Transcript 0:00 Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the Headline Hammer. 0:07 With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. 0:18 That means less time on the work around the work, and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. 0:30 That's goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. [upbeat music] Wheelhouse DNA. [upbeat music] Hi, everyone. My name is Boye Kolade. And I'm Chris Sawtelle. 0:45 And welcome to the Future Forecast, a podcast where we explore the intersection between business, technology, and entertainment. 0:51 If you don't know me, I'm the co-founder and president of The Future Party, which is a community-based media company for creative professionals. 0:58 We have a daily newsletter where we talk about culture and technology, and we host a ton of different community events across the country. 1:05 And I'm the co-founder and CEO of Crossthink Studios, a Gen Z media company built by Gen Z for Gen Z. 1:11 At The Future Party, we are so proud of the business and the community we've built, so we had the idea to create this show to dissect and explain some of our most interesting stories. 1:20 The Future Forecast is brought to you by Wheelhouse DNA and Acast. Today, we're looking ahead. 1:25 We're gonna talk about the band Kiss making the move to digital-only performances, how Drake's new amusement park isn't really what it seems to be, and the reveal of the first Grand Theft Auto game in 10 years. Yes. 1:39 [laughs] But first, but first, but first... But first... Let's catch up. Let's catch up. This is episode one. Ev- dude, I cannot say enough how excited I am- Yeah... to start this off. I, I'm so stoked. 1:54 I mean, we've been talking about this for literally a year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the thing that it's been a real r- a year now, and I mean, this has been a baby and a vision for you for quite some time. I mean, not... 2:06 Forget the pod, but building not only Future Party, but building your own brand- Yeah... we've had deep conversations about for a while. I mean, we had. 2:15 I mean, I think for me it was, like, I don't know if, if New Year's res- resolution was, is the right word, but wanting to create more content as a thought leader- Yeah... 2:26 is something I feel like a lot of people in our industry really strive or want to do, but sometimes have these, like, mental blocks and barriers. And I think, you know, I'll raise my hand. 2:37 Like, sometimes I'm active, I've moderated things, but it's still a lot to put yourself out there on social media, which I know, like you said, we've talked about. 2:45 I feel an incredible, immense amount of social pressure- Yeah... to create that content. Mm-hmm. I, I, for anyone that's listening that could relate to this, I don't, I don't really necessarily want to- Yep... 2:59 if I'm being honest. Yeah. It's just the feeling that I have to- Yeah... in order to n- be the best business person and marketer for the business that I'm- Yeah... in. 3:10 Well, there's a term, people follow people, not brands or businesses or whatever, and honestly, I feel very similar. And I- don't get me wrong, there, there are elements of fun, but- Yeah... 3:20 to a degree also, it's, it's work. It takes time to create content that people respect. You know, 'cause we also live in an, an industry where people can be judgy. One minute you're in, the next day you're out. 3:31 [laughs] The next day you're out. 3:33 I think that's why I kinda like this format, because we're just talking as homies, and essentially every week you and I, uh, maybe some guests, uh, maybe some people from our teams, will talk about three main, huge topics that happened at the intersection of business and culture. 3:50 Uh, we have a daily newsletter that we write. We can pick things out of that, we can pick things out of just what's, whatever's trending on TikTok and Instagram, and then we'll just dive in. 3:59 We'll talk about what makes sense, the reasons, the whys, and hopefully add some value to people's lives. Yeah, I love that. Let's do it. Kiss, the rock band, is transforming into a digital-only band, 4:14 and here are the details. 4:15 So the legendary rock band, let's call them legendary, Kiss just finished the final show of their farewell tour at Madison Square Garden this week, and they had a pretty unique announcement to share with their audience. 4:27 So basically, they were like, "This isn't our last tour, uh, but it's gonna be our last tour in person." 