Together with
Madea makes history… maybe. After an article circulated this week claiming that Tyler Perry has successfully acquired BET Media Group from Paramount (which also includes VH1), the speculation has left many wondering how true the claims actually are. While Perry is angling to take over the brand, the news hasn’t been verified. But, the possibility of Perry taking over the company would be historic — the acclaimed writer/director/actor would become the first African American to acquire two major television networks.
In other news… Europe takes steps to regulate AI, diversity fuels the summer box office, and NFL rookies cash in.
Top Trends
Reddit → John Romita Sr.
TikTok → “Need 2” - Pinegrove
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The EU is putting guardrails on AI
The Future. The European Union has put forth the first draft law to regulate the development of AI in the West, taking a very comprehensive approach to mitigating the tech’s potential harm. The voting body hopes to pass the law’s final version by the end of this year, which could become the blueprint for governments worldwide.
Generating legislation
The EU’s AI Act is an attempt to take control of AI… before it can take over us.
It regulates how companies train their AI models, including publishing the copyrighted data used in the dataset and ensuring that the models can’t create illegal content.
WSJ says the copyright provision could “give publishers and content creators a potential means to seek a share of profits when their works are used as source material for AI-generated content.”
It also bars firms from collecting real-time biometric data in public spaces, aggregating data for facial recognition tools, or training “predictive” policing systems.
Under the current draft, companies could be fined up to 7% of their global revenue for non-compliance.
While the legislation was originally proposed back in 2021, the leaps and bounds in innovation over the past year have made this a top priority for the EU’s parliament.
While some in the tech sphere believe that the law — or any regulations, really — stifles innovation (Marc Andreessen of a16z), many others in the industry (everyone on this list and this list) believe regulations are quickly needed to keep AI from becoming dangerous.
ENTERTAINMENT
Summer tentpoles find success in diversity
The Future. The big winners at this summer’s domestic box office are franchise films with multicultural casts. That’s a big sea change after the marvelous success of Black Panther felt like an outlier in 2018. But while the US audience seems to have finally embraced diversity in blockbusters, the international market may be a little slower to change.
Serving every audience
The box office is recovering thanks to a slate of diverse faces.
Over the past month, movies featuring either Black or Latino leads have topped the box office.
That includes franchise titles like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Fast X, The Little Mermaid, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Additionally, all but Fast X exceeded industry expectations, buoyed by an over-indexing of multicultural audiences.
With this past week’s success of Transformers, a Paramount studio source told THR that “there’s no question that the segment of the population going to the movies more frequently than any other is multicultural, at least domestically.”
But for those that have been paying attention, those stats may not come as a surprise. Latinos made up 26% of frequent moviegoers, despite representing only 18% of the overall population. No wonder that all the way back in 2012, then-MPAA chairman Chris Dodd told Hollywood they needed to “better serve” Latino audiences.
TOGETHER WITH WILD
Art gone wild
Wild — a collective creating revolutionary internet art — believes that art is meant to be experienced. That’s why they’re cultivating, supporting, and curating artists making this vision a reality.
On their platform, you can:
Collaborate with boundary-pushing creators in their artist residency
Collect curated experiential art
Experience immersive works produced by Wild
Curious about current projects? Nygilia is an experimental digital artist whose fantasy-inspired works explore character creation through the lens of abstraction.
Her upcoming project, KIEYA, tells an otherworldly science-fiction narrative extrapolating on a future techno-utopia. The story begins in the year 7292, when books and other physical forms are extinct. When a meteorite crashes into the ocean, future humans discover particles of an advanced alien technology they then use to create an artificial intelligence that ushers in a rebirth of storytelling for the world.
Sounds dope, right? We think so.
KIEYA drops on June 19th. Don’t miss it!
SPORTS
Financial touchdown // Illustration by Kate Walker
NFL rookies cash in college checks
The Future. Name, image, and likeness deals in college sports are transforming how new professional players interact with brands and sponsors. While not every collegiate NIL deal will carry over to the world of pro sports, the practice may give players moving forward the experience to maximize every opportunity from the get-go.
New faces, fresh money
The latest crop of NFL draftees knows a little more about sponsorship deals than any other class before them.
New players like C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans), Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers), and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) are coming into the NFL with millions of dollars in NIL deals from major brands.
Not only does that let them start the NFL with a lot of money, but also a better understanding of how the high-profile world of pro sponsorships works.
Steve Scebelo, president of the NFL Players Association’s licensing arm, said that “these players have come in with a better grasp as to what we do, how we license their rights and how they can do it individually.” That’s been instrumental at the annual NFLPA’s Rookie Premiere — an event meant to introduce players to the union’s brand partners.
And that’s not lost on the players. Stroud noted that “NIL teaches you professionalism on the field and off. It teaches you how to manage your time and money. It prepares you for what’s to come.”
TOGETHER WITH STACKED MARKETER
Marketing adrenaline
What if you could get the most valuable and important digital marketing news delivered to your inbox? AND read it in just seven minutes flat?
With Stacked Marketer, you can.
Every weekday, they’ll send you tips and tricks for all your digital marketing channels, including Facebook, Google, Snap, TikTok, content marketing, SEO, and email.
It’s the best way to stay up-to-date on all the channels without losing hours of your life research-scrolling.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
On the heels of the FTC’s lawsuit, a federal court in California has granted a restraining order to halt Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Read more → forbes
As the writers strike rages on, the Global WGA Day of Solidarity saw screenwriters from all over the world (London, Paris, Seoul, Tel Aviv, and many other locations) come out in droves to picket in support of the WGA — a possible first in any union’s history. Read more → variety
Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper and Ace Entertainment (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise) are launching a Gen-Z-focused media company called Trending, which will act as the parent company of both businesses. Read more → thr
Fashion & E-Commerce
Nike is unboxing their new venture, Well Collective — an initiative focused on “five pillars of holistic fitness including movement, mindfulness, nutrition, rest, and connection.” Read more → hypebeast
Silicon Valley style icons: Steve Jobs and his black turtlenecks… Mark Zuckerberg and his gray T-shirts… and now, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his black leather jackets. Read more → nyt
MSCHF’s latest drop is a Louis Vuitton handbag… that’s about the dimensions of a human strand of hair. Read more → highsnobiety
Tech, Web3, & AI
Alleging that Google’s ad business is anti-competitive, the EU may force the tech giant to break it up. Read more → insider
After Reddit CEO Steve Huffman dismissed the two-day subreddit blackout, some top subreddits are planning on going dark indefinitely… and that’s wreaking havoc on Google search results. Read more → techcrunch
eToro is following in Robinhood’s footsteps and delisting some top cryptos, including algorand, decentraland, dash, and polygon. Read more → theinformation
Creator Economy
Jay Leno and Adam Carolla are launching Comedy Fantasy Camp — a four-day event that allows budding comedy writers, standups, and digital creators to work with some of the funniest people in the business. Read more → deadline
Philip Lewis, who used Twitter to report on racial tensions at Michigan State University while he was a student, turned social media virality into a bonafide journalism career. Read more → complex
Ryan’s World (yes, the kid who makes more money than all of us unboxing toys on YouTube) is laying the groundwork for his brand to exist beyond him being in front of the camera. Read more → tubefilter
Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us
Today's email was brought to you by David Vendrell.
Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.