issue 168
Hello and Happy New Year! The news didn’t stop for two and a half weeks, even though I (mostly) did, so this note is extra long and will get chopped by your email service. You can just click “issue 168” in the title to scroll through all the links. Fun fact, I think you can do this with most email subscriptions and the admin won’t be able to track your clicks. Or you could just use a dummy, fake email address for your newsletters to be anonymous (I do).
If you want to read about industry stuff and not personal whereabouts with surfing, skip the three paras below “moving on”. In any event, I want to highlight that Netflix has a tech blog that I religiously follow. They recently published an article on how they use machine learning to support content decision-making. It’s well worth the read.
Also, shamelessly signal boosting my first portfolio company: Hovercast, a groundbreaking interactive live events platform, which found itself in good company with Sundance and New York Comic Con in a just-published article in Wired. I want to get them more into streaming theatre, concerts, & festivals… hit me up if you work in those areas (reply directly). They recently produced livestreams with the creators of Hamilton and Elf, and for massive companies like Comcast and Amazon. They’re best in class.
Moving on…
I spent the holidays in north New Zealand camping and teaching my friends’ un-disciplined kids how to surf. I grew up at the beach. Lessons learned from surf culture are stitched into my DNA. There is such a thing as surf etiquette. Spicoli and that babbling “so pitted” idiot who went viral a decade ago tarnished our rep. I’ve been smacked and dunked once or twice in my day for not following the code of conduct, which is called ‘a licking’ in Hawaii. My local spot, Salt Creek, was written about four years ago when some kid got splashed. Did he deserve it? Probably, yeah.
Any who, thought I’d share a few of these guiding ‘principles’ that have pretty much molded me into the person I am today. They seemingly work for the business world as well. Respect - you’ve got to give it to get it. Style is everything. Be original. Speed, progress, always. Know before you go - do your diligence. Commit - go big or go home. Send it for your buddies. Bend at the knees, not the waist - same applies for the dance floor. Walk the walk - stickers on a board (or a resume) don’t mean jack. Never brag. Never claim. Never. And most importantly, have fun. Be in the moment.
I’ve written about surfing in issue 85 about early Uber investors/execs, issue 101 about Surfline (*Chris Erwin just published a solid piece on the Chernin investment), and issue 123 about Nike’s Hurley divestiture and when I was sponsored. People always un-sub when I touch on this subject - that’s fine. This newsletter is just a long con for me to attempt to turn the stereotypical tides. You can scroll through my Insta if you want to find some photo evidence that I, uhm, know how to stand up :)
Back to the task at hand, here are a few industry thoughts and ideas:
Proof of concepts. There will be a rise of the prototype short film using game engines. I know a few instrumental people at studios that are pushing into this field. So am I. (Hint: check out Monomyth!) Concept artists have done this for awhile, but they create stunning animated videos that generally don’t tell a story. Like crappy three panel comics. Usually it’s some callback to Ghost in the Shell or Terminator. Come up with your own material. Writing is the best way to brute-force hack your way into Hollywood… second only to being born rich.
Go indie. Self-publishing and going direct to consumer will seriously grow. Owning your audience has never been more important - Roku has a huge user base so now they’re going full-stack in success by bidding on Quibi content. There could be other mechanisms, like PVOD windows, that could be offered to core, platinum-level fans. Vimeo, NeuLion, or Shift72 will probably build an off-the-shelf product here. Transact, it’s beautiful.
Serials. On the written side, novellas can pop up and be released so easily now - it’s a shame no one hasn’t totally claimed this land. (I think it’s because the masses don’t read that much anyone - they’re training to be back-up dancers on TikTok) It’s pretty simple to record your voice and distribute them as audiobooks too. Prove your worth, grow your own brand. Wave goodbye to the halcyon days of empire… legacy media.
Globalization through localization. First, translate your written works for foreign audiences. Hit publish. Then, find a decent text-to-speech program and voila. You are now self-published worldwide in dozens of languages. Hire local editors on the cheap to spruce it up. Distribute everywhere. Audiences lives on networked factions….
I’m keeping my eyes open for stories that are told through memes and filters that can be selectively shared with some incentive-based referral program. Encouraging online word-of-mouth with your closest friends. Socially-networked stories, spaces, that are living and evolving. Messages -> community -> network -> audience.
