Jasmine here!
I’m in Miami, Florida this week for Adobe Max, Adobe’s annual conference. The energy and excitement here is high, which doesn’t feel typical for a technical conference.
The week kicked off with a slew of product and partnership announcements. Here are two that stood out to me:
Adobe and The Walt Disney Company are entering a multi-year partnership in which Disney will work with Adobe on generative AI models tailored to Disney’s properties. Disney will also get early access to Adobe’s creative, AI and media technologies.
Adobe also announced the first cohort of 10 filmmakers who will receive a combined $1 million from the company’s Film & TV Fund, which was first launched in 2024.
Taken together, these announcements illustrate the tension between technology and creativity, which Adobe sits at the center of.
Funding is one of the top challenges for independent filmmakers and creators, many of whom use Adobe’s tools: The company has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, according to its third-quarter earnings report this year. At the same time, the Disney partnership comes after several rounds of layoffs at the entertainment giant, which is pushing further into AI.
This tension also played out in-person at the conference on Tuesday morning. Throughout the opening keynotes, Adobe executives stressed how creators who use its products have the option to not use AI, even as the company introduced new AI capabilities. The word ‘control’ also came up over and over again, especially as creatives live-demoed some of the features.
Many of Adobe’s new AI tools were really impressive, such as the ability to easily remove background noise or separate crosstalk in audio files, and drew big applause from the audience.
Later this afternoon, I’ll be sitting down with Adobe CMO Lara Balazs for a deeper dive into everything that’s happening at Adobe Max and how she sees creativity developing in the age of AI. Tomorrow, I’ll attend an off-site cooking class hosted by creator and “Top Chef” Kristen Kish.
Stay tuned for more coverage from Adobe Max, including my conversations with both Balazs and Kish, in upcoming newsletters and podcast episodes.
The Round Up
Instagram launched Effect Builder, a web-based tool for creating custom AI effects for Instagram Stories without design or coding experience. Published effects include the creator’s handle to give them credit.
EloElo, the Indian owner of microdrama app Story TV, raised $80 million in Series C funding co-led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal at a $500 million valuation.
Parker Management, a digital talent management company, announced the launch of Parker Ventures, a new division focused on partnering with creators to develop and build businesses they co-own.
Beehiiv announced it got rid of titles, including VPs and C Suite. The rationale behind the move is to cut back on bureaucracy that slows the company down and pulls employees away from customer work. Co-Founder Tyler Denk’s post generated a lot of reactions and questions on LinkedIn.
Cooper’s Corner
CAA signed Alex Cooper, her husband Matt Kaplan and their media company Unwell for representation. Cooper left UTA this summer. We dove into the battle among top talent agencies for creators and whether a creator needs an agent or a manager—or representation at all—in a recent podcast episode.
Sofia Franklyn, Cooper’s former co-host on “Call Her Daddy,” released her memoir “Daddy Issues” on Tuesday. Franklyn’s press tour includes guest bartending on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” appearing on podcasts including “The Bossticks” and an interview with The New York Times (see Bookmarked below).
Today in TikTok
TikTok Shop quietly launched a standalone shopping app in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The app was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra.
We’re wondering if the app could come to the US: TikTok often brings new features to Southeast Asia before rolling them out in other parts of the world.
But the region is further ahead than the US in social commerce and spinoff apps from social platforms have a shaky history (IGTV anyone?). Separating shopping could also cost TikTok one of its biggest differentiators and a key reason why people use the app, which could hurt revenue. On the other hand, it could make TikTok a stronger e-commerce competitor and help ward off potential regulatory issues.
📊 By the Numbers: 35 Million
That’s how many people in the US watched election-related coverage on YouTube on Election Day last week, according to the company. That’s a whopping number, but it’s down from 45 million on Election Day in 2024.
Part of the drop-off is expected. Even though momentum and interest were high going into the 2026 midterms, presidential elections generally draw more viewers. We also see it as more evidence of how fragmented the news and media landscape has become: We predicted that the midterms would be the “everything election,” meaning no single channel, platform or media personality would dominate.
That fragmentation showed up within YouTube itself, where people watched many different types of content. For example, the most popular livestream on election night wasn’t a creator’s stream but NBC News’ “Kornacki Cam.” Globally, 40 million viewers watched election-related livestreams on YouTube on Election Day this year.
Regulatory Woes
Last week, Google, Meta and TikTok sued to block a new California law that restricts social media companies from offering features to users under 16 that could be addictive, including autoplay videos and personalized recommendations, the New York Times reported.
What’s interesting about this law is that it goes after platform design features, rather than content, similarly to the many social media addiction lawsuits that these companies have faced this year. That could help it hold up against Section 230, which has long shielded tech companies from responsibility for user-generated content on their platforms.
Still, the companies have argued that California’s law violates Section 230 and restricts their free speech rights.
Skimped by Skims
Skims is offering refunds on its $150 holiday advent calendar after customers complained it was filled with low-cost items like hair ties and keychains.
The kerfuffle has spawned plenty of memes, including this one of hair ties and other junk under a messy couch cushion. Our favorite was this post on Threads: “I’m going to say something dumb why did people even open the skims advent calendar yet.”
Advent calendars, a longtime holiday staple, have taken on a new life with social media. Beauty companies have used them to promote mini samples of products, while luxury brands like Dior have charged thousands of dollars for elaborate versions. (Here’s what we had to say about over-the-top advent calendars last year.)
But maybe there really is no such thing as bad publicity, considering how much press coverage and content about Skims is dominating the conversation online. “Say what you want, but their marketing is next level. It's the one advent calendar everyone's talking about,” wrote one brand designer on Threads. Plus, Skims co-founder Kim Kardashian knows a thing or two about turning outrage into business.
Talent Tracker: Executive Edition
🎙️SiriusXM appointed Anjali Sud, former CEO of Tubi, as its new CEO. Sud will replace Jennifer Witz, a 25-year veteran of SiriusXM. Mike Bidgoli, Tubi’s president, will now be head of the company.
Sud is taking over a company whose subscriber base has been largely stagnant or declining in recent years. SiriusXM has been betting on creators to diversify its content and grow its audience, signing big podcast deals with Alex Cooper’s Unwell and Mel Robbins. We’re curious to see how that develops under Sud’s leadership!
Meta lost two long-time execs: Dave Wehner, chief strategy officer and former CFO, is leaving to become CFO of AI startup Fireworks. Last month, Meta’s Chief Partnerships Officer Justin Osofsky joined AI infrastructure company Nscale as COO. Wehner had been at Meta for 14 years, while Osofsky was there for 18 years.
Emily Feingold is Disney’s new EVP of communications. Previously, she spent more than eight years at Netflix, most recently leading comms.
Emily Rasekh joined CAA’s creators division as an executive. Before that, she was senior vice president of global podcast strategy and operations at Sony Music Entertainment.
