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Down to Earth. After spending a record-setting 371 days in space, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio stepped foot on Earth yesterday for the first time in over a year. Apparently, his mission was extended six months after a micrometeorite damaged his return vessel back in March. Yikes. Talk about a flight delay.
Side note: Don’t miss your chance to win a new Apple Watch Series 8 in our latest giveaway! The contest ends on October 2nd. And congrats to Terrance T. for winning our recent getaway to beautiful Jamaica. You earned it.
In other news… the WGA agrees to a tentative deal with the studios, Ticketmaster takes on scalpers, and teens need a digital detox.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Pencils up // Illustration by Kate Walker
Writers craft the future of Hollywood with a new contract
The Future. As of yesterday, the writers strike is finally over. In its contract negotiation with the AMPTP, the WGA was able to make gains for every sector of its membership while also protecting the profession’s future — a spectacular show of worker solidarity rippling across industries. While the road to getting the deal was as dramatic as any HBO drama, the result may mean a lot more writers will be able to earn a living writing on HBO dramas.
Picket power
Here are some of the key wins the WGA achieved after 148 days on strike.
AI. The WGA was able to codify that a professional writer must be human, and material generated by AI can’t be considered “literary, source, or assigned material.” Meanwhile, studios gained protections around their ultimate ownership of a script’s copyright.
Streaming transparency. The WGA will get a full breakdown of viewership numbers for original high-budget titles but can only present the data in an “aggregated form” to membership — so the black box is broken a little open but not completely.
Streaming residuals. The WGA negotiated a viewership-based bonus on top of the typical residual (royalty payout) that rewards writers in success. It also got a major bump to the residual tied to global subscribers.
Minimum TV staffing. Initially seen as a non-starter for studios, the WGA was able to ensure a minimum number of writers that must be hired in writers rooms. The only exception is for shows with a single writer (a rare occurrence).
Screenwriter protections. In an effort to curb the rise of free work in feature film writing, writers are now required to be hired for “two steps” and get paid more of their fee while they’re working, not after.
The full list of gains shows every “existential” issue plaguing Hollywood writers was addressed — issues that developed over the last decade’s rush into streaming, according to WGA President Meredith Stiehm.
While the final deal still needs to be ratified by the membership (voting takes place from October 2nd to 9th), that’s seen as basically a sure thing. As a vote of confidence, writers are already permitted to return to work.
But, the town awaits for a deal to be made with SAG-AFTRA before Hollywood is truly back in force.
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MUSIC
Gutting scalpers // Illustration by Kate Walker
Ticketmaster tries a new anti-scalping policy for Olivia Rodrigo’s tour
The Future. Ticketmaster doesn’t want another TSwift situation with Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming Guts tour, so it’s implementing some changes that could cut off scalping. If the plan decreases scalping and makes it easier for actual fans to secure seats, scoring last-minute tickets at absurd prices may soon be a thing of the past.
No more Sour taste
Olivia Rodrigo fans will be eagerly refreshing their inboxes a few days before scheduled concerts.
Ticketmaster won’t send customers tickets until 72 hours before the show… and they’ll only be sent electronically.
The hope is by crunching down the window when scalpers can feasibly resell tickets on the secondary market, fewer will even attempt to buy tickets en masse when they originally go on sale.
While Ticketmaster has piloted this system with shows by Doja Cat and Ed Sheeran, according to Forbes, the Rodrigo tour is expected to be the largest test case. If successful, it would likely be a blueprint for tours moving forward.
And, it could be a key bargaining chip in courting favor with both customers and the government.
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Mad Men AI
Not everyone can have a Don Draper in their lives. That’s why so many brands are hitting up AI to create ads that work.
Treat’s AI analyzes your existing creative to find high-converting design elements that resonate with your customers, so you know what you need to power your ad creative strategy.