To this end, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to do business and help mint people in today’s age. I literally just forward cool writers and filmmakers on social media to my friends who are reps with a “check this out.” Like twenty years ago you needed a reel and someone to snail mail that out for you. The industry, no longer a walled garden, but its people still hoard information refusing to share it down or up in their organization… like, I know this newsletter is rarely forwarded.
Locations. Maps. Malls, or portions of them, will morph into entertainment centers not shopping centers. They will offer event-driven experiences replete with consumerized, gimmicky, Instagram-able & TikTok-able sideshows. They will be ticketed all-day affairs for the family. There will be movies of course. The other portion of the mall will be used for same-day Amazon fulfillment. Fun!
Generative will be the tech buzzword of the year.
These are all plans, not predictions.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Here’s to a big year. See you next week.
Tech
Parsec, cloud gaming tech, raised $25m. TC
RunwayML, ai media creation tools (love - using for a project), raised $8.5m. VB
Blue Wire, sports podcast platform, raised $5m. Axios
Reeltime, social network with experiences, raised $4m. Med
Sorare, ethereum powered sports cards marketplace, raised $4.3m. Sift
Surrogate, remote physical gaming site (almost like Robot Wars), raised $2.5m. TC
Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic launched Wonder Dynamics, AI tools for video with serious advisory board (nice one boys, fun fact - it was called Aether). Var
Discord, chat app mainly used by gamers, raised $100m at $7b val. WSJ
Altitude Angel, drone and UAV sky highways, raised $5.3m. Cision
Lyte, ticketing platform, raised $33m. MBW
Google’s comms teams spruce up AI scientist’s white papers for positive tones. Reut
RecRoom, social gaming in VR, raised $20m. TC
Dash Systems, precision systems for airdrops, raised $8m. TC
Whatnot, livestreamed auctions, raised $4m. TC (use Hovercast)
Eneba, gaming marketplace, raised $8m. TC
Twitter launches Space, voice-based social networking. TC
Ava Labs joins blockchain game alliance. Med
Joro, monitors users’ carbon footprint, raised $2.5m. TC
Tensil, collaborative video editing, raised $3.9m. TC
Fable, web based motion design platform, raised $4.4m. Med
Boxcast, livestream video encoder, raised $20m. TC (use Hovercast)
Storyboard, audio platform for pods, raised $4.5m. BW
Iris Automation, computer vision for drones, raised $13m. TC
Peloton acq Precor for $420m for hotel gym equipment. TC
Apple eyes electric vehicle by 2024. Reut Musk tried to sell Tesla to Apple… EMtwtr
Unity acq RestAR for ai-based 3d capture. BW
FB launches music video app Collab. TC
Chinese regulators prob Jack Ma’s holdings after dispute (yikes). Reut
Lit Videobooks, short animated books, comes out of stealth with angel backing. Med
Unity teams with Snap for games and ads. VB
Hijack Social replaces Twitter ads with to-dos. HJsite
Amazon open sources its maps. AWS
Fable Studios unveils conversational AI agents (mmk). VB
GoDaddy trials faux holiday bonus phishing test on employees, it worked (rude). CC
Alibaba used biased AI on customers. NYT
Google employees form union. NYT
Whirli, toy subscriptions, raised $5m. TEU
Troy Carter’s Q&A launches Venice Innovation Labs. TC
Twitter shutters Periscope. Med
Media
MGM exploring a sale. WSJ
**Roku nears deal to acq Quibi content. WSJ
Amazon Music acq Wondery, podcast network for $300m. Amzn
FB building a Cameo inspired livestream tool to Facetime w/ celebs. Bberg
Tencent consortium invests in Vivendi’s UMG valuing at $37b. Reut
IAC plans to spin off Vimeo (excited about this one). Cision
Discovery buys more of Oprah’s OWN. THR
Wanda and AMC restructure board to make takeovers more difficult. Dead
