Together with
Guess who’s back, back again? Bill Watterson, bestselling creator of the beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, is coming out of retirement. Yep, that’s right — Bill’s back. And his first publication in over two decades will be an adult fable about a kingdom “afflicted with unexplainable calamities” titled The Mysteries. From the looks of it, it’ll be the perfect Halloween read. So, grab your PSLs and curl up with your favorite blanket. Things are about to get spooky.
In other news… Apple eyes the big screen, X gets flooded with fake news, and voice actors vs. generative AI.
Top Trends
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
ENTERTAINMENT
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Apple rolls out big-screen dreams
The Future. Apple’s big bet on theatrical movies starts in a couple of weeks with the debut of Martin Scorsese’s all-star Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s part of Apple’s strategy to spend $1 billion annually on theatrical movies, with Ridley Scott’s Napoleon dropping next month and Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle in Feburary. Coupled with Amazon’s similar investment, theaters may find a lifeline in playing titles from those that were once considered their biggest competitors.
iScorsese
This month, Apple TV+ is coming to a big screen near you with Killers of the Flower Moon… and that could be a gamechanger for the theatrical landscape.
The almost $250 million Scorsese drama, backed by a major marketing campaign, will be released on 10,000 screens worldwide on October 20th (in partnership with Paramount, which will be handling distribution logistics).
It won’t be available on Apple TV+ for at least 45 days, underlining the new (old?) belief that opening movies in theaters is the best way to eventize a movie and drive eyeballs to a streaming service — a major contrast to Netflix’s overriding belief.
Even if Flower Moon doesn’t do too hot at the box office (it’s tracking to open at $34 million), the strategy will be a big win for Apple if three things happen:
More people sign up for Apple TV+ (which has struggled with growth).
Top filmmakers are enticed to make their projects for Apple (many demand a theatrical release these days).
It keeps up the company’s image of providing top-quality content and services (Flower Moon is already an Oscar frontrunner).
It’s not like Apple needs to make money — it has a $2.72 trillion market cap, and its service’s division alone made $21.2 billion last quarter. Theatrical movies are simply great marketing.
Hopefully, the tech giant always feels like it needs to keep marketing itself.
     |
SOCIAL MEDIA
Blurred, fuzzy, and out-of-focus // Illustration by Kate Walker
X breaks down as a real-time news platform
The Future. X — at least in the Twitter days — was once the go-to platform for breaking news from a diverse roster of reputable sources and on-the-ground journalists. But as the fallout from Hamas’ attack on Israel spilled over into the weekend, many noticed the platform had become inundated with misinformation and fake media. That’s a major issue when X reports there have been 50 million posts on the topic. If X fails to provide users with a trustworthy platform for breaking news, users may have to revert to directly visiting news sites to ensure they get credible information.
Viral virus
What’s behind X’s surge of misinformation on the war between Israel and Hamas? As it turns out, there are several issues at play.
The overhaul of the verification system has turned blue checks (once the badge of persons of note) into markers of disinformation — algorithmically pushed by X’s For You feed and monetized to incentivize engagement over accuracy.
X’s headline-removing update has made it more difficult to separate legitimate and illegitimate sources.
Elon Musk gutted the company’s team in charge of combating misinformation (in favor of Community Notes) and stopped using a software tool that helped catch organized misinformation campaigns — both moves to cut costs.
Musk himself recommended users follow two accounts for updates on the war — two accounts that were rife with misinformation and one that was blatantly antisemitic.
The worst part is the rise of antisemitic content on X was called out by the Anti-Defamation League in the months leading up to last week’s horrific attack. Instead of taking it seriously, Musk alleged the organization was trying to destroy X and threatened to sue for defamation.
Under new CEO Linda Yaccarino, X is trying to pivot quickly, removing “newly created Hamas-affiliated accounts” and overhauling its “public interests expectations” policy to help surface more reputable sources.
But so far, those changes may be too little, too late.
| |
Unlock your potential with AE Studio
A data science company based in Los Angeles, AE Studio, believes technology should increase (rather than decrease) human agency.
That’s why client after client attests to unparalleled results after working with AE Studio’s dedicated team of world-class developers.