4:34 And at the end of the show, the band walked off stage, and then a new version of Kiss revealed themselves as digital avatars on the stage. And so big reveal, they're now going to tour as a digital act. 4:45 Similar to kinda what, what, what ABBA did, um, with sort of their ABBA Voyage. Are you familiar with that? Uh, I've, I have done my research on it. Yeah, so ABBA Voyage, uh, created, you know, with the band in mind. 4:58 It's, uh, a venue around London. Uh, it cost a lot of money to create, like $175 million. And it's basically a place where you can see ABBA as virtual avatars. What is your feeling on that? That's a great question. 5:14 I mean, I think, uh, we are in general in an interesting day and age. I think there's a lot of 5:23 AI, virtual reality, hologram-type things happening, and so it's really unique to see it, uh, happening in the live experience entertainment industry. Uh, I think about The Sphere, right? Like, it's- Oh, yeah... 5:38 it's not necessarily, like, avatars, but it's larger than life technological- Yeah... experience. And when I think about the avatars, you know, with ABBA, with Kiss, I, I think we're gonna see more. I really do. 5:51 Like, we're gonna bring back Elvis. We're gonna, you know, bring back Frank Sinatra. Like, I think people are going to want to live these, these musicians in the same way that we listen to vinyl. 6:04 What would be an act that you would go to, you Boye would go to-... uh, that you would, like, wanna see come back? I, I think, like, a Bob Marley would be really interesting. Whoa. 6:15 Yeah, I think that would be, like, a very fun, fun show. [laughs] Yeah. Um- Yeah? Yeah... I'm, I'm- I think you're telling the audience a lot about yourself right now... 6:24 No, I mean, like, I just think he's got amazing music and, um, I think he represented a lot of things, not just weed. [laughs] But [laughs] uh, but I, I don't know. How about you? Who, who would you wanna see? 6:39 As I was asking you that question, I was like, "Who would really go do that? Is that something that you really would wanna go see or go do?" And ironically, you literally s- you said Frank Sinatra. Yeah. 6:51 And it made me go... I was like, "Do I need to watch an avatar and all the stuff?" It feels a little bit like that, like, robotic presidents kind of performance thing. Yeah. That it reminds me of, like- Yeah... 7:02 that they did in the '70s or, or '80s, that Disney did. Who wouldn't wanna see the Rat Pack talking and doing their schtick- Yep... 7:12 and feeling like you're thrown back to that time and place as, at a jazz bar for piano night? That is a very- Yeah... like, that's a fun one-time thing, almost like it's Cirque du Soleil, I guess. Yeah. 7:25 No, I think, I think you mentioning Cirque du Soleil is very interesting, because I think that's very like a in- it's an experience where we're watching. 7:34 Imagine what can now happen with advanced technology with the interactivity of these avatars. Like, what will the new age karaoke room look like? Like, you know- Oh, wow... 'cause one of my go-to songs is Frank Sinatra. 7:49 Is it really? Yeah. So, like, I'm just thinking, like, there could be a world where you're not just singing along with the lyrics, you're singing along with these stars. 7:58 And one of the reasons why I'm thinking about this, there was a, a play, uh, and, and, and work with me here, it, it, it's called Cages. It was really big right before the pandemic here in LA. Okay. 8:10 And it was a holographic play. And it's this really cool thing set in this like- Meaning the actor, just for clarity- Yeah... the actors were holograms? Some of them. So there was a main character. 8:23 He was real, but everything else, or most everything else except for maybe some extras, were holographic. So he would interact with another main character that was a hologram, and it looked so real. 8:37 And it was doing so well, I think it actually might have moved to London. Wow. So we're probably going to see more of that, to be honest. The only thing I'll, I'll really hit on here. Yeah. What's interesting is 8:48 it creates more competition- Yeah... for live events- Yeah... if you're bringing back acts like an Elvis. The estates, I can't imagine the estates not wanting to make money. Oh, they're so happy right now. 9:01 Oh, beyond belief. I don't know if I would say that I think that this is something, say, Taylor Swift is gonna go take her act and then make it more available for people. 9:11 I guess someone could take that as a moment to- Yeah... recreate their tour and make it available like the movie. Yeah. That's, that's actually a good point. I agree. 