Together with
Divorce with benefits. Despite sounding like the latest relationship trend on TikTok, divorce benefits are actually a new perk from companies looking to make the stresses of separation a little easier to navigate. From paid time off to free legal assistance and therapy sessions, the popular employment offering is proving to be just another thing to consider when job hunting — especially since 40 to 50% of first marriages in the US end in divorce. Yikes.
In other news… Disney park attendance drops off, AI poisons the information well, and Redbox gets a TikTok facelift.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Disney World isn’t as packed as it used to be
The Future. For the past year, Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has been experiencing lighter-than-usual attendance, which Disney analysts and legions of bloggers have been tracking like a criminal investigation. It turns out a mix of rising consumer costs and political problems may be to blame. To combat the slowdown, CEO Bob Iger is rolling back some of the price hikes at Disney World… which will hopefully continue as he stays on for another two years.
High-priced magic
The July 4th holiday, typically a boom time for Disney park attendance, was much slower than usual — a problem plaguing the Mouse House all year.
What gives?
Travel is up for Americans, but they’re choosing cruises and Europe over Orlando.
Ticket prices have gone way up over the past several years, with the company monetizing every aspect of visiting the park.
That’s made it increasingly difficult for families to afford a vacation there (which would make Walt Disney roll in his grave).
Additionally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ war with the company has put a political spin on visiting the parks.
That’s not to say Disney’s parks revenue is down, though. Earnings from its parks, experiences, and products division was up 17% last quarter, thanks to increased foot traffic at Shanghai Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
And we can tell you from experience that Disneyland in California always has a crowd.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Digital trash // Illustration by Kate Walker
AI generates a lot of junk
The Future. As AI-generated content becomes more ubiquitous online, more useless garbage is filling up the web, making it harder for people to sift through what’s helpful, relevant information and what exists simply to garner clicks and ad revenue. And as that content spreads, it may ironically infect the large language models that use the open internet to source information — a phenomenon known as “model collapse.”
Internet overload
The internet is getting inundated with what WSJ calls “a new kind of spam.”
Publishers are getting sent a flood of AI-generated articles far below their standards, prompting some outlets to close their portals to third-party content.
NewsGuard found 277 fake news websites pumping AI-generated content to game Google SEO and attract ad dollars.
That’s led to a cottage industry of how-to videos for using AI-generated content to make money — no matter how erroneous that content may be.
And more concerning, some are using AI to create fake phishing websites that can be used for scams.
Luckily, AI-generated content is easy to spot. According to Neil Clarke, publisher of sci-fi magazine Clarkesworld (an outlet that had to stop accepting submissions temporarily), it typically has “perfect spelling and grammar, but a completely incoherent story.”
We guess even the Terminator has problems with the three-act structure.
TOGETHER WITH FARFETCH
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ENTERTAINMENT
Courtesy of Redbox
Redbox kiosks become a new TikTok screen
The Future. Redbox has struck a deal with TikTok to bring content to its famous red DVD kiosks. It’s another move by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which Redbox is a subsidiary of, to boost revenue during a challenging year… but it shows the company isn’t afraid of experimenting with out-of-the-box ideas to capture the attention of younger audiences.
Short-form rentals
Redbox is hoping to go viral with its new TikTok partnership.
Redbox will show “top content” from TikTok on over 3,000 kiosk screens.
Brands will be able to buy advertising space that runs alongside the TikTok video, giving both companies another way of generating revenue.
Redbox has over 31,000 kiosks across the country, with the vast majority in high-traffic areas like grocery stores, strip malls, and other retailers. So, there’s a lot of opportunity for this partnership to grow.
Just don’t forget to pick up a Blu-ray.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
The 2023 Emmy nominations dropped yesterday, with some big love for Succession, The Last of Us, Ted Lasso, and The White Lotus… but it may take a bit longer to celebrate the nominees as the Television Academy and Emmy broadcaster Fox mull pushing the award show. Read more → variety
Drake’s website has a virtual tour of his mansion filled with easter eggs and links to purchase merch scattered around his house. Read more → complex
Restaurants near Hollywood studios are reportedly experiencing a 5 to 20% decline in sales due to the writers strike and the lack of big takeout orders for productions. Read more → thr
Fashion & E-Commerce
Americans spent over $6.4 billion on the first day of Amazon’s two-day Prime Day event, with the average order totaling $56.64. Read more → techcrunch
Roku and Shopify are teaming up to make products available on the Shopify storefront purchasable right from Roku’s remote. Read more → theinformation
Kim Kardashian is in talks to buy back a minority stake in her beauty brand SKKN from Coty. Read more → bof
Tech, Web3, & AI
In an effort to “build in public,” Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg admitted the platform is losing $30 million every year. Read more → techcrunch
There’s a generational divide when it comes to how to read: boomers love using a Kindle, while millennials are all about the tried-and-true physical book. Read more → wsj
Bumble is enlisting Barbie and Ken to help users break the ice. Read more → techcrunch
Creator Economy
TikTok debuted a brick-and-mortar shopping location in London for creators and merchants to meet IRL. Read more → tubefilter
A F*ck You, Pay Me survey found Walmart, Adobe, Target, McDonald’s, and Nike are the top five highest-paying brands for creators. Read more → insider
Danny and Michael Philippou, the minds behind the YouTube prank channel RackaRacka, co-directed the best-reviewed horror film of the year, Talk To Me, which will be released later this month by A24. Read more → tubefilter
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.