When Warner Bailey launched his meme account Assistants vs. Agents nearly a decade ago, he thought five people would see it. Then, Hollywood super agent Ari Emanuel sent one of Bailey’s memes to all of WME, where he worked in the mailroom.
“I was like, ‘Boy, I’m in trouble,’” Bailey told us on the latest episode of Scalable, recorded live at CreatorIQ’s Connect conference last month.
Today, AvA is much more than a meme account. It’s a full-fledged media business, with a job board, newsletter, events and a weekly live show, AvA Live. (Emanuel was recently a guest on AvA Live, suggesting that if Bailey was ever in trouble, that’s behind him now.)
Still, getting to where Bailey is today wasn’t easy. AvA’s primary audience is Hollywood assistants, who make an average of roughly $45,000 annually, according to a survey Bailey ran last year. That isn’t the most lucrative cohort for brands or advertisers.
What has helped is that, over the past nine years, many assistants have become executives themselves. “That’s an easier sell to brands,” Bailey said, adding that roughly 90% to 95% of his revenue came from brand sponsorships last year.
Many of those partnerships have centered on AvA’s live events, which range from intimate 20-person dinners and corporate campus events with companies like Netflix to an awards show for Hollywood assistants, which drew 450 attendees. Bailey told us he hosted a whopping 20 events in 2025.
This year, he plans to host half as many. That feels more like a strategic decision to focus on core events, rather than a retreat from the events business: Bailey also told us he’s being more selective with brand deals overall, including focusing on longer-term deals with brands he really believes in.
On the content side, the pipeline from creating memes behind the scenes to hosting a live show isn’t an obvious one. Before launching AvA Live, Bailey said he had little on-camera experience and wasn’t comfortable with it. But he knew the only way to overcome his fear was to just go live.
Once you’re live, “you can’t edit. If you make a mistake, there’s nothing you can do,” he explained, adding that his mic was muted the first time he did the show. Earlier this month, AvA Live passed 8 million views over 60 days. Bailey said the show will move from weekly to twice a week next year.
Even as the business and audience have grown, Bailey hasn’t forgotten his roots. His latest venture is Loyd, a platform that helps entry-level Hollywood assistants with their work. Bailey launched Loyd with co-founders Ryan McCaffray and Vince Morales in September. (Similarly to Bailey, Morales began his career in the UTA mailroom.)
“What we’re solving for is the chaos of working as an assistant and the fractured and fragmented flow of information,” Bailey explained, recalling his own experience of working 16-hour days. He added that they brought on about 20 assistants to help build the company and gave them equity.
For Bailey, Loyd is also a way to help diversify his revenue beyond sponsorships, along with a book, merchandise and other longer-form projects in the works. Sponsorships have already dropped to about 70% of AvA’s revenue this year and Bailey wants to push that share lower still.
One thing that hasn’t changed, though: Bailey still posts memes himself—and he hasn’t hired his own assistant.
Tune in to the full episode of Scalable to hear why a Reel with 30 million views did less for Bailey’s business than a video with 5,000 views, and how his earlier startup fought for the ticketing rights to the now-infamous Fyre Festival.
🔊 Soundbite
“There are just some creators who say, ‘You know what? I am about the original craft here and I don’t want to use AI.’ That’s great. We celebrate that.”
Choice was a big theme at Adobe’s annual Max conference this week, as we reported Tuesday. Balazs echoed that in an interview with Jasmine, saying that creators who use Adobe’s tools have the option to not use AI.
While we understand this framing, especially given the sensitivities around the technology, we wonder what happens to creators who decide to forgo using AI in their creative work. Can they compete with creators who do use AI when it comes to cost, speed and volume of content? As Balazs also acknowledged: “The velocity of content will still matter.”
Creators who opt out of AI could also fall behind on skills or miss out on formats that help them reach new audiences and grow their businesses. Plus, as companies keep rolling out more AI tools—including in products that creators already use and pay for—the tech is becoming harder to avoid.
In the end, it may not be a choice at all.
The Round Up
iHeartMedia denied a Bloomberg report that it is planning to sell its podcast business. Its podcast network includes shows such as “Stuff You Should Know” and “The Breakfast Club.”
