Source: Tom Toro, via The New Yorker, via the Doug Shapiro Article
“All Is Not Lost for Traditional Media: New Moats and New Opportunities…”
In an age where anyone can create anything, anytime, when as one person, I can build Compadres into a global consultancy (once would require at least 4 or 5 separate roles), the question for media and entertainment leaders, investors, and creators is no longer “can you make something?”
The new question—the better question—is: What still holds value when content is infinite?
As the cost of creation and distribution plummets, the value of professional discernment, meaning-making, and magic rises.
I’m not sure what the data says about who’s panicking about their job, company, or creative relevance. But you can feel it. The fear is everywhere. LinkedIn is littered with “50 AI hacks to replace your entire ________department ”.
And yet encouragingly—there’s an equal measure of curiosity.
“The ones who are curious are often the ones who are optimistic”.
Doug Shapiro puts it brilliantly, with a question that should be written on every strategist’s whiteboard and every creative’s mirror:
“As content becomes abundant, what new scarcities will emerge?”
Here are a few of my reflections on Doug’s brilliant piece, through a Compadres lens:
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1. Derivative will be cheap. Magic will be rare.
GenAI does “kinda like that” pretty well.
But magic—the work that moves people, changes minds, and sticks in culture—still only comes from human risk-taking and deeply intentional creation.
The pioneers. The creators. The weird ones.
They are the new gold.
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2. Curation is a moat.
In a sea of infinite content, the value isn’t in more—it’s in taste.
Professional judgement, distinct point-of-view, restraint. These are what cut through.
I often say: “The noise of the world is made up of the silences.”
What you leave out is just as powerful as what you include.
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3. Fandom is filter.
In a post-algorithm world, emotional connection becomes your marketing moat.
We trust stories. We trust people.
The backstory—the why, the who, the how—matters more than ever.
Just ask anyone who’s ever saved up for an Hermès bag, hunted for a bottle of small-batch whiskey, or fallen in love with an independent filmmaker’s podcast.
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4. Marketing = Meaning-Making.
In a world of infinite options, marketing isn’t just promotion—it’s how the story gets told, how the work gets felt, how the right audience feels seen.
Marketing should be embedded in the story architecture from day one. Not tacked on at the end.
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So what now?
Some genres will thrive in a GenAI world.
Others—especially the derivative—will be commoditised.
But the novel, the human, the magic—
That’s what machines can’t fake.
That’s what still matters.
That’s what will always matter.
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If you’re feeling unsure about the future? Get curious.
Better yet, take a lead role in creating it.
Because the alternative?
If we fail to evolve, change, embrace, adapt…
We go the way of the dinosaurs.
(And I don’t think you were built for extinction, humans are built to imagine, for progress and to thrive.)
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Here’s the original article by Doug Shapiro:
https://dougshapiro.substack.com/p/all-is-not-lost-for-traditional-media?triedRedirect=true