9:19 Like, if you're alive, maybe you don't wanna do that right now, but that's kinda why I mentioned the karaoke room thing. What about pop-ups? What about, like, micro events? 9:27 Obviously, it's not gonna replace the real thing. If you're a deal maker, this only really highlights name and likeness clauses in contracts- Yeah... or name and likeness rights- Yeah... skyrocketing now more than ever. 9:41 Oh, yeah. And I think, too, like we were talking about estates, though, everyone's selling their catalog. Yeah. Now it's like, whoa, I can, I can still tour [laughs] you know? Mm-hmm. 9:51 And I think that's wild, and these things are making money. ABBA made, like, $150 million. I think their tour has made $200 million as real-life people. But something that just for us to think about as we proceed forward 10:05 is there are only so many gigantic acts- Yes... that can command that type of thing, like an ABBA or like a Beatles- Yes... or a, or a Kiss. Yeah. 10:17 And I think as technology advances, the cost to create that thing will go down, which will make it more advantageous for maybe smaller acts and smaller audiences. 10:26 But I, I think it's gonna be a really interesting wild world, um, that we're, we're going into. [static] One artist that we both like- [laughs] Yes... that we both saw at the Super Bowl last year- Yes, very much... 10:40 and, and it was amazing. Drake, our boy Drake, Aubrey Graham. Uh, he just bought an amusement park. I don't know if anyone knew this, but he has an entertainment firm called Dream Crew. 10:51 They recently purchased, uh, the materials from a long-forgotten amusement park called Luna Luna. Uh, and this isn't Disneyland. It's not Six Flags. This is different. It's, like, a unique amusement park experience. 11:06 Luna Luna, um, was originally founded in Hamburg, Germany. It was a brief run, small attraction thing. This is the unique thing. 11:16 It was designed by some of the greatest contemporary artists of the 20th century that we still talk about today, like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Salvador Dali, et cetera, et cetera. Why did Drake buy this? 11:27 Because they're about to pop up, I think they're opening this weekend, actually. They've got, like, a 60,000 square foot space. They're gonna have, like, a bunch of rides. 11:35 I think it's actually kinda cool and unique, especially when you look at the artwork. But I'm like, "Why?" That's something that I'm trying to figure out now. 11:42 I feel like everyone in our age is, like, very much trying to find their why. Yeah. It's a way to, way to really hit hard. Yeah. Let's call up Drake and ask him his why. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Why? 11:52 I guess the better question is why not? Why not? Well, I think, so here's one of my thoughts. 11:59 You know, we kinda just talked about it with the, with the last conversation on Kiss, but generally, we know that the course of an artist is, uh, we start with music, right? A music artist. Uh, we do concerts. 12:12 We do merch. 12:13 And I think when, when musicians really make it, they become businesses and enterprises, and we've already seen musicians create fashion companies and beverages and so on and so forth, and honestly Drake has done it all. 12:27 But the experience, I think, is one that's a little untapped. So we've seen Tyler, the Creator with Camp Flog Gnaw, Travis Scott with Astroworld. I'm sure there's so many others. 12:37 I don't know if LUNA LUNA's gonna turn into OVO slash Drake's like huge concert festival, but it's really interesting to see that these artists are creating IP around experiences and bringing people together. 12:51 Maybe it's their-- his way of getting into the hospitality game. My why not would be, you know, yes, Drake has already accomplished so many things. 13:00 He is an arbiter of culture, or an arbiter of taste, and also is perpetuating culture, pushing it forward every, every month. You know, he's trending, he's always in the conversation, he's crushing it. 13:13 But you get to a point where I'm sure you're challenged with the question of, "What am I saying today?" Mm-hmm. Or, "Why am I saying something?" And 13:24 as you're building your-- As you continue to build your brand, or as you have your brand, you're continuing to cultivate both your community, but that community then needs to become a universe. Mm-hmm. 13:33 And so when I think of LUNA LUNA or whatever they're gonna call this something now, I, I definitely am gonna go visit it. Yeah. I would definitely go- Same, why not?... one date night. Why not? Uh, 13:43 I guess the question then relies on what does this mean for Drake's universe as he continues to build? Is this how he plays to millennials pursuing forward who are looking for new, fun activations? 