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In other news… SEC cracks down on Hollywood NFT projects, Metaphysic helps stars copyright their AI likeness, and TikTok collabs with Billboard.
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ENTERTAINMENT
All Stoner Cats go to heaven // Illustration by Kate Walker
The SEC may have just canceled Hollywood NFT projects
The Future. Stoner Cats, the starry six-episode animated Web3 series, was made an example of by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the agency’s new mandate to treat every crypto but Bitcoin as an unregistered security. While the fate of crypto assets will ultimately still need to be determined by the courts, the ruling may end Hollywood’s willingness to experiment with the technology and cancel promising in-the-works indie projects like Runner and The Fringe.
Sobering sanctions
The SEC just snuffed out Stoner Cats, the animated series created by Ash Brannon, Chris Cartagena, and Sarah Cole.
The agency charged the production company, Stoner Cats 2 LLC, with “conducting an unregistered offering of crypto asset securities.”
That’s because not only did actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis star in and promote the series that required an NFT to watch, but they also touted the future profit potential of the NFT.
Why does that matter? The cast and crew were paid with the token proceeds and royalties from secondary market sales, so promoting the NFT’s future value allegedly drove sales and inflated the price — the project sold out of 10,000 NFTs in 35 minutes, raising $8 million back in 2021. The SEC alludes that if the tokens were just marketed as “collectibles,” then maybe they wouldn’t have been targeted. (But, let’s be real, NFTs have never been just collectibles).
Although Stoner Cats didn’t admit to any wrongdoing (because the rules that now govern NFTs are very different than a couple of years ago), the producers agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty, establish a fund to pay back the affected investors, and destroy all Stoner Cat NFTs.
The blockchain is definitely not forever.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Hanks.AI // Illustration by Kate Walker
Metaphysic is helping stars own their AI likeness
The Future. Metaphysic, the AI company behind @DeepTomCruise and the de-aging VFX for Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming film Here, is rolling out a tool for talent to create and copyright their digital likeness. CEO Tom Graham has been showing off the possibilities of the tech by undergoing the process himself… though it’s unclear if Graham ever did receive copyright on his double (it’s complicated). But if he did, the company may be pushed into the spotlight, as the use of AI remains one of the key sticking points in the ongoing actors strike.
Copy copyright
Metaphysic released a new tool that could allow anyone to copyright their AI clones (which, yeah, feels like something right out of a sci-fi movie).
Metaphysic Pro allows anyone to make a digital double of themselves and “personally register their copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.”
It also provides a platform to “create, store, and protect their personal biometric data and manage how it’s used by third parties and generative AI to build photorealistic performances, digital identities, and AI avatars.”
In other words, it’s a suite of tools for consent and compensation when it comes to a person’s likeness being used in any AI context — you just need to make a clone in order to unlock those protections. How’s that for a chicken or an egg debate.
Metaphysic says stars like Tom Hanks, Octavia Spencer, and Anne Hathaway are already users of the tech. To note, they’re all CAA clients, likely due to Metaphysic’s strategic partnership with the agency.
So, don’t be surprised if CAA leads the charge on getting Hollywood talent scanned and secured as studios experiment with how AI can be leveraged for their productions.
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MUSIC
Courtesy of TikTok
TikTok collabs with Billboard on a top music chart
The Future. TikTok and Billboard’s new Top 50 list is the first to track music engagement on the app. While it only charts US listenership, a worldwide rollout is inevitable. But more importantly, the chart is another step in TikTok’s plan to become the home for discovering and monetizing music online.
Short-form hits
TikTok and Billboard are cementing their relationship to measure music popularity on the app.
They’ve launched a Top 50 chart that’s accessible on the TikTok app and on Billboard’s website.
The songs are selected by measuring the number of videos made with them, how many views they’ve received, and the amount of user engagement.
The chart, which will be updated every Thursday, only takes into account songs played by US-based users.
The first chart, which dropped yesterday, was led by Sexxy Red’s “SkeeYee,” which is no surprise for the TikTok sensation who’s been opening for Drake on his tour.
Prepare for this chart to become the hot list to track Gen Z listening trends.
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Spotify is debuting customizable “Songwriter Promo Cards” that finally shine a spotlight on the talent behind the lyrics. Read more → techcrunch
AMC escaped potential bankruptcy thanks to a stock pop after raising fresh cash… keeping the largest cinema chain in the US alive while studios shift release dates due to the strikes. Read more → deadline
FaZe Clan, the once high-flying livestreaming/esports/lifestyle brand, has fired its CEO after its stock crashed to pennies. Read more → bloomberg
Fashion & E-Commerce
Apple is getting rid of leather across the board, from Apple Watch bands to try-on mats at its retail stores. Read more → bof
LA streetwear brand Born X Raised is collabing with the LA Rams on a new capsule collection. Read more → hypebeast
adidas made a running shoe that’s so high-tech and weighs so little, it costs $500. Read more → highsnobiety
Tech, Web3, & AI
Microchip designer Arm’s IPO is so successful that it’s now valued at $69 billion, with its stock closing 25% above its initial asking price. Read more → wsj
AI company Strada has raised a $1.9 million pre-seed round to develop a marketplace of AI tools to speed up the production and post-production grunt work that pretty much no one enjoys doing. Read more → thr
NASA has hired a research director dedicated to investigating UFO sightings. Read more → bloomberg
Creator Economy
Despite mostly wanting to work with micro-influencers a couple of years ago, Linqui has found brands are more interested in working with macro-influencers now. Read more → insider
Artlist is offering a single $100,000 grant for a creator to execute their “edgiest, craziest, most over-the-top idea” (we’ll see how that pans out). Read more → tubefilter
X likely won’t experience a Christmas miracle when it comes to ad revenue this year. Read more → bloomberg
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Melody Song. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.