Strictly Business

In country music, the more issues like parity for female artists and people of color get talked about, the more they stay the same, it often seems. But for the better part of a decade, Leslie Fram, CMT’s senior VP of music & talent, has been pretty much the first name you hear when you hear about execs who are making a difference. That’s been within the network, with the Next Women of Country initiative and an Equal Play pledge to program at least 50% female artists, and outside it, with some extracurricular diversity programs she’s co-founded. Fram joins us to talk about those issues and also discuss subjects like “The CMT Awards” moving upstairs to CBS, and Pluto TV and Paramount Plus allowing for more of the music programming that doesn’t always have a big place on CMT itself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded on the ground at Vidcon 2022, this episode takes a deep dive into the minds of teenagers and twenty-somethings who attended the annual fan gathering in Anaheim, Calif. You'll hear first-hand from the next generation of consumers about why they're drawn to watch TikTok but rarely turn on a TV set. These are the rabid fans of social media creators who are the tip of the spear, forging a new form of entertainment that is largely produced outside of mainstream Hollywood.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hit series "Peaky Blinders" is wrapping up its celebrated run having just premiered its sixth and final season on Netflix in the U.S. But as executive producer Caryn Mandabach explains, "Peaky" is poised to live on in many other forms besides a TV show including a virtual-reality experience, a ballet performance and an alcoholic beverage, just to name a few.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The songs of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon sold for astronomical sums In 2021, when investors spent $5.3 billion on acquisitions of recorded music catalogs, publishing and other royalties -- up 180% from 2020. Will these deals pay off? During a panel discussion at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference, music industry professionals Marc Cimino (UMPG), Sherrese Clarke Soares (HarbourView Equity Partners), Harvey Mason jr. (Recording Academy) and Scott Pascucci (Concord) explained what’s driving Wall street’s interest in songs as assets. The talk, titled “Drop the Mic: The Business of Music,” was moderated by Variety executive editor Shirley Halperin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While there's little debate that the global economy is facing a serious downturn, what's less clear is how that could impact the media and entertainment business. S&P Global Ratings senior director Naveen Sarma discusses myriad consequences that could impact movie theaters, advertising, cord-cutting, dealmaking and so much more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latasha Gillespie, Head of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Amazon’s Prime Video, Amazon Studios and IMDB, discusses the progress made in the year since the company established its Inclusion Policy Playbook. The corporate behemoth made a statement with expansive DE&I guidelines for producers and partners who work for the studio or Prime Video. Gillespie explains the importance of making it an open-source document free to all via online, and the importance of ensuring that creative teams have enough "lived experience" credentials for the stories they opt to tell. "We all measure ourselves by our intentions, but others may measure us by our impact," Gillespie says. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The entrepreneur and activist who last year acquired the digital comedy venture founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in 2007 details his vision for growing Funny Or Die and its content production arm by emphasizing young talent and diverse voices. Muñoz goes deep on his journey as a gay Latinx man from Texas to becoming a respected architect, civic leader and health care executive. “I’m a person who has undertaken change in many industries,” Muñoz says.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julian Fellowes, the Emmy-winning writer of the period-drama megahit, and Gareth Neame, executive chairman of Carnival Films, discuss their collaboration on six seasons and two films, including hopes that the "New Era" sequel will help bring adults back to movie theaters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Latin music tips the spear of media consumption for Spanish-speaking Americans, asserts Bruno Del Granado, the head of Latin music touring at CAA. A former executive at MTV and manager of Ricky Martin, the Miami-based industry veteran traces the genre’s arrival on U.S. shores — from ‘La Bamba’ to Selena, “Despacito” and Bad Bunny — as it stands poised to surpass $1 billion in recorded music revenue in 2022.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Michael Ellenberg left HBO to start his own production company, In Media Res, five years ago, the streaming wars had barely reached full steam. But he's learned plenty since then about what it takes to launch series like "Pachinko" and "The Morning Show" for consumers far beyond the U.S. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.