13:56 Like this to me sounds very art-focused, art-driven. Yeah. It sounds niche just by the nature of like Salvador Dali- Yeah... and being brought to the masses, hopefully. Yeah, yeah. 14:10 But it also sounds like it could be very expensive. One thing I'm curious about is how he layers in the rest of his universe. The nature of LUNA LUNA doesn't seem like- Yeah... 14:20 a festival where like there's gonna be performances. Yeah. But the artist element, right, you have these age-old artists. 14:27 You know, maybe there's a way where he can weave in new age artists and give artists a chance to sort of be weaved into the rides and, and things like that. 14:36 Like what w- could he collaborate with Ai Weiwei or ThankYouX or whoever, or NFT, you know, Y or B? And I think maybe there's something bigger here that we're not seeing. 14:48 Like I wonder what else Dream Crew is gonna be up to. I think, too, like we have a parent company, they're called NVE, they're great. They have a, a saying, "The, the right moment will transform someone forever." 15:01 And I, I love it. It's a very profound thought, right? And I think this is a move to be involved in transforming people, and I think it's the same thing Disney does. 15:13 You know, it's the same thing, not to be weird, Chuck E. Cheese does. It's like creating these serendipitous moments and, and I think it's, it's interesting to see. 15:22 I, I, I won't be surprised if we see more celebrities, people like Drake, doing things like this. Yeah. Yeah, I'm excited to see it. [static sound] [chiming] Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. 15:38 Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, The Headline Hammer. 15:44 With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. 15:55 That means less time on the work around the work, and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. 16:06 That's goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. [chiming] The GTA VI trailer just leaked. It's blowing up the internet. 16:16 Uh, if you didn't know, the last GTA game, GTA V, was created a decade ago, and Rockstar recently put out the trailer for GTA VI earlier than expected due to a quote-unquote leak. Quote-unquote. Quote-unquote. Come on. 16:33 And the trailer reveals that the game will be released 2025. Uh, it's really interesting. The trailer's already hit 107 million views on YouTube, which is bonkers. Wow. But here's the catch. 16:45 The last GTA trailer took that many years to reach- Really?... 100 million. Yeah, 'cause if you look at them on YouTube, there's GTA V which is 100 million-ish views, and the new GTA VI which has been out a couple days. 17:01 Uh- Did you see that when it leaked, uh, Rock-- When it leaked, Rockstar had to tweet out, "Hey, all. We know it leaked. Please watch it on our YouTube." 17:11 [laughing] So- Because they wanted to make some of the AdSense money back. That's funny. Yeah. But you know what? I, like- [laughing]... 17:19 diving a little deeper, I wouldn't be surprised if that in and of itself was orchestrated. Oh, really? Yeah. The game is not supposed to come out till 20, uh, 25. 17:28 They've just recently released it, so why is it a big deal? Some, some stats. It's the most-- one of the most popular games of all time. Uh, GTA V was released in 2013 and set a sales record by earning $815.7 million 17:47 in one day, the highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours according to the Guinness World Records. So look, the hype is huge. 17:57 The trailer, uh, that Rockstar told everyone to go watch on their YouTube has over 107 million views. It's obviously getting a lot of attention. So we were kinda talking earlier about their marketing. 18:11 I think that was planted. I think they're like, "It, it's about to leak. Like we're gonna..." I-- Like the storyline- I just feel like they're, they're so smart. 18:20 So, one little meme I saw, last night actually, uh, was someone talking about how the, the trailer is co-opting a lot of Florida Man memes. Yeah. 18:32 And they, they posted the, the Florida Man actual moments next to the moments in the trailer. Like, that's not someone just discovering that there's, like, literally, like, 10 different Florida Man themes. 