Excel Sports Agency gets investment from Shamrock. Forbes
Univision plans Spanish streaming service. Bberg
Sid Lee acq Denizen, creative agency. SL
LiveXLive acq CPS for $12m, e-comm merch co. Cision
Walmart partners with TikTok to allow products to be sold. BI
Spotify to integrate ads in due time. Axios
HBO Max finally on Roku. Var
Roc Nation and Penguin House form new imprint. Var
Bytedance in talks to buy stake in CMGE, mobile games pub. Reut
Substack’s view on content moderation and social networking. SSblog
FB feuds with Apple. NYT
Square was kicking the tires on Jay Z’s Tidal (wut?). Bberg
Playtika, mobile gaming giant, files for IPO. VB
ATT disappointed with DirecTV offers. NYP
Bright Lights, TMT SPAC, raised $200m helmed by Mahan of DCP. SEC
David Bradley sells his Atlantic holdings, focused on National Journal. Axios
Prince Harry and Meghan sign Spotify deal. Var
Sloan/Sagansky raising $1.5b SPAC. TDR
Illegal streaming now a felony, thanks to the Covid stimulus. THR
FuboTV considering exclusive sports licenses (LightShed sell research). Axios
Endeavor invests in Bill Duffy’s sports mgmt firm. Var
Epic Games bought a mall. EG
Screen Engine says more ppl watched Wonder Woman than Hamilton, Soul. THR
Invincible acq Business Rockstars for $20m, producer of business content. Var
Axios acq North Carolina’s biggest local publisher for $5m. NYT
NFL ten-year tv rights could be worth $100b. SportsP
Why? NFL has 69 of the 100 most-watched tv broadcasts last year. AA
Ad fraud buying scheme, marketers didn’t realize their ads weren’t being aired (lol). WSJ
Buzzfeed launches its own mobile game. TF
BMI and ASCAP join forces on copyright metrics with Songview, Var
Potential lawsuits against radical right news networks over ‘vote fraud’ misinfo. NYT
Nextstar Media acq consumer products review co BestReviews for $160m. BW
FB developing tool that summarizes articles in headlines or short blurbs (don’t headlines do that?). BF
Eventfund offers capital to event producers. MM
Rappers (Meek Mill, 21 Savage) starting their own music streaming platform (how’d it go for Jay-Z?). HighS
NFL Titans owner sells stake in team to her own fam. Sport
Investor sues Cyberpunk video game developer over botched release. Verge
Blackstone invests in Liftoff, mobile app marketing optimization. BW
Lionsgate restructures MP group. Dead
Alden Global makes offer to acq Tribune Publishing. WSJ
Fox, CNN both topped record years in 2020 (wonder why?). SA
Ye dropped a 5 track EP called Emmanuel. Dead
Comcast’s Freewheel acq Beeswax, programmatic ad. BW
Vice Media launches an OnlyFans (hard times huh?). Axios
Dan Snyder, owns Washington Redskins, in smear campaign with min shareholders. NYT
Penske merges sales and brand partner functions for new publisher brands (Bboard, RS). Axios
Group Nine considers raising SPAC to acq competitors. WSJ
Wisconsin’s pro teams partner and fund Equity League, social impact vc. ESPN
Entertainment
Sundance 2021 lineup. IW
Blacklist winners, and the scripts themselves. BlkLst ZIPfile
AGBO (Russo Bros) raised $50m from Saudis earlier this year. Var
Plan B sets “second look” deal with MGM projects with Cory Finley and Lee Isaac Chung (does this tie into Annapurna’s UA deal w/ MGM?). Dead
CAA reaches deal w/ WGA. Var WME makes a new pitch to them. Dead
Orion / Plan B set Women Talking adaptation w/ Frances and Sarah Polley. Dead
Focus takes WW rights to Branagh’s Belfast w/ Judi Dench, Dornan etc. Dead
Sony eyes adapting its video game properties into film/tv (did they never rly think this before?). Coll
Chris Pine Dungeons and Dragons movie for Paramount (thx Stranger Things) Var
Mark Miller overall deal with Warner Bros TV, joins Peacemaker. Dead
Sam Rockwell producing film and tv show about Carlos Ghosn extraction for MGM/UA. Dead
BBC greenlights Life After Life as four part series with John Crowley and Bash Doran. Dead
Uni options upcoming novel The Maid with Florence Pugh on board. Dead
Glitch in the Matrix hybrid-doc acq by Magnolia. Wrap
Bleeker takes NA rights to Sundance film Together Together. Dead
Universal lands AGBO’s Electric State graphic novel with Millie BB. Dead
Skydance Animation and Apple in talks to partner on Luck, and Spellbound. Var
UK producers in talks to extend $665m pandemic scheme. Dead
Blumhouse wins NYT kidnap revenge story. THR
Screenlife (Searching) plans Indian slate w/ Reliance and Graphic India. Dead
Hillman Grad (Waithe) launches mentorship lab for marginalized storytellers. Var
Nflx orders doc series about the Pope. THR
Taika produced series Reservation Dogs ordered at FX. Var
FX preps Wyrd based on comic w/ Matthew Rhys. Dead
Nflx acq all rights to Chinese fantasy film Yin Yang Master. THR
Sony tv adapting Megan Rapinoe’s memoir into a scripted series. Dead
Boots Riley series I’m a Virgo lands at Amazon. Var
Disney sets Mandalorian spinoff. THR
Demon Slayer now tops Japan’s biggest box office hit (I need to see). THR
IFC takes NA rights to Oliver Hermanus’ Moffie. Var
J Lo to star/produce The Cipher for Netflix. Var
Made Up stories options Clap When you Land for tv. Dead
Liza Koshy inks overall w/ Westbrook. Dead
WME blasts WGA over negotiating tacts. Var
Hulu acq Lee Daniel’s US vs Billie Holiday. Var
Rubik’s Cube movie in the works from Hyde Park and Endeavor (lol). Dead
Hulu lands tv adaptation of pod Winds of Change from Crooked, Pineapple. Dead
MacFarlane to relaunch Revenge of the Nerds. Var
Streamers/networks delays filming dozens of projects with Covid. THR
D’Amelio and fam (Tiktok most followed) Hulu reality show. Dead
Rick James series in the works at UCP. Var
MipTV market to go virtual. Var
Netflix options action thriller from 6th & Idaho. Dead
HBO acq Scandinavian limited series The Investigation. Dead
Zach Quinto preps pod Secret Court about 1920s gay Harvard class for Spoke. Dead
Minari excluded from Golden Globes, Hollywood erupts. Var
Cardi B in a FB Messenger series (?). Dead
Weta Digital looking at animation acqs. WSJ
Page 73 playwright finalists. P73
Pepsi finances game show at Fox. Dead
DC Film’s strat. NYT
Ava and Peter Roth push diverse film crew database. LAT
Sheet of writer fellowships and program list (assembled by Tina Dirkes). Sheet
Berlin to go virtual. IW
LACFA winners. Var
NYFCC winners. IW
Collaborative
How Netflix uses data to support decision making, written by Netflix engineers (v, v good !!). Med
How live events have changed this year (Hello Hovercast!). Wired
Nomadland trailer (oscars). YT
NASA’s Spinoff report, key focuses for this year. PDF
Profile on Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, a kinder world. NewYorker
Goodreads book choice awards. GR
How Latitude Games uses GPT3 to create word worlds. Med
John Conway’s game of Life (rip). NYT
Anna Weiner on if Substack is the future of media we want (prob not, lmk). NewYorker
AI that judges your Spotify. Pudding (site is rad)
George Clooney piece on movies surviving. Var
TikTok annual music report. Var
Ratatouille TikTok musical raised over $1m for Actors Fund. RTtwtr
Fund people, not projects (solid read). Nintil
Andy Warhol and Joan Didion. Interview
Gaspar Noe fashion short for Saint Laurent. YT
Reggie James (Eternal) on social climbing on social, paid social networks etc (why I blew up my prof networks). RJss
Blake Robbins (Ludlow) writes about suppliers. BRss
The universe is expanding at a faster clip for reasons unknown. Quanta
Chris Erwin breaks down TCG’s $30m investment into Surfline (dig it) RW
Influencers being recruited to promote the vaccine. Vox
White paper on AI and brand recognition. PDF
Amateur fashionistas as new taste makers. HighS
Stephen Colbert interviews Peter Jackson. YT
