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Gillian Sheldon.

Global Head of Communications · Napster

Gillian Sheldon brings with her over 25 years of experience in media relations, social media, talent relations, publicity, and corporate communications. A passionate advocate for social good initiatives, Gillian is known for her unique ability to creatively develop and execute compelling initiatives and campaigns. She recently returned to her former client Napster (formerly Infinite Reality) as the Global Head of Communications. In this role, she leads all external and internal communications strategy, serving as the primary media contact for the global company, and working across multiple departments to ensure consistency of brand messaging, tone, and voice. In 2018, Gillian struck out on her own, founding Sheldon Strategy & Consulting, a boutique firm specializing in strategic communications and public relations. With her small but mighty team, she focused on providing exceptional client service and inspired vision, leveraging deep-rooted relationships to create compelling storylines that drove impactful results for partners. Previously, Gillian served as the Chief Marketing Officer of the XPRIZE Foundation where she oversaw all marketing, brand, communications, and creative activities for the innovative non-profit. Before XPRIZE, Ms. Sheldon served as Senior Vice President, Marketing at Participant Media, where she focused her efforts on TakePart.com, the digital division of Participant. This included content marketing, social impact campaigns, social media, CRM, and email/mobile marketing. Before Participant, she was the Supervising Producer of Digital at Sony Pictures Television for “The Queen Latifah Show.” She also served as Vice President of Celebrity Programming for BUZZMEDIA/SPINMEDIA (now owned by Warner Music Group and Billboard), where she oversaw the social media presence and personal blogs of various celebrities and influencers. In 2005, Ms. Sheldon was one of the founders of the game-changing TMZ.com and subsequent TMZ TV and was vital in the creation, management, and execution of the brand. A graduate of the University of Washington, Ms. Sheldon began her career in local broadcast news in Seattle, working as an assignment editor and field producer. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

Guest

Gillian Sheldon

Global Head of Communications

Company:

Napster

Location:

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

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Gillian Sheldon has lived multiple careers in communications - from co-founding TMZ and breaking some of entertainment's biggest stories to now leading communications for Napster as it evolves beyond music streaming into AI and immersive experiences. In this episode of The Narrative, Gillian shares the tactical playbook behind building TMZ from scratch, why relationships remain the core of effective media relations even in an AI-driven era, and how she's positioning a legacy brand for a generation that may not remember its disruptive origins. This conversation goes deep on crisis communications, executive presence, and the evolving nature of messaging in 2025.

Topics Discussed

Co-founding TMZ in 2005 and the strategy behind creating a digital-first celebrity news brand that traditional media outlets had to trust
How TMZ broke the Mel Gibson story and navigated pushback from major networks that questioned their credibility as a legitimate news source
Napster's acquisition strategy and positioning a 90s-era brand for Gen Z audiences who expect immersive, AI-driven experiences
Building a communications playbook that evolves daily rather than following the traditional "set it and forget it" model
Using AI tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini) strategically for message iteration and audience targeting without losing authentic voice
Crisis communications tactics: serving as the "flight attendant" during turbulence and maintaining calm when stakeholders are panicking
Executive thought leadership strategy and why in-person conference presence still matters for business development and storytelling

Five takeaways from this conversation.

Actionable for undefined founders

Network maintenance is your superpower
Gillian has maintained relationships from her TMZ days 20 years ago, and those connections still open doors across multiple jobs and industries. In an era of media layoffs and freelance journalists, your network is more valuable than any single publication relationship.
Your prompts reveal your understanding
When using AI for communications work, the quality of output depends entirely on prompt quality. As Gillian notes, AI frees up time for strategic work but requires deep understanding of your material, executive voice, and company positioning to be effective.
Niche targeting scales better than broad messaging
Modern tools enable communications teams to find "needles in a haystack" audiences and create highly targeted content that performs better than generic campaigns. The old model of one-size-fits-all messaging is obsolete.
In crisis, you're the flight attendant
Even when you're "freaking out inside," maintaining exterior calm helps stakeholders make thoughtful decisions rather than emotional ones. Your role is to dial down the energy in the room so rational problem-solving can happen.
Internal comms is external strategy
Your employees are your best advocates. If they're not aligned on messaging and vision, there's a fundamental disconnect that will surface externally. Strong internal communications practice is as critical as media relations.

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