Together with
Back to business. Happy Friday, Future Party people. Not sure about you, but this week went by fast. So quickly, in fact, that it seems like just yesterday that we announced our test of the newsletter’s “redesign.” Speaking of, how’d that go for everyone? Did you love it, hate it, didn’t even notice? It’s okay; you can be honest. All feedback is welcome, so let us know what grade you give it!
In other news… Hollywood braces for a potential writers strike, conferences get their groove back, and Washington takes on Ticketmaster.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood writers could go on strike Tuesday
The Future. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is set to essentially pause Hollywood if a new contract deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) can’t be reached by May 2nd. While studios rush to pay down debts from an all-in pivot to streaming and pricey mergers, outsized profits of their corporate parents may make crying poor fall on deaf ears. If there is a strike, expect it to have an even larger economic impact than the last one in 2007-2008… especially if directors and actors also call a strike.
Pencils down, pickets up
The WGA has called this an existential negotiation for the future of writing for movies and TV to be a viable career.
Here are some of the main issues at stake:
The guild wants to make streaming residuals (royalties for movies and shows) tied to the viewership of the content. Right now, it’s a low fixed rate.
It wants to set a minimum number of writers that need to be employed on a show. Currently, the boom in streaming has led to studios employing mini rooms to save money.
The guild also hopes to raise the minimums that writers can legally be paid, combat the use of AI in script development, and update span protections to limit how long TV writers can legally be under an exclusive contract.
It’s been estimated that all of the WGA’s asks would cost the studios 2% of their profits. While the studios did experience a stock price boom following their pivots to streaming, the Netflix Correction of last year proved that streaming may not be a great business after all… leading them to cut costs to meet Wall Street’s demand for profits.
It’s now not just a battle of numbers but the perception of the numbers.
WORK
Mass mixer
Conferences and trade fairs reopen their doors
The Future. Conferences and trade shows are undergoing a resurgence with the pandemic fading into the rearview. The occasional live B2B events may be viewed as a way to supercharge the benefits of in-person dealmaking while still letting employees work from home most of the time.
Back-to-conference
Ready your weekend bag because the boss may send you on a work trip.
Deloitte says corporate travel is on the rise because of the return of in-person B2B events.
That’s a fact cemented by trade show company Informa recently acquiring events business Tarsus for $940 million.
Other than the easing of travel restrictions, the boom is happening because the events around the event (parties, dinners, etc.) are where the real business gets done.
Even trade shows that are more about career development than sales are getting a boost because it allows people to rebuild professional communities.
But there are also some major aesthetic changes happening to the conference crawl. According to Bloomberg, some more intimate events, like senior leadership get-togethers, are trading the conference centers for forests. Yes, the great outdoors.
That change takes advantage of the two big trends to come out of the pandemic: the work-from-anywhere ethos and trading your briefcase for a backpack. Fresh air could do us all some good.
TOGETHER WITH STRV
Train like the Terminator
He’ll be back. Every day. Coaching you. Pushing you. Because you just downloaded The Pump app.
It’s not your typical workout app. It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workout app designed and developed by experts at STRV.
STRV's engineers took a highly innovative approach to creating a product beyond a simple MVP. Every design detail, from Arnold's favorite color to font choices harmonizing with vintage content, was intentional and carefully crafted to deliver a flawless user experience.
The app's workouts are scaled for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters, with videos demonstrating exercises and a tracker with a rest timer that makes the workouts easy to follow. Plus, the built-in community is always there to support and cheer you on.
Check out the full case study here to learn how STRV's mobile app development expertise brought The Pump to life.
MUSIC
Ticketing pressure
Senators want more competition in event ticketing
The Future. Looks like something is actually coming out of those high-profile Ticketmaster hearings in the wake of the Taylor Swift ticketing debacle, with a new bill being introduced in the Senate that could spur competition in the live-ticketing market. If passed, it may be the perfect opportunity to see if venues are truly happy with Ticketmaster’s dominance or if they’re looking to book a new service.
Overthrowing the Ticketmaster
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the “Unlock Ticketing Markets Act” in an effort to make the ticketing industry more competitive.
It would give the Federal Trade Commission power “to prevent the use of excessively long multi-year exclusive contracts that lock out competitors, decrease incentives to innovate new services, and increase costs for fans.”
While the Senators don’t call out Ticketmaster directly, the company controls roughly 70-80% of the ticketing market and typically locks up contracts with venues for up to ten years. In response, Ticketmaster said that venues typically choose those contracts to ensure guaranteed payments.
But the Senate isn’t done with this issue. Another bill, the “Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act,” which would require ticketing companies to show all the fees upfront, is set to be introduced on Wednesday.
TOGETHER WITH US
One more week only!
This week, you’re in luck.
Our Oura Ring competition goes until May 7th! And that means more time for you to share your personal link below:
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Future Forecast
For those of you who like to stay a step ahead, here are a few things we’re excited about right now:
Keith Haring’s carousel and the other psychedelic art pieces that make up Luna Luna. The fantastical fairground of rides and attractions designed by over 30 of the era's most acclaimed artists has a wildly storied history that culminates in Drake (yeah, that Drake) reviving the long-lost, avant-garde carnival.
A jetpack for your brain. The Knowledge writer and startup operator, David Elikwu, shares tools and frameworks from psychology, philosophy, productivity, and business in his weekly newsletter to help you think deeper and work smarter. The Knowledge is like NZT for your work and CBD for your mind.
Shelter pets! Haven’t you always wanted to hold up your precious puppy or cuddly cat to a stranger and say, “But really, he/she rescued me?” Well, if you’re in the capital of Texas, Austin Pets Alive is waiving its adoption fees on April 30th to celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Kendrick Lamar’s latest tour is the GOAT
Kendrick Lamar’s The Big Steppers Tour, his cross-continental tour to support his latest album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, is now the highest-grossing tour in rap history. It brought in $110.9 million, selling 929,000 tickets across 73 shows. The previous record-holder was Drake’s Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour, which generated $79 million.
Read more → hypebeast
Audible readies a dual-language podcast slate
Audible is partnering with Latin and Hispanic-focused audio company Sonoro on a crop of original shows that will be made in both English and Spanish. Three shows are already on the docket, featuring talents like Melissa Fumero and Alan Cumming, which are expected to debut this fall. The shows will also be shopped to be adapted into movies or series.
Read more → thr
The new architecture of Kith
In an inspired mishmash of design inspirations, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (the estate of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright) has collaborated with fashion brand Kith on a limited edition sneaker. Dubbed the New Balance Made in USA 998, the shoe takes cues from one of Wright’s greatest unmade projects — Broadacre City. Unfortunately, if you were looking to cop the release, the $220 shoes sold out in 90 seconds when they dropped earlier this month.
Read more → fastcompany
Meta unfriends Facebook Watch Originals
Meta is officially out of the original TV business with the shuttering of Facebook Watch Originals, which was behind the digital hit series Red Table Talk from Jada Pinkett Smith. With the winding down, Mina Lefevre, head of development and programming, is also leaving the company. Meta will now focus all original content ambitions on VR entertainment for Horizon Worlds.
Read more → variety
AI is posting Amazon reviews
It’s starting to get wild out in the Amazon product review section. CNBC reports that some customers are using ChatGPT to write reviews for them. Yes, really. Some reviews even begin with “As an AI-language model,” meaning that the human users may not even be reviewing what they wrote. We’re speechless.
Read more → insider
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Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.