Together with
Fond farewell. It was a tough weekend, FutureParty people. Matthew Perry, the beloved actor best known for his role as Chandler on the hit sitcom Friends, passed away at his home over the weekend. Like many of you, we’re still reeling from the news. No one could BE any funnier. RIP, Mr. Bing.
In other news… Humane dreams up the next iPhone, TMoney™ joins the billionaires club, and BuzzFeed shops Complex Media.
Top Trends
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Palm pilot // Illustration by Kate Walker
Humane hopes to build the go-to AI wearable
The Future. Apple veterans Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno are set to officially launch their buzzy AI wearable, “Pin AI,” on November 9th. The minimalist, screenless, camera-equipped device magnetically clips to clothing to take in the user’s surroundings and leverages their personal data to be a conversational AI assistant. Competing with several legacy companies and innovative startups for AI wearable-glory, the company hopes to create a new era of computing that’s all about not staring at a screen — which could be the greatest revolution of the race to build AI.
Pin program
Humane envisions a future where we all have AI pinned to our shirts.
Pin AI is “about the size of a Saltine cracker, equipped with a camera, a microphone and speaker, a variety of sensors, and a laser projector,” per The Information.
The personalized AI assistant can be activated through voice commands or finger taps and send notifications via “haptics, vibrations, and light patterns.”
Humane also trademarked the phrase “catch me up,” which prompts the assistant to “deliver a digest of updates gathered from emails, text messages, and calendar invites.”
And when it comes to security, Pin AI only turns on when pressed (instead of always being on) and illuminates an indicator light, the “Trust Light,” when the camera is on.
It’ll be able to do all this without smartphone connectivity thanks to its state-of-the-art Qualcomm chip… which makes the rumored $1,000 price tag seem reasonable.
Humane is programming what seems to be an ad-free experience, opting instead for software subscriptions (on top of the base price) and partnerships with brands like Volvo and LG — hinting the technology, which is powered by OpenAI, can soon make its way into other smart devices. It’s the Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House becoming a reality.
Speaking of OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman recently teased he is working on an AI device with Jony Ive — an obvious competitor to Pin AI. That’s a double dose of drama: Altman is the largest shareholder in Humane, and Ive fired co-founder Imran Chaudhri when he was director of design at Apple after reporting he was out of inspiration.
We’re already heating up popcorn to see how the complex rivalries unfold.
     |
MUSIC
No blank space on those checks // GIF by Kate Walker
Taylor Swift dances into the billionaires club
The Future. Taylor Swift has amassed a fortune of $1 billion, making her one of the few artists to ever hit that milestone from mostly music (and at 33, to boot). That cements Taylor as one of the most lucrative brands (and, yes, she’s a branding queen) in the world — one that’s able to literally influence American economic policy. Considering her album re-recording exercise is still ongoing and she has decades of work still to come, not only will her catalog likely be the first to be worth $1 billion alone, but it may also be a safe bet to expect Swift could become the most successful artist of all time.
Mic drop
Bloomberg breaks down the TSwift fortune (or, as we call it, “TMoney™”) while taking into account taxes, commissions, and all sorts of costs and fees.
Recorded music catalog since 2019: $400 million
Ticket sales and merchandise: $370 million
Spotify and YouTube earnings: $120 million
Value of five personal properties: $110 million
Royalties from music sales: $80 million
The massive earnings make perfect sense when Taylor is behind what’s shaping up to be the biggest tour ever ($700 million in ticket sales so far; 89 shows still to go), is re-recording her masters to generate the most value from her catalog (and diminish the value of the masters she doesn’t own), has made lucrative physical media sales and endless merch opportunities a key part of her fandom, and even bypassed the studios to release her concert film (which is a hit).
Or as Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis and a former senior economist at the World Trade Organization, says: “There’s this whole ecosystem she has, and it’s very lucrative for her.”
| |
AI mischief
Happy Mischief Night Day! Tonight, some teenagers will TP a few trees. But don’t worry! You can do some mischief, too, by getting ahead of the AI race.
In lieu of a few mega rolls of Charmin, you’ll just need AE Studio. They’ll hook you up with elite AI talent from Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. And they’ll help turbocharge your business, slash hundreds of hours, and save that $$$.
