Together with
Indio state of mind. What a weekend, Future Party people. Between all the sunshine and holiday festivities, we may need an extra day to recover. Speaking of festive weekends, is anyone else packing their bags for Coachella yet? If you happen to be in the valley and wanna experience the best that Indio has to offer, visit our friends at Soho Desert House. Trust us. It’s a vibe.
And don't forget to check out our 2023 Coachella Party Grid!
In other news… DeepZen raises the dead, TikTok dancers strike gold, and Maggie Rogers fights ticket bots.
Top Trends
YouTube → Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Twitter → Doja Cat
Google → John Regan
Reddit → The Super Mario Bros. Movie
TikTok → “Young Forever” - Jay-Z
Spotify → “Flatline” - Best Frenz, Joywave
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AI
Edward Herrmann // Illustration by Kate Walker
DeepZen revives voice actors for audiobooks using AI
The Future. London-based AI audiobook startup DeepZen has developed a system that can create deepfake audio recordings of living and dead voice actors with impressive emotional range. The tool could be revolutionary for small indie publishers who don’t have the capital to get proper human recordings of all their titles.
Post-mortem narrationEdward Herrmann is still reading audiobooks from the grave.
The renowned actor’s family licensed his famed voice (he won awards for narrating audiobooks) to DeepZen to be used for new audiobooks.
The company has already made hundreds of audiobooks using Herrmann’s voice.
How did DeepZen accomplish this? Synthesizing his entire body of work, the startup makes an AI version of his voice that can generate any sound and intonation that Mr. Herrmann would have used if he were narrating these new books himself.
E-motionsDeepZen, which has worked with professional actors to capture a wide range of human emotions to teach its AI system, is hoping to strike more deals with the estates of late stars. Actors (or their estates) receive upfront flat fees and royalties for participating.
While the largest book publishers are still a bit wary of selling AI-read audiobooks, DeepZen has signed deals with 35 publishers worldwide and is currently working with 25 authors. With the Association of American Publishers finding that audiobook sales grew 7% last year (and will continue to rise), DeepZen is entering a market with a lot of untapped potential.
SOCIAL MEDIA
TikTok lifts professional-dancer discovery
The Future. TikTok has opened up doors for dancers around the world, changed how gatekeepers discover new talent, and generated new lines of revenue for dance companies. If TikTok goes away, YouTube and Instagram will be waiting for them… but it may be hard to migrate the culture of dance that TikTok was inexplicably built on.
Step currencyTikTok really did revolutionize the pro-dance industry by becoming a hub for…
Talent discovery. Agents, workshops, and productions now scour TikTok for untapped talent — a boon for those that don’t live in LA or NYC.
Job portfolios. Some casting agents no longer bother with portfolios or websites but instead opt to see someone’s TikTok timeline.
Broader awareness. The American Ballet Theatre pays two dancers to film behind-the-scenes content, which has led more people to apply for programs.
Song promotion. Artists such as Dua Lipa and Lizzo have used TikTok dances as a key part of their single promo rollouts to help them go viral.
Other than making genuine stars out of household names like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae, the app has also been a direct line to dancers receiving income — enough to tide them over between professional gigs or even quit their day jobs to pursue dance full-time.
TOGETHER WITH ARTSCAPY
Your art collection deserves better
You worked so hard to secure that Banksy and Warhol, so why don’t you manage your collection on a platform that’s as serious as you are?
Artscapy, the world’s first online Art Account, is your platform to catalog, certificate, value, buy, sell, and insure your art seamlessly.
Why 5,000+ art collectors trust Artscapy:
Automatically track your collection’s value
Lowest commission fees on the market
Marketplace with works by Hirst, Basquiat, KAWS, and tons more
Powerful data for valuations and appraisals
Insurance right from the Artscapy platform. Easy.
Artscapy even provides financing and a discrete private brokerage when you’re ready to make some moves.
