Matt Ball - The Future of Media: Movies, the Metaverse, and More - [Invest Like the Best, EP.185]

My guest today, Matthew Ball, is a long time coming. He’s the former head of strategy at Amazon Studios, an investor, and probably my favorite business essayist writing today. In fact, I can’t think of another author whose work I read as quickly once a new essay drops. Read his latest on the past and future of Nintendo and you’ll see why. Our conversation is all about the past and future of media. We discuss movies, music, television, video games, and the metaverse. When I re-listened to this episode I couldn’t believe how much information was in Matthew's head and how easily he covered so many topics in depth. Please enjoy this great conversation. This week’s episode is sponsored by Bottomless. Bottomless is a smart coffee subscription which automatically re-orders coffee for you based on your consumption habits. Bottomless is offering one month and your second bag of coffee for free at bottomless.com/patrick. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Show Notes (2:20) – (First question) – Compulsive interest of how people entertain themselves (4:19) – Changes of intellectual property and trademark in media (9:12) – Cross media world building and Netflix’s strategy (11:47) – Competing with the major power players at the top (16:54) – Fate of movies in the new media landscape (20:38) – Fate of music in the new media landscape (25:40) – Age and gaming in this media transition (26:20) – Gavin Baker Podcast Episode (29:50) – Legacy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (34:48) – How he defines the notion of a metaverse (39:53) – Creating a more interoperable version of our digital world (47:37) – What is not included in the metaverse and investing in one (52:14) – Tim Sweeney’s role in Epic Gaming (58:12) – The unreal engine (1:07:46) – What should investors be thinking about when it comes to gaming worlds (1:12:43) – Opportunities in the gaming space for investors (1:19:59) – Cloud gaming’s impact on the space (1:26:54) – Will other media platforms have to copy the gaming industry (1:30:51) – How interactivity and feedback loops plays into his investment decisions (1:33:07) – Ease of creating a new media business today (1:35:20) – Trends media storytelling (1:38:50) – What makes for good IP in media content (1:42;14) – Why he wants to explore payment platforms and block chain (1:44:56) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag