Together with
IHOPPUS. Well, kind of. To celebrate the release of their ninth studio album, One More Time…, blink-182 served up a surprise show for fans at a Denny’s in California — taking inspiration from the popular meme made famous by Live Without. Who doesn’t love a little punk rock with their Moons Over My Hammy?
In other news… Shudder scares up a blueprint for streaming, the music industry takes on sped-up songs, and EV adoption is complicated.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Courtesy of Shudder
Shudder keeps scaring because of bespoke curation
The Future. AMC Networks’ horror-focused streaming service, Shudder, has cracked the code on programming a platform for niche audiences because of how much of a human touch it has in its programming. By focusing on a more “boutique” approach (according to programming VP Sam Zimmerman), Shudder may provide a blueprint for how to craft a streaming service built on core-fan stickiness rather than broad growth — a key skill as the streaming economy contracts.
Consistent spooks
Shudder has found success by shunning algorithmic recommendations in favor of acting as an audience tastemaker.
It built up a curated library of horror offerings that ranged from iconic titles (Halloween), hard-to-find classics (The Devils), to international gems (One Cut of the Dead).
It then started scouring film festivals for buzzy indie acquisitions (Skinamarink) and ramped up original productions (Host), releasing many of them in theaters to help drive awareness.
The streamer tries to aid discovery by mixing and matching similar titles in themed collections (“Found Frights,” “Essential 80s”) and by bringing in guest curators (Kumail Nanjiani, Elijah Wood).
It’s leaned into appointment viewing to build community with its live Friday screenings of The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs — which consistently clocks the most simultaneous views on the platform and trends nationally on X.
That success is especially surprising as its owner, AMC Networks, has been roiled in financial issues and executive turnover over the past few years. The shift to streaming hasn’t been kind to the network.
But Shudder has been a bright spot (although its subscriber count has been a mystery since 2020). No wonder AMC is tapping the brand to have more of an influence over its entire portfolio…
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MUSIC
Sped-up versions take the track // Illustration by Kate Walker
The music industry may try to slow down “sped-up” versions
The Future. “Sped-up” songs may be all the rage on TikTok, and unauthorized remixes may climb the charts on Spotify, but they’re causing some serious headaches for artists and music-rights holders… even if the tracks are helping the songs break through the noise. But with streaming services like Spotify overhauling how artists receive royalties (and what music matters more than others), the streaming services may have no choice but to start caring about the authenticity of tracks.
Remix royalties
A study by music tech firm Plex found at least 1% of all songs on the major streaming services is “modified audio” — or hundreds of millions of tracks per year.
The majority of those tracks are unlicensed remixes, which diverts millions of dollars away from artists and labels.
Streaming services aren’t really emboldened to tackle the issue since they’re mostly just interested in capturing subscription payments — what’s on the platform doesn’t matter all that much. It’s a volume business.
And labels are wrestling with whether to crack down on the modified tracks — they provide a huge marketing boost when they go viral.
So, labels have been trying to find a middle ground, opting only to take down the remixes that are really popular — hopefully, by the time they’re taken down, they’ve spread enough to make people want to find the original song.
But there’s another wrinkle: when the sped-up songs that go viral are actually of leaked songs (which is becoming a growing problem on Spotify). Sure, they blow up, but they undermine the artist and hurt the track’s official release.
No wonder FKA twigs nixed her upcoming album after her songs were leaked.
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Buying a car isn’t like buying a pair of shoes
It’s way more complicated. But we all have to do it at some point. And the first time you’re faced with navigating that process alone can be daunting.
That’s where Edmunds comes in. They’re a reliable and trusted resource for anyone looking to buy a new car or sell their current one.
If you’re looking to sell your baby Bertha (good car name, right?) – their free appraisal tool makes it super easy to find out the value of your ride.
If you want to buy some wheels, check out Edmund’s EV incentives page. Just pick a model, and they'll show you if it qualifies for tax credits, rebates, and other incentives.
They also have non-EV cars too, so beep, beep, honk, honk – you’re set!
TRANSPORTATION
Reboot required // GIF by Kate Walker
EV adoption hits the gas and some roadblocks
The Future. The EV market is on a weird ride right now — sales are high, but the customer is changing. Additionally, financial burdens and political associations are complicated things even more. The road ahead for EVs may have more starts and stops than a teenager learning to drive stick… but it’ll be moving forward. That may mean a focus on building cheaper sedans or a temporary pit stop in the world of hybrids.
Plug-in problems
The EV market is somehow doing both great and terribly right now, reports The Verge.
The Good. EVs will likely account for 9% of all cars sold this year (a 50% year-over-year increase) at about 1 million vehicles. Globally, 14 million will be sold this year, driven mostly by cheap options in China.
The Ugly. Automakers misread the tea leaves by focusing their EV plans on trucks and SUVs, which require bigger batteries — an expensive problem with supply chain issues and China-import bans. And, domestically, EVs are becoming strangely political.
That’s a lot to navigate, but both automakers and governments are pretty determined to make transportation more sustainable in the long run.
So, one way or another, the world is going to become more electric… just not as quickly as some expected.
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Disney says it plans to acquire Comcast’s 33% stake in Hulu for the low-end valuation price of $8.61 billion… but Comcast is certainly going to charge more for it before the deal officially closes sometime next year. Read more → deadline
The Rolling Stones, with the release of their new album, Hackney Diamonds, are the first band to have an album hit the Top 10 in each decade of the past 70 years (they also have the most Top 10 albums of all time). Read more → thr
HBO had a “secret army” (in the words of CEO Casey Bloys) on X that would troll film and TV journalists who were critical of the company’s programming. Read more → rollingstone
Fashion & E-Commerce
One of the most expensive and sought-after textiles in the world just so happens to be made from dog hair (an art called “Chiengora”)... which many of us just have stuck to our couch. Read more → bloomberg
DoorDash is warning customers if they don’t tip their drivers, their food may come late or arrive cold (so shell out the extra few bucks). Read more → theverge
Urban Outfitters is finding rare success in the rental space with its Nuuly platform. Read more → bof
Tech, Web3, & AI
At Britain’s AI Safety Summit, 28 countries, including the US and China, have signed the “Bletchley Declaration,” which states they’ll work together to research the “catastrophic” risks of AI. Read more → nyt
WeWork is (once again) falling down — the company could file for bankruptcy as early as next week. Read more → wsj
The FDA approved a cure for sickle cell disease — the first of its kind that uses CRISPR gene-editing tech. Read more → nyt
Creator Economy
Instagram is building users a customizable “AI friend.” Read more → techcrunch
LinkedIn has surpassed a billion users… and has announced an AI feature for premium users that’ll allegedly help speed up job searches (a big deal for the people who’ve applied to over 500 jobs). Read more → forbes
Plex, the streaming service content-aggregator platform, is becoming a full-on social network with its “Discover Together” feature. Read more → techcrunch
JOBS OF THE WEEK
Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.
Software Developer
Booz Allen Hamilton
Annapolis Junction, MD
Expert Product Ownership — Analytics Platforms
Nestlé IT
St. Louis, MO
Sales Director, Outbound
BambooHR
Lindon, UT
Post-Sales Machine Learning Solutions Engineer
Hugging Face
Remote
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.