AE studio guarantees they’ll treat your project like it’s their own startup. We’ve seen them interact with founders and entrepreneurs and can 100% vouch. Bonus: they donate 5% of their profits to a new cause every month, which we can definitely get behind.
If you’re ready to take your company to the next level with some truly talented MVPs, schedule your FREE strategy blast TODAY.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Taking the mic // Illustration by Kate Walker
Voice actors raise theirs over generative AI
The Future. Hundreds of actors have found their voices have been copied and used without consent — sometimes even spewing racist or violent things. With AI tools requiring only 30 seconds of someone’s voice to make clones, it’s easy to see how this problem can spread. While some firms, like Speechify and Resemble AI, are trying to put power in the hands of the artists, an update to current copyright law may be the only thing that protects an actor’s voice (or anybody’s, really) from being abused.
Mic copycats
Voice actors have a speech problem.
Using tools like ElevenLabs, Uberduck, and FakeYou.ai, people have been making copies of famous voices and deploying them across social media.
Actors now have a public spreadsheet that requests a growing list of names to be removed from the generative tools.
But voice actors have little legal recourse if companies and platforms don’t remove their voices — voices themselves can’t be copyrighted; only recordings of voices can.
And the issue is expanding into professional abuse, with several actors pointing out employers are using the tech to cut recording days (much like the struggle background actors are facing).
The newly-formed National Association of Voice Actors and SAG-AFTRA are working to change boilerplate contracts to protect against AI.
But back to the source: how successful have actors been at stopping the voice-cloning in the first place? FakeYou.ai has removed the voices of anyone who asks, and Uberduck removed all user-contributed voices from its platform a couple of months ago.
But ElevenLabs, the largest voice-generator in the game, has played hardball with actors, saying there’s no confirmation their tech was being used in specific cases (while also acknowledging non-consenting use is an overall issue). Instead, the company rolled out a “voice captcha” tool to authenticate users.
| |
How does Hedonova help investors diversify their portfolios?
By offering ten different alternative asset classes in one SEC-regulated fund.
The fund’s composition includes:
20% equipment financing
14% litigation finance
13% real estate
11% startups
9% agronomy
8% music royalties
4% art
3% spirits
Hedonova’s single access point has captured the spotlight, securing the best multi-strategy hedge fund award at the 2023 Hedgeweek European Awards.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Members of the WGA have officially, overwhelmingly ratified the union’s contract with the AMPTP, typing “The End” on the writers strike. Read more → thr
Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed entertainment umbrella company for a number of celebrity-driven shingles, reports revenue will be 50% below expectations as the labor conflicts continue to transform the industry. Read more → bloomberg
Over 2,300 producers have signed a petition requesting the AMPTP remove Producers (the second P in the acronym) from their name, saying it’s not representative of their true clients: the studios and streamers. Read more → deadline
Fashion & E-Commerce
Kid Cudi is adding yet another fashion brand to his growing repertoire, announcing the launch of WZRD CWBY, which is a collaboration with HUMAN MADE founder and Kenzo creative director NIGO. Read more → hypebeast
As budgets tighten, so does demand for nearly every luxury brand under the LVMH banner. Read more → bloomberg
Nothing, the tech company known for its minimalist design, is launching an exclusive (and, yes, minimalistic) beer. Read more → forbes
Tech, Web3, & AI
As Adobe rolls out an even more powerful version of its Firefly generative AI tool, it’s also introducing an “icon of transparency” to act as a sort of nutrition label for media. Read more → fastcompany
Hamas’ attack on Israel was partly funded by hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of secret cryptocurrency transactions. Read more → wsj
OpenAI is considering making its own proprietary microchips just as Microsoft, a major OpenAI backer, is debuting its own chip next month. Read more → reuters
Creator Economy
Gen Z is turning to TikTok for financial advice more than Reddit or YouTube. Read more → fastcompany
TikTok is allowing users to post directly from third-party apps, such as Adobe Premiere and Twitch. Read more → engadget
BeReal is trying to get back into the cultural conversation with a new marketing campaign that includes a contest to put one person’s selfie on a billboard in Times Square. Read more → tubefilter
Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us
Keep the editorial team going! Buy the team a coffee! ☕️
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Melody Song. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.