18:44 That's Rockstar actually being like, "Okay, let's do this, let's do that." But I would say that also is a, really great example of how meta we as a society are now. Because people just- Yeah... 18:56 wanna cover the headline- Yeah... to also then monetize their own review- Yep... of what's happening. Yeah. The hyperrealism of that trailer is bonkers. Yeah. 19:06 Like, it's like real life, and I think it, I think there's, like, a deep, profound nature to how we should think through [laughs] playing more or less, like, a shooting game that, like, feels like you're real. 19:21 That's the thing that scares me the most about playing. Uh, I have played GTA in the past, way back when I was a kid. 19:28 I'm gonna figure out a way to play it, either whether I purchase it, or I'm at my brother's and I play at his house- Yep... for a couple hours. 19:35 I wanna experiment with it, no different than experimenting with any technology. Mm-hmm. 19:39 But I do think that it's, to your point about graphics, as graphics get better and better and you're basically simulating real life, at what point 19:50 when you're pulling up a gun on a police officer, at what point are you truly just living that life- Yeah... vicariously through the actions you're playing through your avatar? Well, it's funny that you mention that. 20:03 Uh, Elon Musk tweeted, he's like, "I can't play GTA because I don't like doing crime." Like, he, he felt uncomfortable shooting cops, and I, I, I kinda get it. 20:14 Like, when they feel so real it's like, what are you, like, really sort of imparting into the world? 20:21 And look, there have been studies that people feel like there's no sort of causality behind, like, playing shooting games or crime games or GTA and actual crime. 20:32 But I think there's something to be said about, like, what does it do for the psyche, because people go ballistic for this game. Yeah. 20:39 I guess one counter, uh, as, as we talk about this, one counterpoint against would be, well, what about police officers that do simulations in order to practice or train for themselves? 20:52 I was thinking about, I'm thinking about the application to VR, like what are the implications of this if once Unreal Engine gets implanted into, like, Meta or Apple Glasses or things like that. Yeah. 21:02 Not to get too far off topic, but what happens when you're playing a VR headset game and you're, and the graphics are at the same level of a GTA? Yeah. 21:13 I, I mean, one could argue it, it, at least in the sort of example or the conversation about training police officers, maybe it will train them better. [laughs] But, like, you know, 'cause they're like, it's- Woo!... 21:29 it, it's, like, more visceral. Episode one. [laughs] Boye Kaeman for the boys in blue, let's do it. [laughs] I like it. I like it. Um... Ready Player One, it's really, it's a tier. It, it is. 21:40 Between Kiss and Drake buying weird things [laughs] and, and GTA, I think, uh- GTA recreating Florida. Yeah. [laughs] That's really- That's really-... that's really what we needed... yeah. 21:51 We will, uh, we'll have to play the game. We'll have to see what's up. [static] All right, Chris, it's about that time. I'm ready. I'm ready. What, what time is it? It's hot take time. Woo! 22:02 [laughs] This is the time where we talk about our hot takes and make predictions of the future. And then in subsequent episodes, we're going to see who was right or wrong. They better be good. 22:14 Well, they're gonna be hot takes. Well, I mean, I know my takes are gonna be hot, but the question is, like, are you gonna have any? I guess we'll have to see. In staying in the same tonality of GTA- Yep... 22:24 I predict that GTA will make it available for cryptocurrency to be used in in-game purchases. Nice. Or in, in, in, yeah, in-game purchasing. Very nice. Very nice. I, I could see that. 22:37 So question- Oh, but I have to think about that 'cause that's 2025, though, huh? Oh, yeah. Well, no, they could announce it. Okay. If they're releasing trailers two years ahead. They could announce that. Yeah. You know? 22:46 But do you feel that they're gonna create their own, or they're going to allow you to buy in, like, Bitcoin or Solana or whatever? Oh, that's interesting. I, I'm saying I don't think that they'll predict... 22:58 I don't think that they'll create their own. I think it's to their benefit to make it available to- Yeah... all, any and all shitcoins. Yeah. All right. GTA could single-handedly make everyone rich. My prediction. 