Together with
SS Swift. All aboard! After conquering the world one stadium (and theater) at a time, it seems Taylor Swift fans just can’t get enough of the billionaire pop star. That’s why they’re hitting the open sea and setting sail on the first-ever Taylor-themed cruise. While the ship won’t depart until next fall, we don’t expect cabins to be available for too long… even if the singer-songwriter isn’t expected to make an appearance.
In other news… Edith Piaf rises from the dead for a new biopic, Silicon Valley imagines a work-free world, and physical media eyes a comeback.
Top Trends
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A still from the Edith proof of concept // Courtesy of Warner Music Group
Warner Music is using AI to generate an Edith Piaf animated film
The Future. Created with the permission of the Piaf estate, Edith will be an animated film produced with AI. While there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about this project, its success could create an avalanche of estates commissioning their own projects to keep past talent’s memory fresh for a new generation of potential fans… and maybe hold on to the rights of popular works before they enter the public domain.
La Vie en code
Warner Music Group and production company Seriously Happy are reviving the “Little Sparrow of Paris” using a proprietary AI system.
Scripted by Julie Veille and Gilles Marliac, the 90-minute film traverses between Paris and New York from the 1920s to 1960s, with the narrator, the titular Edith, “uncover[ing] aspects of her life that were previously unknown.”
Piaf’s image is being created with a system trained on pictures and video of her, while “archival footage of Piaf from TV performances and interviews, stage shows, and her personal library” will be interspersed throughout the film.
The voice and music in the film will be a mix of recordings and AI generations of her voice, created with “hundreds of voice clips […] some of which are over 80 years old.”
Apparently, there’s no director or finishing animators on the project, with the generative AI content being overseen by the screenwriters and WMG head Charlie Cohen — putting Jeffrey Katzenberg’s theory to the test.
Although a proof of concept has already been made in-house at Warner Music Group — which has been at the forefront of experimenting with AI in everything from talent creation to new royalty systems — it says it’s looking for a Hollywood studio partner to help complete and release the finished product.
Whoever does take it on may be the first to test if audiences are interested in wholly AI-generated films… that is, if even trying is worth the risk of angering the creative community.
     |
WORK
Courtesy of Tesla
Silicon Valley evangelizes a world with no work
The Future. The biggest names in tech and finance are imagining a world with no work, endless resources, and a re-imagined economy. While this pie-in-the-sky, technology-subsidized “true socialism” (Elon Musk’s words) sounds like the C-suite cosplaying as Willy Wonka, the fact of the matter is someone will be in control of these cutting-edge means of production… something they hope to do to get them very, very rich on the way to human obsolescence. For everyone outside of the C-suite, they may be coding their way out of a job.
Tech takes over
In the future, work may be a thing of the past… if some of Silicon Valley’s and Wall Street’s most influential are to be believed.
Elon Musk says a mix between humanoid robots and super-intelligent AI (both of which he has a major stake in) would take over most of the work people don’t like doing, upending the economy, and making “goods and services close to free in the long term.”
Goldman Sachs backs that up by estimating AI could “boost the global gross domestic product by 7% during the next decade, and roughly two-thirds of US occupations could be partially automated by AI,” per WSJ.
Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures posits work as we currently know it will be gone in 25 years if nations seriously adopt the technology, so there will need to be some form of UBI to support people… which will allow them to pursue their passions.
But that passion better not be venture capital because Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya thinks the profession will be obsolete, replaced by “an automated system of capital against objectives.” Ouch.
But in speaking with Musk recently, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak skipped the obvious I, Robot jokes and brought things back to a more human level, telling the serial entrepreneur, “I think work is a good thing, it gives people purpose in their lives. And if you then remove a large chunk of that, what does that mean?”
That’s a question we’ll all be wrestling with over the next decade.
| |
Philanthropy 2.0
The future of giving has landed with The Umoja Foundation. They’re revolutionizing charity through blockchain and web3, turning NFTs into tokens for a cause.
Umoja is a people-focused web3 project, channeling funds into food, medicine, clothing, education, and growth opportunities for their partner, Dasom Ministries Orphanage, in Uganda. Dasom is home to 17 awesome kids and helps out folks in the nearby community who could use a hand.
So, why go web3 for charity?
Transparency. Every transaction is publicly and forever recorded.
