The Business of Entertainment
Entertainment finance, in conversation.An entertainment finance podcast — candid conversations with the people on the frontlines of finance, legal, dealmaking, and strategy of the global entertainment industry, hosted by Tobias Jaeger.
The Show
Launched in April 2019, Media CFO takes a seat across from the people who actually move the money — the dealmakers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, financiers, bankers, investors, and agents who build the global entertainment industry behind the scenes.
Each conversation is in-depth and full of industry lingo and anecdotes, yet stays accessible to anyone curious about how film, television, and digital media really get financed and built. Casual professional banter — typically around 45 minutes — covering the guest's personal journey and the deals that defined it.
How content actually gets paid for — from greenlight to recoupment.
The contracts, rights, and structures behind every production.
Where the smart money is going across film, TV, and digital.
The founders and operators disrupting how the industry works.
Explore the archive
Find a way into the conversations, then go deeper with a book.
Film financeHow is a production financed?Banking, cash flow & financial leadershipExplore the guide 
Collection accountsWho administers the revenue?Receipts, agreements & allocationExplore the guide 
Distribution & VODHow does a film reach viewers?Cinema, digital viewing & release windowsExplore the guide 
Film finance booksFour books for understanding film financeEconomics, deals & participation statementsExplore the guide 
Music rightsWhich right earns the royalty?Publishing, streaming & music contractsExplore the guide 
Negotiation booksThree books for negotiating media dealsDeciding, listening & holding your groundExplore the guide 
Creative companiesHow do you run a creative company?Autonomy, trust, expertise & ownershipExplore the guide 
Entertainment hitsWhy do entertainment businesses bet on hits?Scale, receipts & evidence behind the betExplore the guide The first edition is on its way. Subscribe for free newsletter updates.
Episodes
Books
Reviews of the books behind entertainment, finance and dealmaking — 50 so far.
All book reviews
Blockbusters
The Soundtrack of My Life
No Rules Rules
The Bond King
Who Is Michael Ovitz?
The Ride of a Lifetime
Movie Money
The Intelligent Investor
The Hollywood Economist 2.0
Plain & Simple Guide to Music Publishing
Amazon Unbound
Artist Management for the Music Business
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order
Music: The Business
The Wealth Creators
The Gnomes of Zurich
The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood
The Big Picture
Hope for Film
Jump In!
Blowing the Bloody Doors Off
Traction
Hello, He Lied
Sleepless in Hollywood
Range
That Will Never Work
The Biz
The Culture Code
Bargaining with the Devil
A Concise Handbook of Movie Industry Economics
Moneyball
The Rise and Rise of David Geffen
The Last Sultan
A Curious Mind
Never Split the Difference
The Kremlin School of Negotiation
Entertainment Industry Economics
Dissecting The Digital Dollar
Powerhouse
Walt Disney: An American Original
Hit Men
Making Movies
The First Billion Is the Hardest
Adventures in the Screen Trade
A Prince Among Stones
Goldwyn
Indecent Exposure
Managing The Professional Service Firm
An Empire of Their Own
The OperatorFeatured Guests
Executives, dealmakers and advisors from some of the most respected names in media & entertainment finance.
Host & Executive Producer
The Host
Tobias Jaeger has built his career at the financial heart of the media & entertainment industry — in film and television finance, media investment banking, and as a CFO to production and content companies. He knows first-hand how content gets financed, structured, and sold.
Today he's a transatlantic CFO for where capital meets people meets IP — a fractional and interim finance chief for IP-heavy growth companies across media & entertainment, MedTech, FinTech, and cyber & defense. A Harvard-trained negotiator and member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), he brings 15+ years of C-level finance experience across six industries, three continents, and four languages, with $450M+ in deal volume behind him.
That entertainment-industry insight is what powers Media CFO, the show he created to put the dealmakers, financiers, and operators of the business on the record. He also curates the Global Entertainment Index, a ten-year benchmark of the sector, and advises founders and investors on fundraising, deal architecture, and cross-border growth.
Tobias Jaeger is represented by Eight Talents.
Listen & Subscribe
Watch and listen to the archive on the channels you already use. Pick your platform and follow the show.
Prefer to read?
The first edition is on its way. Subscribe for free newsletter updates.
Keep exploring
Two more ways to follow the business of entertainment.
Entertainment WireNews · Deals · Company research
Track news and deals, research companies and explore reports, with links to the original sources.
Explore the WireSome research features require a trial or subscription.
Global Entertainment IndexThe Global Entertainment Index is a benchmark tracking publicly listed media and entertainment companies worldwide.
Its weighting gives specialist and smaller entertainment businesses more prominence than in a conventional market-cap index.
Explore the IndexPitches, guest ideas, partnerships and press — get in touch.
Get in touch
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