to let go of as creators is validation from the traditional media industry. I think for so long, that has been something that creators have aspired to just because of the prestige that's around it. But as we've seen audiences really start to shift away from traditional media and more towards creators, why are creators still chasing that validation from traditional media companies as a sign of legitimacy and success?

23:22Jasmine Enberg: So the fourth theme that emerged was that another reckoning is coming for creator economy businesses. So many people who we talked to offer different types of business models that they think either will or won't make it in 2026. So to sum things up on the creator side, creators and businesses that work with creators should start prioritizing a small number of true engaged fans over 1 million followers. What we also saw in the responses was that creating memorable content and building a sustainable business is going to be just much more important than going viral and growing at all costs. And I think Malik Ducard, who is the chief content officer at Pinterest, put this one the best.

24:07Jasmine Enberg: He said, and this is a direct quote, would you rather your story or content be forgotten about 10 seconds later or remembered 10 months later? Jamie Goodfriend came in with another spicy take on this one. She specifically called out creator marketing agencies saying that these types of transactional shops that just match creators with brands are going to collapse next year. I think she's spot on on this. There are now so many different ways for brands to find and vet creators. And if you've listened to any of our previous podcasts, there are more creator marketplaces most likely on the way. And I think that brands that work with agencies are just going to want more from those relationships, as well as more insight and transparency and control over how they're really spending their dollars on creator partnerships.

24:56Jasmine Enberg: I think Brian Flanagan, who's the president of Mythical Entertainment also had a really interesting take on key man risk. And that is the danger of focusing a business around a specific individual. There's a lot of talk about this in the investment world, especially on YouTube. Because the big question is, is if you build a business around a specific creator, what happens when that individual leaves? Does the business collapse? Or gets canceled. Yeah, exactly. And Brian actually thought that it wasn't as risky as many people think, and that there are actually specific benefits that come with having a key man or building a business around an individual.

25:37Jasmine Enberg: And that's what the future of entertainment might just look like. I think he's right to a certain degree. However, I do think it takes time and effort for a creator to build themselves to a place where the brand can really stand on their own without them. So especially in the early days, I still think there is plenty of risk associated with this. I think we can see the evolution of like the Kardashians businesses, which is a good example. Like it used to be much more tied to them. And now if you look at how Kim Kardashian has built Skims, like, yes, she was in so many of the early advertising campaigns.

26:12And then she started bringing in other, you know, familiar faces and famous faces and then doing all these really innovative collaborations with other companies. So Skims, I think, yes, it has the halo effect of being, you know, affiliated with Kim Kardashian. But it really is a brand, I think, that now stands on its own and has obviously raised a ton of money.

26:30Jasmine Enberg: Yeah, and there's a lot of interplay in between these things, right? I mean, people are now more likely to follow and engage with other people rather than companies or corporations, right? And so I think Brian is right that as, you know, we think about the future of media, individuals are just going to play a much bigger role in garnering attention and ad dollars. But I think, you know, just getting to that point is a lot harder than we may think. So last was AI. Most of our interviewees think that AI is more of an opportunity than a threat for the creator economy. But that's not true for all types of creators.

27:08And there are some caveats. Rima Vassan, head of North America business marketing at TikTok, told us that AI, the pluses are that AI makes it easier to make great content. But it's also bringing in a lot of AI slobs. So, quote, it can become a shortcut to fairly generic, over-engineered content that people are just not going to engage with. And the risk also is going to depend on the type of creator. To bring in Megan again from Slow Ventures, she said if you're competing simply for attention with entertaining videos, it's going to be, quote, gnarly. If you have a deep community built on defensible content, AI will be a massive accelerant, especially if you're building a real business.

27:45So it's all about the ways you're using AI. Of course, kind of I think our point of view on this is like, look, there's so much AI generated content that like is entertaining. So that takes away from some of the time you spend. But those creators are not the people that you're going to for deep expertise. And yes, it's about entertainment, but it's also about like who these people are. And that connection is much harder with just kind of the AI slop we see in the world.