“Thank you so much for this platform. I love how simple it is.” - @banksy_collector
MUSIC
Maggie Rogers // Illustration by Kate Walker
Maggie Rogers brings back the in-person ticket sale
The Future. The first people who could snag presale tickets for Maggie Rogers’ new tour were those who physically showed up to the box office to buy them. Yes, those who waited in an actual line. The amazingly analog alternative to getting tickets may have been Rogers’ way of ensuring she wasn’t the center of another Ticketmaster drama. Losing out on concert tickets to the real person in front of you may now be a breath of fresh air.
Beat the botsThe only way to verify if a ticket buyer is real is to have them get the tickets in person.
Last Friday, Maggie Rogers started making her summer tour presale tickets available to those that came to various venue box offices around the country.
There was a two-person limit, but you could buy tickets from any price tier.
Additionally, she made exclusive merch and a “special playlist” available because she knew this was for hardcore fans.
For those in NYC, Rogers showed up at the box office at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, making the wait truly worth it for her fans.
But for those that couldn’t take the time out of their day to wait in a real, flesh and blood line for tickets (in 2023!), the online presale goes up tomorrow.
TOGETHER WITH SOHO HOUSE
A desert oasis
Soho Desert House is back this Coachella with everything you need to refresh, rejuvenate, and recharge in between day parties and DJ sets.
Unlimited Cecconi’s pizzas and Soho House’s Classic Dirty Burgers (IYKYK) aren’t the only perks — the beautiful space will also feature various bars by Ciroc and Lost Boy & Co.’s Sip Sip & Tropezon. Plus, plenty of NA options will be available for those staying dry this April.
Wellness is also winning this year. Check out a rotation of activations like Calibrate IV drips, a Remedy Place ice bath, massages from Nike, and pickleball courtesy of Ciroc.
They’re also hosting DJs and music collectives from New York, Miami, and Latin America to keep the party going all day.
Soho Desert House is open Friday (4/14) to Sunday (4/16) from 12 pm-7 pm. There are ticket options for both Members and Non-Members. Grab your tickets and dance with us in the desert!
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
ChatGPT will see you now
According to Harvard computer scientist and physician Dr. Isaac Kohane, ChatGPT-4 can pass 90% of the questions in the US medical licensing exam and accurately spot rare diagnoses. The one thing ChatGPT hasn’t done is take the Hippocratic Oath, so don’t expect your forthcoming AI doctor to be ethically bound to keep you alive. Kohane, along with journalist Carey Goldberg and Microsoft VP of research Peter Lee will have an entire rundown of AI in medicine in a forthcoming book, in case you’re interested.
Read more → insider
Substack gets kicked while its down
It’s been a bad week for Substack. According to financial documents, the newsletter platform had negative revenue in 2021, making $11.9 million but losing $25 million. So far, the company has failed to raise additional funding from institutional investors but has cut back on the pricey guaranteed incomes that were thrown around to woo top writers. But just as Substack needs to drive more traffic to the average newsletter using its platform, Twitter (where many writers market their work) disabled links to Substack because of a change in access to its API.
Read more → theverge
Take a seat on some chopsticks
After enjoying some delicious Chinese food, your chopsticks can now find a second life as an end table. Canadian startup ChopValue turns discarded chopsticks into furniture such as tables, chairs, and cabinets, collecting the utensils from recycling bins at places like P.F. Chang’s and the Vancouver International Airport. The company has even partnered with McDonald’s to make furniture for their locations. We hope more establishments pick up the trend.
Read more → fastcompany
Gen Z brings fads back from the dead
With Insider reporting that Gen Z trends are rooted in escapism and nostalgia, the generation is putting some unexpected things back in the spotlight: Ugg boots, velour tracksuits, low-rise baggy pants, maxi skirts, and wraparound sunglasses. In other words, comfort is the name of the game… especially if it has roots in 90s fashion.
Read more → insider
SWIPEBY makes AI an Insta foodie
Restaurants want the perfect food picture to market their dishes… but it looks like hiring a professional photographer is not on everyone’s menu. A tool called SWIPEBY allows restaurants to plug in the description of their dishes and generate a photo that can be used for online ordering. That’s a big business opportunity when high-quality pictures can increase orders by 35%. But if the AI spits out something too good, chefs better be prepared to make sure their dishes actually look like that.
Read more → fastcompany
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Today's email was brought to you by David Vendrell.Edited by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.