Continuous impact. It’s an investment that keeps giving through resale royalties.
A symbol of support. Your NFT is a badge of good social credit.
Don’t miss Umoja’s debut with 250 unique pieces on Giving Tuesday, November 28th, exclusively on Rarible.
ENTERTAINMENT
Courtesy of The Criterion Collection
Blu-rays and DVDs are ready for a renaissance
The Future. Blu-rays and DVDs are primed to have their vinyl moment — “old school” physical media surging in sales despite a predominantly digital landscape. Why? Film and TV have never seemed so fleeting as swaths of titles become memory-holed due to an endless sea of options and companies that are finding any way to save a buck. But, like vinyl, people want something both tangible and special… which could create an opening for someone to start the Criterion Collection of mainstream movies.
Shelf security
It’s always darkest before the dawn. This year alone…
Discs are disappearing. Netflix stopped its disc-mailing business, Best Buy said it’ll stop selling DVDs and Blu-rays at the end of 2023, and Ingram Entertainment (once one of the biggest DVD distributors) is ditching discs altogether.
Streamers are removing content. Max, Disney+, Hulu, and Paramount+ have been purging their platforms to save money on residuals and other fees.
Studios are deleting movies. Warner Bros. Discovery has even canned whole films before they’re ever seen in order for the debt-burdened company to take tax write-offs (this week had fresh drama in that department).
Things are getting lost in the shuffle. Older titles (really anything made over 20 years ago) are increasingly unavailable on streaming… and even hard to find as digital rentals on Apple and Amazon (which can also disappear at a moment’s notice).
All of that creates a perfect storm for consumers, who’ve been blindsided by disappearing media, to start collecting physical media as a way to make sure they’ll always have their favorite titles. And they likely won’t collect just any physical media, but rather collector’s sets with bonus features and premium image and sound.
Or, as Christopher Nolan so bluntly put it about Oppenheimer’s upcoming home video release: “a version that you can buy and own at home and put on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come and steal it from you.”
| |
Super-boost your career
Everyone could use a board of directors to supercharge their career. Sidebar makes that a reality.
Once you’re accepted into their private community, they’ll curate a personal board of directors around you. You’ll then join bi-weekly facilitated sessions with your board. And they’ll arm you with tactical direction, guidance, and accountability to successfully transition into a new company, change careers, climb that corporate ladder, or start your own venture.
So, what are you waiting for?
Join the waitlist of 3,800 (and growing) prospective members.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
After a year of box office and critical disappointments, Marvel Entertainment is rethinking its superhero strategy. Read more → thr
Andre 3000 is releasing his first solo album — 17 years after the dissolution of Outkast. Read more → variety
Liberty Media seems to have majorly overshot demand for the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Read more → apnews
Fashion & E-Commerce
Taika Waititi and lifestyle brand Accompany are kicking off Waititi’s newest film, Next Goal Wins, with a limited-edition capsule, which includes a handmade soccer ball. Read more → variety
Balenciaga is dropping a limited-edition bath towel skirt for $1,000 (we can’t make this stuff up). Read more → hypebeast
Venmo is finally making it easier for groups to split the dinner bill. Read more → fastcompany
Tech, Web3, & AI
In partnership with Mode Mobile
Airbnb is pursuing its AI plans with the acquisition (the company’s first) of Gameplanner.AI. Read more → cnbc
AI is now your local meteorologist… and it’s trying to predict your seven-day forecast a century into the future. Read more → wired
The Center for Countering Digital Hate reports X failed to remove 98% of the misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war on the platform. Read more → fastcompany
From our partners: All eyes are on Mode’s pre-IPO offering as the cutting-edge smartphone innovators continue with a series of impressive raises, likely spurred by Apple’s recent $3 trillion valuation. Mode saw 150x revenue growth from 2019 to 2022, making them one of America’s fastest-growing companies, thanks to their “Earn Phone.” Invest before Mode shares fully sell out. Get 60% bonus shares today for $0.16/share.*
Creator Economy
YouTube is cracking down hard on deepfakes and the users who make them without adding clear disclosures. Read more → insider
Instagram is giving the Close Friends treatment to users’ feeds. Read more → hypebeast
TikTok is now letting users save songs they hear on the platform directly to their Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music accounts. Read more → techcrunch
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.