Media

Podcasting's Next Dollar Is Not in Ads. It's in Fandom Infrastructure.

Mar 20, 2026

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9 min read

Podcasting's Next Dollar Is Not in Ads. It's in Fandom Infrastructure.

Spotify's Legends Club is a bet that the most valuable podcast audiences are the ones willing to show up in person — and pay for the privilege.

michael wildes

Media

Mar 19, 2026

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10 min read

Creator Programming Is Already TV.

52 billion minutes of long-form creator content consumed last year — funded out of influencer budgets. That mispricing is the biggest near-term opportunity in media advertising.

michael wildes

Media

Big Events Don't Set the Culture Anymore. Creators Do.

Mar 18, 2026

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10 min read

Big Events Don't Set the Culture Anymore. Creators Do.

The Oscars needed 250,000 creator uploads and 3 billion views to stay culturally relevant.

michael wildes

Media

YouTube Is the Only Screen That Matters Now.

Mar 17, 2026

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10 min read

YouTube Is the Only Screen That Matters Now.

YouTube's ad revenue now exceeds Disney, NBCU, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery combined. That is not a platform story. It is a repricing of where media economics actually live.

michael wildes

Media

The Live Nation Settlement Is Not What It Looks Like.

Mar 16, 2026

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12 min read

The Live Nation Settlement Is Not What It Looks Like.

Seven states accepted the deal. Thirty-two refused. The real fight over who controls live-event infrastructure is just starting — and the implications run far beyond ticketing.

michael wildes

Media

Mar 14, 2026

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10 min read

The Next Media Roll-Up Won't Be Glamorous. It'll Be Niche, Profitable, and Boring.

B2B newsletters and vertical podcasts with 80% gross margins, 85-90% retention, and SaaS-like economics are being repriced by buyers who finally understand recurring revenue in media.

michael wildes

Media

The Writers' Union Can't Manage Its Own Labor.

Mar 14, 2026

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11 min read

The Writers' Union Can't Manage Its Own Labor.

Amidst staff strikes and major mergers, the WGA begins studio negotiations on March 16 as the industry shifts toward AI experimentation and talent deals strictly tied to revenue.

michael wildes

Media

The Agency Bundle Is Unbundling. The Pieces Left Are the Lowest-Value Ones.

Mar 13, 2026

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9 min read

The Agency Bundle Is Unbundling. The Pieces Left Are the Lowest-Value Ones.

Production, distribution, and representation used to be one package. Now creators handle production (or AI does), platforms handle distribution, and the agency is left holding introductions and negotiation — the two cheapest pieces.

michael wildes

Media

Mar 13, 2026

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9 min read

Why is Disney Buying YouTube Channels?

By bringing in YouTube favorites early, they’re doubling down on appealing to young viewers who switch between platforms constantly.

michael wildes

Media

I Upload 130 Videos a Month to YouTube. Here's Why It Paid-Off.

Mar 10, 2026

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13 min read

I Upload 130 Videos a Month to YouTube. Here's Why It Paid-Off.

YouTube is letting creators swap old sponsor reads with new deals across their entire back catalog. Every video you've ever published can now carry a fresh sponsor deal. Plus: Live Nation just settled with the DOJ, and the live events market cracked open.

michael wildes

Media

AI Misinformation in War: False Footage Is Spreading Faster Than the Conflict Itself

Mar 9, 2026

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12 min read

AI Misinformation in War: False Footage Is Spreading Faster Than the Conflict Itself

18 false claims in one week. Video game footage passed off as combat. One guy in Pakistan running 31 fake accounts. This is the first war where AI is producing more misinformation than humans. Plus: oil blows past $100, and the FAA tells O'Hare it has too many flights.

michael wildes

Media

Substack Hit 5 Million Paid Subscriptions: Who's Actually Getting Paid?

Mar 6, 2026

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11 min read

Substack Hit 5 Million Paid Subscriptions: Who's Actually Getting Paid?

Substack's 5 million paid subscriptions sounds like a win for creators. Look closer and the money tells a different story.

michael wildes

Media

90-Second Shows. Vertical Videos: the Future of Entertainment?

Mar 5, 2026

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14 min read

90-Second Shows. Vertical Videos: the Future of Entertainment?

Netflix, TikTok, and Instagram are all rebuilding around the same format: vertical, short, looped, and impossible to stop swiping. The microdrama market didn't exist 18 months ago. Now it's worth $1.5 billion.

michael wildes

Media

Brands Spent $37 Billion on Creators Last Year.

Mar 4, 2026

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12 min read

Brands Spent $37 Billion on Creators Last Year.

The IAB says creator ad spend hit $37 billion last year — up 26%, growing 4x faster than the industry. Brands aren't buying posts anymore. They're buying programming.

michael wildes

Media

Ted Cruz Gets 1.4 Million Downloads in a Month — Here's Why

Mar 3, 2026

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10 min read

Ted Cruz Gets 1.4 Million Downloads in a Month — Here's Why

Why Every Serious 2028 Candidate Already Has a Microphone

michael wildes

Media

Your LinkedIn Article Matters More Than Your Website Now

Feb 16, 2026

•

9 min read

Your LinkedIn Article Matters More Than Your Website Now

Google referrals are down 33%. AI citations from LinkedIn are up 4-5x.

michael wildes

Media

Dec 29, 2025

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6 min read

Likes Are Dead.

The most important KPI of the next era of social media is trust.

michael wildes

Business

Meta and YouTube didn’t beat TikTok; Washington did.

Dec 27, 2025

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11 min read

Meta and YouTube didn’t beat TikTok; Washington did.

ByteDance just cut a deal to spin off TikTok. The biggest winners? Meta, YouTube, Snap. They must have exhaled like marathoners crossing the finish line. Why?

michael wildes

Media

Podcasting's Next Dollar Is Not in Ads. It's in Fandom Infrastructure.

Creator Programming Is Already TV.

Big Events Don't Set the Culture Anymore. Creators Do.

YouTube Is the Only Screen That Matters Now.

The Live Nation Settlement Is Not What It Looks Like.

The Next Media Roll-Up Won't Be Glamorous. It'll Be Niche, Profitable, and Boring.

The Writers' Union Can't Manage Its Own Labor.

The Agency Bundle Is Unbundling. The Pieces Left Are the Lowest-Value Ones.

Why is Disney Buying YouTube Channels?

I Upload 130 Videos a Month to YouTube. Here's Why It Paid-Off.

AI Misinformation in War: False Footage Is Spreading Faster Than the Conflict Itself

Substack Hit 5 Million Paid Subscriptions: Who's Actually Getting Paid?

90-Second Shows. Vertical Videos: the Future of Entertainment?

Brands Spent $37 Billion on Creators Last Year.

Ted Cruz Gets 1.4 Million Downloads in a Month — Here's Why

Your LinkedIn Article Matters More Than Your Website Now

Likes Are Dead.

Meta and YouTube didn’t beat TikTok; Washington did.

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