Bridgade, a creator management firm founded by Max Stein, was acquired by Entertainment 360 for an undisclosed amount. Bridgade’s clients include “Feed Me” writer Emily Sundberg and Leandra Medine Cohen, a fashion influencer best known for the Man Repeller blog.
The Webby Awards launched The Global Webby Credits Registry, a free platform that gives recognition to the people behind Webby-winning work. Eligible professionals can claim verified profiles documenting their contributions. The launch also has an AI angle: The registry doubles as a source that search engines and LLMs can draw on.
Meta Matters
Meta expanded its AI age-detection technology on Instagram globally to identify millions of teens and place them under teen account restrictions. The move comes as the company faces youth safety lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny: In August, Meta agreed to an $18 million settlement and to implement new teen safety measures, like time limits.
Still, there are big questions about how effective the teen account detection tools are. According to a report from the Esafety Commission in Australia, where Meta says it has removed over 750,000 teen accounts, 81.5% of underage users continued to access at least one restricted app three months after Australia banned social media for under 16-year olds last December. That was down from 85.9% prior to the ban.
Russell Brand, who was convicted of rape last week and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, had his Instagram account disabled by Meta, according to a post from his X account. Brand, who rose to fame as a reality TV presenter, comedian and radio host, has built a following as an independent media personality on YouTube and Rumble.
Substack announced website design and customization options so writers can personalize the look of their sites, a change the company says publishers have been asking for. The move makes sense: Substacks all look very similar, which can be a drawback for writers looking to build their own standalone media brand.
Medium, the publishing platform, is launching a new app called TK that includes note taking, journaling and a private social network. The concept reminds us of Substack’s short-form feature Notes and how the company is increasingly adding more social features.
Beehiiv launched its own email delivery system Hex. Most newsletter platforms use outside companies like Mailgun or SendGrid to send their emails. By building its own system, the company said newsletters will go out faster and are less likely to end up in spam. Hex is limited to Beehiiv’s top 1% of senders.
Regulatory Woes
The EU proposed revamped rules targeting AI, addictive design and influencer marketing. Under the “Digital Fairness Act”, creators would be required to disclose partnerships “in a clear, prominent, and unambiguous manner.” The EU says its goal is to protect consumers from unfair or manipulative commercial practices. It’s also part of the region’s larger push to regulate the digital economy.
Spain demanded TikTok suspend its operations in the country until it removes child sexual abuse material, Reuters reported.
Brand Buzz: Livestreaming Edition
Carnival Cruise Line is launching a Twitch livestream called “Play Carnival,” which includes interactive challenges and a chance to win a cruise trip.
NBC’s “The Voice” launched a companion show on TikTok Live hosted by radio host and social media creator Josh “Bru” Brubaker. The show, which airs simultaneously to the broadcast, will feature artists and coaches and give viewers a behind-the-scenes look.
Livestreaming has been having a moment this year, from creators going live for the midterm elections to Justin Bieber at Coachella and Expedia’s IShowSpeed partnership.
Talent Tracker
Matt Starker was named president of PMX Sports, where he’ll lead Sportico and SB Nation. PMX is Penske Media’s digital publishing subsidiary. Most recently, Starker was CEO of Audiochuck, Ashley Flowers’ true crime podcasting company.
Alicia Zhu joined Creator Nation as chief operating officer. The Live Nation-backed startup launched last month and helps creators with content, commerce, brand partnerships and live events. Previously, Zhu spent over seven years as a private equity investor at Shamrock Capital.
WME announced a reorganization that includes merging its Motion Picture Literary and Motion Picture Talent into one division led by Andrew Dunlap, Doug Lucterhand and Sarah Self. Erin Junkin, who co-leads the Scripted Television Department with Tom Wellington, will now also oversee television talent. Will Ward became head of WME Fashion, while Romola Ratnam was promoted to head of WME’s London office.
Rowan Cheung, founder of AI newsletter The Rundown, joined Sound Ventures as an advisor. Alex Heath, a long-time journalist and host of the podcast Sources, also recently joined the VC firm as a partner.
