AI Is Coming for the Payroll Line (536)

We lead with the possible IPOs from OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX, and the much bigger question behind them: where is all that money supposed to come from? The capital markets seem to believe the answer is labor. If AI valuations are going to make any sense, then the bet is not simply that AI companies will sell more software. The bet is that AI will absorb, replace or reorganize a massive piece of the payroll line. Joe believes marketers need to prepare for a labor reckoning sooner rather than later. Robert is more skeptical. As usual, the truth may be somewhere in the middle. Then the boys break down Bending Spoons and its rollup of old internet and media brands, including AOL, Vimeo, Evernote and others. The lesson for marketers? Distressed media assets inside your industry may be one of the biggest opportunities nobody is talking about. In a world where building audience from scratch is harder than ever, the cheapest audience may be the one someone else forgot they owned. In Winners and Losers, Joe's winner is FIFA, which reminded every marketer that rented land is always rented land, even when your name is on the stadium. Robert's loser is Turner Classic Movies. In Rants and Raves, Joe raves about Pat McAfee's new media model and what happens when an expert builds the audience, owns the IP and lets big media rent access. Robert has commentary on MrBeast's claim that he could build a faceless YouTube channel to 20 million subscribers in six months, and what that says about formats, systems and the future of creator media. Subscribe and Follow: Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing.  ------- This week's sponsor: Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot. Unless you use HubSpot. Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more. Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better. ------- Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/ Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/ Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/. Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/  Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/ ------- This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork