The Fold

Love Song is a piece of research that Live Nation has been running for six years. It targets Gen Z and its relationship with music and culture, and – they don’t just do it for fun – about how brands can fit into all that. Duncan Greive is joined by his colleagues Gabi Lardies and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith to talk about that research, using it as a jumping off point to have a wider conversation about generations. Together they talk about the truths, the myths, the tensions and the weirdness of all this endless generational discourse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Chesters has 30 years of experience leading strategy on both agency and client sides, serving as CSO at W+K London, Dentsu, and Ogilvy, as well as Head of Strategy at BT, the UK’s equivalent of Spark.He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold as part of The Spinoff’s 2025 partnership with the Comms Council. The pair cover off Chesters' career, what drew him to advertising, dig into the challenge of creativity after the death of the monoculture, and, inevitably, about what AI will do to creativity.Get your tickets now to hear Kevin at AXIS Speaks on Thursday 27 March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second Trump administration has blown apart a multi-decade long rules based order for trade. The White House has put the whole world on notice that it will use tariffs against any perceived slight against its companies. What does that mean for our media reforms? How are we hamstrung by our trade agreements? Do we even have sovereignty on the internet? Duncan Greive is joined by trade specialist Charles Finny and Brainbox's tech regulation expert Tom Barraclough to dive deep into the theoretical and the practical of media regulation in the new era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive for an emergency episode of The Fold after an NZX announcement this afternoon revealed that new NZME shareholder James Grenon is seeking to clear the board and install a new set of directors, himself included. He owns 10% of its shares, and claims the backing of 37% more – putting him very close to a majority for the motion. There's a lot we don't know, and a lot of water to flow under the bridge – but Grenon's media history is very much preoccupied with particular culture war issues. Any attempt to introduce that approach to NZME would be a media event unlike any New Zealand has seen before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third of a three part series analysing the results of the Big Three media companies (or those that release their results, anyway), Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive to look into an impressive result for Sky. After weeks of bad headlines driven by a failing satellite and seemingly stalled negotiations with NZ Rugby, news it had won back the rights to home cricket internationals was welcome. Kyne and Greive dig deep into the results and report on background conversations with NZ Rugby and Sky to suggest that DAZN's presence in the negotiation is likely not nearly so worrying as it looks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second of a three part series analysing the results of the Big Three media companies (or those that release their results, anyway), Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive to look into the results for TVNZ. The state broadcaster has many huge advantages, but remains hamstrung by the lack of audience revenue – newish CEO Jodi O'Donnell is very keen to change that. The loss of cricket was a bitter blow, but after a brutal year, these results contain a lot to be proud of for O'Donnell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first of a three part series analysing the results of the Big Three media companies (or those that release their results, anyway), Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive to dig into NZME's 2024 results and some quietly impactful future plans. These include a potential sale of One Roof, shedding writers to launch a new TV-like news "channel" and a mysterious new owner who just bought almost a tenth of the business's shares. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duncan Greive is joined by two of New Zealand's most successful Substackers in Bernard Hickey (The Kākā) and Lucy Blakiston (Shit You Should Care About) on stage in Wellington as part of the Fringe Festival. They explore the origin stories of their brands, while delving deep into their relationship with institutional media and the different incentives of a paying audience versus advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Burrowes is the author of a book and a Substack called Unmade, which are truly essential guides to media in Australia – and a useful way of understanding the similarities and differences which define our two closely linked markets. He joins Duncan Greive ahead of Unmade's first Auckland live event to talk about a torrid decade in Australian media, the forces which are driving that and whether there are reasons to be optimistic amid the carnage.A reminder: The Fold is live in Wellington this week! Get your tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duncan Greive goes solo to break down a discussion document with profound implications for local media. He explains why he thinks this is the best and most coherent policy outline we've seen in a decade, what's in it, what the challenges are and how it would impact local media if it went through. A reminder: The Fold is live in Wellington next week! Get your tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices