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Happy Monday, Future Party people. Hope you had a great weekend. Get up to anything fun? We spent some time soaking in the beautiful spring weather and trying not to get vertigo from the speed of AI development and news that seems to be happening every second…
In other news… ghost kitchens get ghosted, TikTok’s siren song, and ChatGPT is taking entry-level jobs.
Top Trends
Twitter → Martin Scorsese
Google → Donna Summer
Reddit → Harrison Ford
TikTok → “Area Codes” - Kali
Spotify → “Ace Up My Sleeve” - Lord Huron
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FOOD & BEVERAGE
Ghost kitchens get ghosted
The Future. Ghost kitchens were supposed to represent over 20% of the restaurant industry by 2025, but it turns out they were mostly just a pandemic fad. Ghost kitchens are out, and your usual 2019 dining trends are back in. The ghost kitchens that may survive the return to normalcy are the ones tethered to a reputable brand or celebrity.
Poof
Delivery-only, non-physical restaurants are disappearing.
Despite planning a huge expansion in 2021, Wendy’s announced that it was closing its entire US ghost kitchen business.
Butler Hospitality, a ghost kitchen company focused on hotels, shut down last year.
Buzzy CloudKitchens even lost deals with several restaurants it was working with.
Another cloud kitchen organization, Reef Technologies, is shifting to focus on airports and stadiums.
Why the sudden downturn? Although ghost kitchens were popular during the pandemic, people actually aren’t fans of restaurants just serving their menus under a different name, the existence of dozens of copycat restaurants (UberEats started deleting duplicate menus), or the general lack of transparency (health codes, anyone?).
And with life returning to normal, it turns out people are more than happy to return to their regularly scheduled programming of going out to eat, hitting up a drive-thru, or just ordering food from their favorite spots.
MUSIC
Spin and repeat // Illustration by Kate Walker
TikTok lures artists with exclusive deals
The Future. TikTok is hoping to cement itself as the new mover and shaker in music by locking up artists on the platform in long-term exclusive deals. The move would allow TikTok to cut out major labels and work with artists individually. And with the company tinkering with a launch of TikTok Music worldwide to compete with Spotify and Apple Music, TikTok may create a closed ecosystem where artists can both stream and promote their music to the masses.
Vertical label
If being consistently featured on TikTok’s For You page is your wish as a musician, the platform is here to likely grant it.
TikTok is offering exclusive deals to artists to distribute their work exclusively through ByteDance’s SoundOn — a platform that places music on streaming platforms and handles royalties.
Reported deals are asking artists to license their music to TikTok for 10 years in exchange for an upfront advance and 50% of the split of all ancillary revenues.
TikTok is also expanding its A&R team — tasked with finding new writers — to help give artists guidance on how to best grow their music on the platform by leveraging app data.
Allegedly, TikTok is also toying with the idea of starting its own label, although the company publicly denies it. That, coupled with the artist deals, could put TikTok in conflict with the major labels… just as both parties are going head-to-head on how music is licensed for the service.
TOGETHER WITH UPWAY
E-bikes are all the rage
And why not? You get to enjoy the ride without all the huffing and puffing. Meet Upway, the #1 certified e-bike provider. Their M.O.? They refurbish and resell top-brand e-bikes at up to 60% off retail.
Upway's already a big deal in Europe, and they're now coming to the U.S. Unlike buying a bike on Craigslist, every Upway e-bike gets inspected by an expert mechanic and comes with a one-year warranty. That way, you know exactly what you're getting!
Plus, they're running a spring sale for up to $600 (!) off selected bikes. And TFP readers can get an additional $150 off a purchase of $500 or more with the code TFP.
E-bike curious? Take this 3-question quiz to help you find the right one for you.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
This is now ChatGPT.
ChatGPT comes for entry-level jobs
The Future. Graduating college students may struggle even more to land their first career entry-level job thanks to AI. And with many companies developing their own AI systems to specifically automate grunt work in their respective industries, young humans may need to prove that they can bring skills to the workplace that a computer could never match.
Code to entry
If you thought landing your first job was hard, ChatGPT is about to make it harder.
The rise of AI platforms means that businesses can soon automate the kind of work that would usually be reserved for someone in an entry-level position.
That means entry-level positions for humans will have a higher barrier to entry and may look more like mid-level positions today, requiring years of professional experience.
How are people supposed to get this experience? College Disrupted author Ryan Craig writes in Fast Company that universities may need to put a major emphasis on securing internships for students early in their college careers to gain the necessary experience to get a job upon graduation.
The knitting of coursework with real-world projects may mean people are getting their “entry-level” work done while they get their degrees — what Craight calls “earn-and-learn.”
No pressure. Hope you pick your major right, freshmen.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Endeavor revealed that the new fight-focused company combining UFC and WWE will be called TKO Group Holdings, which will have the ticker “TKO” on the New York Stock Exchange. Read more → deadline
Despite only being open for just over a year, Disney World is shutting down its insanely expensive Star Wars-themed hotel, Galactic Starcruiser, this September. Read more → theverge
Digital music analysis firm Beatdapp discovered that roughly 10% of all streaming activity is considered “fraudulent,” which leads to about $2 billion in revenue being “misallocated” every year. Read more → bloomberg
Fashion & E-Commerce
Foot Locker’s stock took a big step down (25%) after it reported an over 11% decrease in sales last quarter and forecasted that losses would only increase next quarter. Read more → forbes
Seaweed is becoming the hot new fabric in fashion due to its sustainability and natural biodegradability. Read more → hypebeast
A startup called Good-Edi has crafted an edible coffee cup that is an alternative to the cheap polyethylene cups that fill up trash cans every morning. Read more → bloomberg
Tech, Web 3, & AI
OpenAI has launched an iOS app for ChatGPT… but Apple itself doesn’t want its employees using the platform. Read more → techcrunch
Speaking of Open AI, CEO Sam Altman testified to Congress that they really need to regulate his industry… although they probably shouldn’t take his suggestions of how to heart. Read more → axios
Heinz has unveiled a sauce dispensing machine that features 200 customizable sauce combinations — the perfect way to crowdsource your taste-preference data. Read more → techcrunch
Creator Economy
Social media creators Colin and Samir are collabing with Discord on what seems to be the first official influencer-driven community server. Read more → tubefilter
Hyundai and Kia are ponying up to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by drivers who had their cars stolen or damaged because of a TikTok challenge that showed people how to hot-wire their vehicles using a USB cable. Read more → engadget
Creator FaZe Rug (Brian Awadis) is getting into the snack industry via 1UP Candy with a line of sour gummies. Read more → tubefilter
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Editing by Melody Song. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.