With these mad skills, you can:
Cut product photography production costs
Spend less time debating creative
Test new design concepts in record time
SOCIAL MEDIA
Always blowing up
Teens are constantly getting notifications
The Future. Kids these days are getting simply too many notifications, according to a new study from Common Sense Media. The findings highlight how overly-connected teens are, not allowing for even a minute of unadulterated silence. In an act of true counter-culture, the barrage of home-screen banners may push people to join the nascent log-off movement… just so they can hear themselves think again.
Endless vibration
Teens may really be in need of a digital detox.
The average kid in the US between the ages of 11 and 17 receives at least 237 notifications a day — mostly messages from friends or memes on socials — while some even receive an eye-watering 5,000 per day.
Most get the bulk of notifications in the evening, with 5% even occurring after kids go to sleep (with 49% saying it sometimes keeps them up at night).
The major issue with this onslaught of dings is each one starts acting as a dopamine hit for kids, which could lead to unhealthy habits.
Case in point: 58% report they sometimes spend less time with friends so they can be on their phones, while 30% use their phones to avoid their feelings.
Additionally, the study tracked which apps teens spent the most time on. Unsurprisingly, TikTok and YouTube led the pack, with kids spending 38% and 18% of their day on the platforms.
What’s surprising, though, is Instagram and Snapchat (long seen as a Gen Z stronghold) are starting to shed teen engagement, with kids spending just 5.9% and 3.6% of their day on the app. No wonder Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is looking to gear the app more towards older users.
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Skin care for men is changing
Dudes deal with skin issues, too. But they haven’t traditionally had a zillion products like the gals… until now. According to a report by Grand View Research, men’s skin care is projected to register the fastest growth in the personal grooming segment from 2022 to 2030.
That means brands that aren’t already offering skin care for men are about to jump on the bandwagon. But will they have done enough to address the distinct skin care challenges men face, or are they just trying to nab a piece of the pie?
Tiege Hanley is a company that’s been focused on men’s skin care since 2016. They’ve created a perfect skin care routine, complete with a daily face wash, exfoliating scrub, and AM/PM moisturizers.
Don’t just take our word for it. Tiege Hanley has over 7,000 five-star reviews from men around the globe.
So, as more and more products hit the market, we plan on staying true to Tiege Hanley cause we love ‘em. And they must love us, too, because right now, TFP readers can get 30% off plus a free gift.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
With the writers strike over, TV late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air starting Monday, October 2nd. Read more → variety
Hero of the strike: comedian, actor, and radio host Drew Carey, who let WGA members eat for free (tip included) at his Bob’s Big Boy and Swingers restaurants in LA since May 19th. Read more → thr
Writer Mario Gabriele argues A24’s strategy playbook is an effective mix of Disney and LVMH. Read more → thegeneralist
Fashion & E-Commerce
Wes Anderson’s immaculately practical designs in Asteroid City have taken over Milan, Italy’s famous Fondazione Prada. Read more → hypebeast
H&M, the second-largest brand in the world, is beefing up security in its stores in response to a major uptick in shoplifting. Read more → bof
Yaysay, an AI-powered shopping app, gives customers only 30 minutes to buy items from a daily curated selection. Read more → techcrunch
Tech, Web3, & AI
Meta has enlisted over a dozen celebrities and influencers to voice a roster of AI-powered chatbots that have “distinct personalities, opinions, and interests.” Read more → variety
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design honcho Jony Ive have been discussing creating an AI hardware device (we’ll assume it’s an embodied ChatGPT). Read more → theinformation
Binance, the biggest crypto firm in the world, is crumbling… which may help other exchanges gain power or just take the whole crypto industry down with it. Read more → wsj
Creator Economy
MrBeast raked in a massive $82 million in earnings over the past year — more than double any other digital creator. Read more → variety
Linktree’s annual Creator Report found 40% of people are overwhelmed by all the people and media that make up the “attention economy.” Read more → tubefilter
Google Podcasts is shutting down to build up YouTube Music. Read more → techcrunch
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Western Union
Madrid, ES
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Phoenix, AZ
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The Travelers Companies
Morristown, NJ
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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.