Other than spooking your competitors, here’s what they can do for you:
➡️ Pinpoint processes screaming for an AI overhaul
➡️ Craft tailored software and AI solutions
➡️ Accelerate your win with battle-tested MVP
MEDIA
Courtesy of Complex
BuzzFeed contemplates Complex sales
The Future. BuzzFeed is in final talks to sell Complex Media to social shopping platform NTWRK at a fraction of the price it bought it for just a few years ago. The discount deal isn’t a knock on Complex (which is a rare profitable digital media brand) but instead shows the pressure BuzzFeed is under to raise cash and boost its stock fast. As digital media publishers fight for the ad revenue scraps left over from Google, Meta, and Amazon, expect more retail-focused players to scoop them up at reduced prices to bolster their marketing arms.
Expanded NTWRK
Complex Media is already getting a new home.
BuzzFeed is selling the streetwear and culture brand to NTWRK in a deal valued at less than $140 million — almost three years after BuzzFeed bought it for $300 million.
Complex’s food vertical, First We Feast (which produced the popular Hot Ones series), will not be part of the deal — BuzzFeed is planning to either keep it for itself or sell it independently.
BuzzFeed’s original purchase of Complex went down after the buzzy brand went public via a SPAC… but the market hasn’t been kind to the debt-ridden publisher, which is only worth about $40 million. In 2016, it had a valuation of $1.7 billion.
With its stock trading at less than $1, BuzzFeed has until November 27th to raise the share price, or the company will be delisted from the Nasdaq — undergoing the same fate as once-highflying publishers like VICE and Group Nine Media.
But for NTWRK, the acquisition is a major coup. The social shopping platform — backed by Live Nation and Main Street Advisors — now has one of the most influential streetwear media brands in the business to provide insights and market livestreams.
| |
For the love of movies and TV
Obsessed with film and TV? Us too!
Stay tuned because LALA is creating a new fan experience that rewards you for doing things you already love — like writing movie reviews or starting a discord on your favorite TV show.
The program is called Reel Rewards. It lets you collect points that can be redeemed for movie tickets, collectibles, merch, and more. Plus, it’s free and fun to play.
Join today and get rewarded for being the ultimate fan!
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
After Barbenheimer ruled the box office this summer, the biggest winner of the everybody-wins showdown may have been IMAX, which posted 51% more revenue this past quarter than a year ago. Read more → fastcompany
Garth Brooks is doing the most country thing we’ve ever heard of: releasing his new album, Time Traveler, exclusively via Bass Pro Shops. Read more → consequence
Hasan Minhaj and The New Yorker are duking it out over how much embellishment of stand-up routines is considered normal or “psycho.” → variety
Fashion & E-Commerce
The holiday shopping market may have just been given a lump of coal as Mattel and Hasbro, the two biggest US toymakers, expect sales to be down this quarter. Read more → bloomberg
Unilever reports the consumer good getting a major back-to-work sales bump is none other than deodorant. Read more → insider
NerdWallet, known for its online credit card reviews and personal finance advice, is now offering its own credit card to assist individuals with low credit scores — expanding their eligibility for new NerdWallet-sponsored products. Read more → bloomberg
Tech, Web3, & AI
Cruise, after having its autonomous vehicle license revoked in California, has suspended all of its driverless taxi operations in the US. Read more → nyt
Ford is hitting the brakes on its $12 billion EV investment, citing high manufacturing costs and slowing demand. Read more → insider
Google paid $26.3 billion to Apple, Mozilla, and other companies to be the default search engine on their platforms… in 2021 alone. Read more → theverge
Creator Economy
A year into Elon Musk’s reign at X (RIP Twitter), average monthly users are down 15%, and ad revenue is down 54%... but no competitor has been able to hold a candle to the platform still. Read more → variety
Snap made most of its money last quarter not from any of its features or ad revenue, but from interest on the money it has in the bank. Read more → forbes
Pizza Hut and TikTok influencer Anna Sitar has applied the “girl math” trend to buying pizza for the brand’s new ad campaign. 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 Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.