28:09Jasmine Enberg: So here's what else has been going on this week. First, the Oscars will begin streaming on YouTube starting in 2029. YouTube has not yet announced a broadcast partner, which means that the Oscars may not air on traditional TV at all for the first time in its history. This is a massive story, a huge shakeup and really just underscores the enormous shift in power dynamics toward YouTube that we've seen in the media and entertainment industry recently. There's a screenwriter named Daniel Kunkka who I think summed it up best on X writing, YouTube broadcasting the Oscars is like shaking hands with a guy who's trying to kill you.

28:49Oh, that is a doozy of a quote. It's so funny because this was floating around in the media that YouTube wanted the rights and it was really dismissed. It was like, no, this is such a long shot. ABC has been the consistent, you know, broadcaster of the Academy Awards since 1976. They still will be doing this through 2028. But YouTube has the global rights to air the awards until 2033. And they're going to be aired without charge. You know, in a statement from the Academy CEO and president, they said that this move will help, you know, the Oscars reach a larger and also international audience. I think we can expect creators to be a big, big part of this.

29:31YouTube is getting so many other things with this as part of this announcement, they're going to get the red carpet pre-show. So you have to imagine, I mean, creators are already on red carpets. But with YouTube controlling the red carpet. I mean, I think it's going to be a huge difference in what that pre-show looks like. A lot more, you know, they have the rights to the behind the scenes and in-show content. So you have to imagine that creators are going to be hugely tapped for that. YouTube is also going to get the Oscars nomination announcement. So it'll be so interesting to see how that's delivered, how that's announced, and a host of other things, including the Oscars nominees, luncheon, and so much more.

30:09So huge, huge shake up. The end of the year is not slow, let me tell you.

30:15Jasmine Enberg: I mean, YouTube has been going after TV advertisers all year, but I don't think there is a better way to try to get those big TV ad budgets than to host the Oscars, right? If it's going to be free for viewers, then obviously it's going to be ad supported. And, you know, YouTube has struggled really to convince a lot of these big TV advertisers to shift their budget. But I mean, Oscars, award shows in general, as well as sports are really some of the only reasons why people tune in to broadcast TV anymore. And if it's going to be on if the Oscars will be on YouTube now, I mean, there are very few reasons for advertisers to not move their ad spending there.

30:57Jasmine Enberg: I mean, what's next? The Super Bowl? My God. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at this point. They got to work those NFL relationships. All right. Moving on to more news this week. So we had an interesting launch. Another Normal Day, which is also known as And Media, is a new venture style media company, which launched earlier this week. It's founded by Christian Tom, Aisha Shaw, and Landon Morgato. And it aims to provide funding and production support for left-leaning creators. I think really interesting to note that all three co-founders previously worked on creator partnerships in the Biden White House and also did stints at tech companies, including Meta and Twitter.

31:40Christian was actually the former assistant to Biden when he was president, and he was also the director of the White House Office of Digital Strategy. And I think the launch comes at this interesting time where, you know, there's been so many headlines of like, who's the Joe Rogan of the left, right? And Democrats have said, you know, they need to better mobilize and support left-wing influencers the way that Republicans have done on the right.

32:00Jasmine Enberg: Do you want to be the next Joe Rogan? And is there such, could there be such thing as a left Joe Rogan? Yeah, this was such an interesting story because after we published our newsletter on Tuesday, so many people reached out to me about this. And what that really said to me is that there really is this huge white space for left wing voices in the creator economy. I think we often think about political and news influencers as being primarily right wing. And that's for good reason. The loudest and the biggest voices tend to be. That's partly because many of them got pushed off of mainstream media.

32:35Jasmine Enberg: I mean, Tucker Carlson is a really great example. But I did a report on this earlier this year, and I was looking at some research for it from Pew Research Center. And what it showed was that left-leaning people were just as, if not more likely, to turn to political and news influencers for news, as well as to help them make sense of all the headlines as right-wing people are. I think the problem is that there just aren't as many left-wing voices in, you know, the independent space or there isn't as much awareness for them. That said, you know, I'm not sure exactly how well this will work. I think one of the other reasons that right-wing voices have become so successful and powerful is because they're really not afraid to say things that might offend some people.

