{"id":578627,"date":"2023-06-14T21:29:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T18:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/pineapple-street-studios-finds-new-leaders-as-co-founders-step-aside\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T21:29:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T18:29:37","slug":"pineapple-street-studios-finds-new-leaders-as-co-founders-step-aside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/pineapple-street-studios-finds-new-leaders-as-co-founders-step-aside\/","title":{"rendered":"#Pineapple Street Studios Finds New Leaders as Co-Founders Step Aside"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Pineapp<\/a>le Street Studios, the podcasting shop behind Will Be Wild <\/em>and the official Succession <\/em>companion podcast, has named longtime staffers Bari Finkel and Je-Anne Berry as the studio\u2019s new co-heads.<\/p>\n

\n Finkel and Berry will take over leadership of the studio from co-founders Jenna Weiss-Berman and Max Linsky, who founded Pineapple Street in 2016 and guided the company through its 2019 acquisition by broadcaster Audacy. <\/p>\n

\n The duo will report up to Weiss-Berman, who was named the evp of podcasts for Audacy in March and now oversees all of Audacy\u2019s podcasting efforts, including for subsidiaries Cadence13, 2400 Sports and Audacy\u2019s local news<\/a> stations, as well as Pineapple Street.<\/p>\n

\n Following Weiss-Berman\u2019s promotion, Linsky had continued to lead Pineapple Street with then\u2013head of operations Finkel. But as of this week, Linsky will step aside and become a senior podcast strategist for Audacy, where he will continue to executive produce podcasts for the company.<\/p>\n

\n In interviews with The Hollywood Reporter, <\/em>Weiss-Berman and Linsky praised Finkel and Berry for their leadership in shepherding major studio and brand partnerships with HBO, Netflix, Amazon, Mailchimp and Tommy Hilfiger, among others, to Pineapple Street.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere had come a point where it just became clear to me that not only did [Finkel and Berry] not need me anymore, but they were better at it than I was \u2014 and that\u2019s a humbling moment, but also just a thrilling one,\u201d Linsky said. \u201cThis company has so wildly exceeded any expectations that I had, and so much of that is thanks to Jenna, who always had a much bigger vision for it than I did. But it\u2019s also thanks to all of the incredible people that work here who made the thing what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Jenna<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

Pineapple Street Studios co-founders Jenna Weiss-Berman and Max Linsky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Courtesy of Pineapple Street Studios<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n Finkel joined Pineapple Street as its first full-time employee back in 2016 \u2014 going so far as to break her foot from jumping for joy when she first got the job, she tells THR<\/em> \u2014 and has overseen the studio\u2019s companion series<\/a> business, which has included partnerships for shows like HBO\u2019s The Last of Us, <\/em>Netflix\u2019s Stranger Things <\/em>and Amazon\u2019s The Rings of Power<\/em>. These series account for roughly a third of Pineapple Street\u2019s revenue and sit alongside other business areas like brand projects and original series.<\/p>\n

\n Berry joined the team in 2020 to lead the brands team, which has created shows like The 4 Percent<\/em> with Zapier and the Georgia Innocence Project, The Invisible Seam <\/em>with Tommy Hilfiger and Humans vs. Machines <\/em>with Aventine, among others.<\/p>\n

\n As co-heads, Finkel and Berry will take over leadership of Pineapple\u2019s 53-person team, whose members unionized last year with the Writers Guild of America, East and are in the midst of the collective bargaining process. The two will also be tasked with helping Pineapple Street weather a tumultuous period in podcasting, which has resulted in major layoffs, show cancelations and shutdowns for podcasting studios at rivals like Spotify and a downturn in advertising revenue. Parent company Audacy is also in the midst of its own financial struggles, and the company\u2019s stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange last month after falling under the minimum closing price threshold.<\/p>\n

\n Still, Pineapple Street has seen consistent revenue growth since its 2019 acquisition, according to Weiss-Berman, and has been recognized with awards like the Webbys, Gracie Awards, Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Ambies and the American Society of Magazine Editors\u2019 Ellie award. And because Pineapple Street never raised any outside funding, the studio has always prioritized \u201cunderstand[ing] how to make money in this industry,\u201d Weiss-Berman said.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re pretty ahead, in a way, because we\u2019ve been working for seven years on trying to profit in podcasting and not just trying to spend and experiment,\u201d Weiss-Berman said. \u201cIn that way, I feel psyched about the future of podcasting right now because \u2026 it happens in every industry. You\u2019ve got to figure out how to make and not to spend, basically, and we\u2019ve been thinking about that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n In looking toward Pineapple Street\u2019s future, both Finkel and Berry note the studio\u2019s flexibility as one of its key differentiators. \u201cPineapple doesn\u2019t just make one type of show or just work with one type of partner,\u201d Berry said, \u201cand so that\u2019s really positioned us to not be reactive, per se, but to be strategic in how we structure ourselves, the types of shows we make [and] who we partner with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just ad revenue. It\u2019s not just licensing originals. It\u2019s not just work-for-hire production. It\u2019s everything,\u201d Finkel added. \u201cAnd the fact that Je-Anne and I have both had a lot of experience in those different areas, I think it\u2019s going to be something that is going to really set us up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n In the meantime, Finkel and Berry are preparing to hunker down \u2014 with plenty of Post-It notes, Finkel jokes \u2014 to map out Pineapple\u2019s next era.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot about how we approach work that is complementary,\u201d Berry said, \u201cso it just feels really well suited. I\u2019m excited and energized, and I feel very supported and equipped and confident on where we\u2019re heading.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n