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Last call. Who doesn’t love fresh Apple products… especially when they’re free? We know you do. That’s why we’re giving away a brand new iPhone 14 and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) as part of our latest contest. Enter here for your chance to win this fantastic bundle. But hurry! The giveaway ends tomorrow.
In other news… Messi dreams of South Beach, major labels rethink artist development, and Sony envisions an invisible future.
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SPORTS
Lionel Messi heads to Miami with a cut of MLS Season Pass
The Future. Lionel Messi is leaving Europe for the first time in his professional career to join the ranks of Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami after his deal with Paris Saint-Germain concludes this summer. With a cut of Apple’s MLS Season Pass as part of the offer, Messi’s deal could be as lucrative as when Michael Jordan was given a slice of the revenue from Nike’s Air Jordans.
Big score
With his move from Paris to Miami (and snubbing Saudi Arabia’s $400 million offer), Messi may be getting the best deal ever offered in soccer.
The cash offer hasn’t been disclosed, but Messi will get a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers to Apple TV+’s MLS Season Pass — the first deal of its kind.
He’ll also get a cut of the profits from a deal with adidas, which is making soccer central to its strategy — CEO Bjørn Gulden wants to create a “street culture” around soccer fashion like basketball has.
Lastly, he’ll get the option to purchase an ownership percentage of an MLS team, as David Beckham did with the LA Galaxy.
By moving to Miami, Messi also gets the chance to be at the center of the city's vibrant Argentine community and welcome his native country's new national soccer training center that's being built there, per Hypebeast.
And with Miami serving as a host city for the 2026 World Cup, prepare for fans worldwide to flock to its shores for the chance to see Messi on his new home turf.
MUSIC
Turning down the need for virality. // Illustration by Kate Walker
Major labels chill on viral hits
The Future. Despite a decade of high-profile deals for artists on TikTok and YouTube and the creation of software that scrapes platform data to determine the next hit, the era of chasing viral hits may soon be coming to a close. The reason? Major labels just haven’t seen those investments translate to sustaining success. The next trend in the music industry may be reverting to developing artists for the long haul rather than being beholden to the whims of the moment.
Stop the stream
Is the craze to sign a viral artist over?
For the past decade — especially the past few years with the rise of TikTok — labels have rushed to sign artists who were in the midst of having a song go viral.
But entertainment lawyers note that those deals are slowing down because everything seems to be going viral, and few artists have the chops to follow up on that success.
That resulted in a lot of losses for the artists they had signed since many turned out to be one-hit wonders.
Labels have learned that not everyone can be Lil Nas X with “Old Town Road,” especially as the data shows that viral hits of 2022 were streamed way less than those of 2020. So the new mantra is now to be “more deliberate,” says one senior exec.
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TECHNOLOGY
Sony wants to hide its tech in your home
The Future. At the STAYDREAM exhibition at the NYCxDESIGN festival, Sony showed off some potential ways it hopes to hide tech in your home and beyond. These interactive smart devices — all hinging on the idea of creating “invisible technology” — could make the tactile aspects of any room a new form of interactive entertainment.
Lo-fi, hi-tech
According to Fast Company, some of Sony’s invisible tech includes…
An upholstered room divider that has speakers built into them
A wallpaper that has an overlaid video projection on it, which is controlled by sliding a connected mug
An interactive glass screen that acts as a giant screensaver in your home but becomes clear when you approach it
By partnering with the furniture manufacturer Stellar Works, Sony plans to make these prototype products a reality. The company hopes to build them at a cost-conscious price point sometime in the next six months.
Admittedly, Sony says that these offerings may be better suited for hotels than the next smart home, which could make your next resort lobby experience something unique.
TOGETHER WITH MASTERWORKS
Real estate dethroned — mega-sale sends surprising NYC market soaring +16.5
Few investments are considered more reliable than New York City real estate. But with a negative 3% growth in median sales price this year, it hasn’t escaped broader macroeconomic turmoil. However, one NYC market has: blue-chip contemporary art.
In fact, at NYC’s mega-auctions this November, contemporary art sales totaled $2.3 billion in a single week — an all-time record — as prices climbed 16.5%.
And, thanks to Masterworks, not only the ultra-rich dealmakers are celebrating this year.
With this investment platform, anyone can easily invest in shares of multi-million dollar art by names like Banksy and Picasso. Masterworks has also built a solid track record, with all 11 of their exits netting a profit — the last three realizing +13.9%, +35.0%, and +10.4% net returns each.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
After a profile in The Atlantic painted an unflattering picture of CNN boss Chris Licht, Warner Bros. Discovery sent him packing after just over a year into David Zaslav’s reimagining of the network. Read more → variety
Las Vegas is pulling out all the stops for F1’s Vegas Grand Prix in November, with casinos offering packages that start in the thousands of dollars up to a head-spinning $5 million… showing that they all expect a very wealthy clientele for the import of Europe’s most dangerous entertainment. Read more → bloomberg
Spotify is predicting which songs could be crowned “the song of the summer,” betting on the likes of Taylor Swift’s 2019 banger “Cruel Summer,” Dua Lipa’s Barbie single “Dance the Night,” and Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes.” Read more → variety
Fashion & E-Commerce
Satoshi Kuwata’s Setchu label took home the blue chip 2023 LVMH Prize for Young Designers, awarding him 400,000 euros and mentorship from experts across the company. Read more → hypebeast
Lil Nas X is co-curating Coach’s Winter 2023 Collection, so expect things to get wild. Read more → hypebeast
Starbucks is partnering with Travis Kalanick’s CloudKitchens to make sure you can get a frappuccino on DoorDash wherever you are. Read more → insider
Tech, Web3, & AI
FTX vibes: days after the SEC sued Binance for illegally operating in the US, the regulator is now trying to freeze the exchange’s assets. Read more → theverge
ByteDance’s former head of engineering in the US, We know you do. That’s why we’re giving away a brand new iPhone 14 and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) as part of our latest contest. Enter here for your chance to win this fantastic bundle. But hurry! The giveaway ends tomorrow.Yintao Yu, alleges that the Chinese Communist Party had a “god credential” to access the TikTok data of American users and pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. Read more → insider
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker experimented with writing an episode of the show using ChatGPT… and concluded that “at first glance, reads plausibly, but on second glance, is sh*t.” Read more → deadline
Creator Economy
Jonah Hill is putting on an alter ego named Prophet Ezekiel Profit to launch a satirical lifestyle brand dubbed “Monetizing Happiness” that’s selling “loungewear and home goods with vaporware vibes” (with a percentage of sales going to mental health nonprofits). Read more → thr
Fearing that an exodus is on the way, Elon Musk has relented and will allow creators to take the email addresses of their paying subscribers if they choose to leave the platform. Read more → forbes
Following on the heels of Snapchat and TikTok, Instagram is working on a chatbot that will let users pick between 30 personalities that can answer questions and offer advice. Read more → theverge
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Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.