Will is founder of At Will Media — this interview has been lightly edited for style and readability
James Cridland: What is AT WILL MEDIA?
Will Malnati: What started as a podcast company has now really grown into more of a content creation studio. We’ve gone from podcasts into more narrative, long form journalism, into event activation around work that we do for big brands and clients on the studio front. So we touch a lot of different areas, whether it’s for studios or whether it’s for our original IP, but in both sides of the business we touch different areas that all come back to content. Creation at heart.
JC: Yeah, I’d like to talk about the way that you create content, because I think it’s quite interesting. But… from your bio, I’m curious - you started working as a producer, but then you worked for a restaurant brand. I’m wondering - not the point of the interview at all - but I’m wondering… is that a usual career move?
WM: No, it was a very unique path! My family’s in the restaurant industry, and so I think for any 16 or 17 year olds who’s looking for what their next step is, a family business is going to be on the table - no pun intended. There was a conversation around whether I would join the family business, so I was one foot into that concept of a career path; I was also one foot into production and the entertainment industry.
JC: What did you learn from that part of your career that you’ve been able to move into this part?
WM: First, I just want to say so many people have the thought of pivoting their career at 30 and they don’t do it, because they’ve just spent the last eight or 10 years building their career, so why would you step towards something different? It’s not like it was an easy thing.
To your question, there’s the entrepreneurial side of building a restaurant business that is similar to what I’ve now built with At Will Media. There’s creating culture within a team - that will always be transferable. There’s how to run a business and how to look at a P&L - how to look at a business objectively and figure out where changes need to be made in order to create profit.
I think because I had that experience, I had the advantage coming into At Will Media. You see creatives or journalists starting podcast businesses, but they’ve never actually run a business before, and so they find themselves lost a little bit. I’ve always been really diligent about cutting costs and staying healthy and being smart about decisions when it comes to the business, because we’re a profitable business and I can say not a lot of companies are, especially in entertainment right now. It’s a difficult time.
JC: Let’s talk about some of the content that At Will Media has been making. We’re right in the middle of Easy Money, the Charles Ponzi story for Apple TV+. How did that show come about? Is it tied into a show on Apple TV+ or is it a separate piece of work?
WM: It’s the first nonfiction show for Apple that also has dramatized recreations. The story is from 1920, and everyone that you would want to interview - like a normal non-fiction documentary - is sadly passed.
We thought of how to bring these characters to life in a way that really played alongside the reporting in a way that didn’t feel cheesy or forced. We had Sebastian Maniscalco, who’s this dynamic comedian and actor, come and play the role of Charles Ponzi. It’s a really unique way of telling a story, especially for Apple. This is our second project with Apple TV+; Apple doesn’t do a lot of originals in the podcast space. Our first one was called Wild Things: Siegfried and Roy, and it’s been announced that it’s going to be a TV show.
They’re incredible partners: we think about those same things about what could be adapted well from audio to the screen, and this was a way to tell a really interesting story in a different way.
JC: So the strategy is to take something that works fantastically well as a podcast, to then develop that into other things, like a TV show.
WM: Yeah. I was early to the game in terms of the podcast industry: I started the business in 2016, and at first it felt like this was a no-no - “it had to be audio to be audio”. I love audio, and that has been something that I’ve learned and continue to evolve creatively with as the industry has. But it’s always been a goal of mine to be able to create something that could then be the basis for something larger. Now that we are proving it with Siegfried and Roy, it just feels right - this is something that actually can be done.
We spend, as creators, a lot of time and a lot of energy creating some of these works. If you can create something that starts in one place and is able to go beyond that in terms of content, that feels rewarding. Forget the monetary side, even. It just feels rewarding to have created something that can go further: and that all this work that you put into the first thing can continue. If I was to start something visually, and then convert it over to audio, it’s the same idea - you’re able to extend the life of that content and that’s important to anyone.
JC: So, what’s next for At Will Media? You’ve you’ve looked at 1920s America. You’ve looked at magicians. I’m guessing space is next, right?
WM: Well, not far off! We’re launching a podcast for Alien Earth, which is the new FX series that everyone’s very excited about. We have another show coming out next month, that’ll be announced soon with a big partner.
We’re always looking to be challenged, and we’re always looking to explore areas that maybe haven’t been explored and those are hard to find. I think we’re good at finding them, and and we’re excited to to find the next one.
And we are involved in a whole activation at ComicCon this year for one of our shows. It’s an interesting area that we’ve been able to be more heavily involved in lots of different ways and areas of content. Live events are are very much a part of that, and so it’s exciting to kind of be entering that too.
JC: I’m guessing if you’re running one of those events, then the finger food is going to be fantastic. Thank you for your time, and I hope to see you at one of these events soon.
WM: Yeah, I would love that.