23:10 Uh, here's my caveat, like, this might- Oh, here we go. Well- There's a caveat. There's a caveat because this prediction may not happen in a quarter, right? 23:19 So I'm, I might just be handicapping myself, but it's one that, like, in two years I would like to be like, "Hey, remember that one time?" You know? Or maybe honestly even in, in a decade. 23:31 But we're talking about experiences. Uh, I mentioned Disney before. Uh, I recently went to this really cool event, uh, that will.i.am did with Van Jones. [laughs] And, uh- You're such a nerd... 23:44 [laughs] weird- You're such a nerd... weird combination. But, um, it was, uh, I think the theme was, like, Make Wakanda Real. 23:51 But it just got me thinking, and I've actually thought about this before, right now Disney has theme parks around the world. You know, it's like the Magic Kingdom in Paris and in Japan. But there's nothing in Africa. 24:04 What if Disney created Wakanda as a theme park in an African nation 24:13 and made it a school at the same time, like a, like almost like MIT, that would train the smartest African people, who would then work on the park and legitimately make Wakanda real? 24:26 I hate you 'cause it's just a cool prediction. Whether it comes to life or not- [laughs]... it's just a cool way to be looking at the world. Yeah. And going, like, "What if that happened?" I think it will happen. 24:39 I think it will happen. With the schools and everything else? Yeah. I think it's gonna happen. Do you, did Will.i.am tell you this? Is that what happened? No. Like, do you have insider knowledge? 24:46 I'm, I'm just willing it to existence because it- it's, like, it's smart. Yeah, it is smart. 24:51 It's, like, the only hurdle is, like, finding the right African nation, the right people to trust, because it's a whole different continent. But, like, China's investing in Africa so much, like, America should be. 25:03 It's, like, literally the next horizon of, of earth minerals, of innovation, of population. Like, build Wakanda. Like, it's there, and I think it could do so much. 25:15 In fact, the African continent, I know, like, Nigeria, where I was born and where I'm from, you know, they have this thing called the public-private partnership where they want private companies to work with the government to do unique things. 25:28 Right. Um, and I think so many African nations [laughs] are in debt to China because China's investing in so much infrastructure. 25:35 I think it's just gonna be a matter of what do those countries and those businesses, what risks do they wanna take investing in sort of a new landscape? So... 25:47 If I can also throw out, if you have anyone, any, all of our listeners, if you have any predictions, any, uh, hot takes, please throw them in the comments. Yes. We'd love to hear yours. 25:58 We can talk about them in the future, and maybe we give our comments and, and, and thoughts on whether we actually believe that your predictions will come true. Yes, and maybe we'll steal some. Yeah. 26:08 And say they're ours. [laughs] But no, uh, we will give credit, but also, like, let us know if, what you think of our hot takes. 26:16 We encourage all of you listeners to, uh, find us wherever podcasts can be listened to, subscribe, uh, to the newsletter, find us on social media. We're gonna be doing this week in, week out. 26:28 In fact, you're traveling next week, and I'm traveling the week after. [laughs] And we're gonna figure it out, though. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So tune in, Future Forecast. Uh, see you next week. 26:38 [upbeat music] The Future Forecast is produced by Wheelhouse DNA for Acast. Our executive producers are me, Boye Kolade, along with Fanny Baudry, Cassie Berman, and Leah Sutherland. Our audio producer is Kiara Noni. 26:53 Our audio engineer is Matthew Blocka. Our editor is Nick Kursiemy. The podcast is hosted by yours truly, Boye Kolade, and Chris Sawtelle. Thanks for listening, and see you next time. 27:04 [upbeat music] [upbeat jingle] Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, The Headline Hammer. 27:21 With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. 27:32 That means less time on the work around the work, and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. 27:43 That's goo.gle/workspacewithgemini. [upbeat jingle] This show is brought to you by The Future Party and Crosstalk Studios. Produced by Chris Sawtelle, Boye Kolade, and Paul York. 27:55 Special shout-out to our production team, Araceli Rubalcava, Max Goolen, Shannon Kline, and Eli Tafur.