Karen Hao on algos that trap ppl in poverty (?). MIT
Amazon Alexa’s head scientist proposes new Turing test. Fastco
Tech NYC 2020 annual report. TNYC
Nicole Williams (Compound VC) on ML, federations, privacy (dig it). Med
Russ Okung (NFL) took half of his $13m salary in Bitcoin. CD
Athletes going on LinkedIn to support their brands (lol). NYT
Someone is stealing unpublished manuscripts, extort authors and agents. NYT
Chat bot in China seducing lonely men. SixthTone
What’s in store for the future of Broadway. Fortune
Chloe Zhao and Barry Jenkins in convo. Var
Interview w/ Margot and her producing partners at LuckyChap. THR
Bryan Washington and Ocean Vuong talk for A24. Spot
Render (Otoy) token year end update. Med
Journalist predictions on the state of reporting for 2021. Nieman
Felicity Jones and Nicole Stott on playing vs being astronauts. SuperC
Military to hide covert sounds in marine mammals like whales (crazy). Hakai
Secret history of the first micro-processor with the F14. Wired
Cherie Hu on monetizing livestreams. Pat
NASA gives Blue Origin contract. Input
Fred Wilson 2021 predictions. AVC
Gun detection AI being trained on mock vids. Vice
Mackenzie Scott’s recent $4b in philanthropy. Med
Game trends to watch in 2021. NewZoo
Deep dive on Reelgood, rebundler. Prot
A look at in-game content spend this year. Niels
Analysis if concert livestreams are worth it for bands. MetalS
Journalist fell in love with Shkreli, pharma bro. Elle
Social activists want Gores to sell Pistons over jail tv ownership. ESPN
Depix de-pixelizes images (crazy). Git
Mysteries of mistletoe, missing genes but they grow. Quanta
Scott Galloway 2021 predictions. NMNM
Li Jin on the creator economy middle class. LJss
Cabella Space high-res photos from space working with US Gov (hedgies use to monitor oil/car inventory etc). QZ
How I Built This with Tim Ferriss. NPR
Ash Thorp makes Evinetta, Ferrari concept short film with Unreal. Vimeo
Google Arts and Culture blob opera app (cute). CNET
Space Yacht non-fungible art on Nifty Gateway. CT
Dwyane Wade and Lil Turk. Interview
How Amazon steamrolls competitors. WSJ
The Office fakes The Matrix open (some of my faves). YT
FAA to allow small commercial drones to fly at night. Reut
Gartner’s predictions for next year. Gart
Obama’s year end list. Med
Eli Dourado’s notes on tech for the 2020s. Eli
Profile on Soul director Pete Docter. Ringer
Little Things trailer. YT
Blake Robbins and Reed discuss the Mr Beast burger drop. YT
Goldman invests in MaC, Macro’s venture arm (nice Palank!). GS
FB Reality Labs on hand surface tracking VR. FBblog
New (weird) dinosaur discovered with feathers. Guard
Knight invests $10m into different art + news orgs. KF
How Bieber’s NYE livestream came together. Var
Deep dive on Roku, lowkey juggernaut. WSJ
Research on “resource moat” how Disney/Pfizer use IP patents. CBI
Zeta on digital marketing in 2021. Zeta
Master P and Baron Davis bidding on Reebok. HighS
White paper on Hypersim, local environment recog. PDF
NLP best papers awards. EMNLP
Gaby Goldberg on the state of sound and audio apps. Med
She stalked her daughter’s killers across Mexico (v hot article). NYT
Casey Newton’s predictions for 2021, consumer tech. Verge
Eminen’s Gnat music video. YT
Quantum chess tourney. ArsT
Russian hackers infiltrated US govt. MIT
French Exit trailer. YT
Traders using hollow-core fiber for high frequency. WSJ
Scott Belsky ideas for the future of tech in 2021. Med
New inductees to the Giving Pledge. GP
Variety’s 2021 entertainment predications. Var
North Face x Gucci collab adding Pokemon Go. Input
Coefficient Capital consumer trends for 2021. PDF
How Mr Beast gamed the YouTube algo. Bberg
Knight artist new work grant winners. KF
Peter Csathy’s media/ent predictions. Var
Mic Solana’s Tether book series on Simulation theory. MSss
Tag is now a professional sport, Vox explained vid. YT