33:23Jasmine Enberg: A lot of left-leaning people are very afraid of being canceled. They're also afraid of being factually incorrect. And I totally understand that. So that means it's not just financial support that they need. They really do need to have a strong point of view that also isn't being represented in mainstream or traditional media in order for their content to break through. A couple of things I do think might work in their favor, though, is that some of the creators that A &D Media is supporting from the very beginning aren't inherently or only political. There's Kareem Rama of Subway Takes, and there's the comedian Matt Buccelli, who I love.

34:01Jasmine Enberg: He's so funny. He's so funny. It's so good. And politics obviously touches a lot of the content that he creates, but it's mostly entertainment, right? And that means that it's natural to infuse politics and political messaging into it, but you don't frame it as like inherently political messaging. This is kind of the approach that Joe Rogan actually has taken too. And the other part of this is I think that mainstream media has become so much more consolidated into the hands of, you know, a few powerful companies or a few billionaires. And now there's more of an appetite among the left for nontraditional voices.

34:39Jasmine Enberg: And then you also have a lot of young people from both sides of the aisle who feel increasingly alienated or unrepresented by the people and the stories that they hear on mainstream media. So, you know, I think there's a lot of potential here. Very interested to see how this all plays out. And honestly, I mean, I was just surprised at kind of the massive reaction that this got from so many people that I know. Netflix made some more moves into podcasting. They announced a partnership with iHeartMedia to bring new video episodes of more than 15 of its most popular podcasts, including Charlemagne's The Breakfast Club and Chelsea Handler's Dear Chelsea, to the streaming service.

35:18So new episodes from these shows are going to debut on Netflix early next year in the US. And the deal also includes some past episodes as well. So there will be library content too.

35:28Jasmine Enberg: Warner Brothers Discovery has rejected Paramount's hostile bid. The WBD board called the$108 billion offer, quote, illusory and accused the company of misleading shareholders about its financing. Netflix, of course, previously announced that it would acquire Warner Brothers. We talked about this at length and dove into the potential impact on YouTube in a previous newsletter and podcast that we can link below. A new Berlin-based startup is building AI that adds soundtracks to videos, and they raised a, wait for this,$41 million seed funding round, which is very early stage, led by Intex Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

36:07This was so interesting because when I was reading the coverage in TechCrunch, I was thinking like, yeah, it is true. There is this opportunity where there's so many AI video generating tools, but they don't really think about the audio features. And the co-founder had this quote that it's a bit like silent movies versus talking movies, right? Like it does make quite a difference if you have AI. So it seems like there's an interesting need, but also feels like something some existing startups and big tech platforms can start adding. Gemini's video generator also now is starting to incorporate soundtracks powered by DeepMind's VO video to audio model.

36:39So very interesting that audio has kind of been left behind a little bit and something that creators are having to add on manually. So that will be very interesting to watch that space. That startup is called Morello.

36:51Jasmine Enberg: So Merriam-Webster announced its word of the year, slop. It defines slop as, quote, digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence. I actually learned that slop has a little bit of a different meaning to slop bowl. Have you heard that? No. What is that? So on TikTok, it is used to refer to what I would call boy dinner, which is like a Chipotle style bowl of food. And I think it works. Okay. I feel like I also see that from women too, where it's like, oh, like a messy bowl of like random stuff in your fridge. Interesting. I like that. I know.

37:30Jasmine Enberg: I like it too. And I definitely like it better than I like Oxford's word of the year this year, which is actually two words, rage bait. And you all already know how Kaya and I feel about Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year in 2023, which was authentic. That is all the news we have for you this week. Next week, we will not be publishing an episode on Christmas, but our next episode will be on Friday, December 26th, where we will review the top moments of 2025.