[SIC 186]: Peanuts Gallery

Volume 4, Number 30

Hi all.

The cycles keep cycling. Original Pirate Material turned 20 this week and last weekend I checked out the DFA Records 20 year anniversary party, running into friend after friend I hadn’t seen in years. It was weird, but great. Shout out everybody who had the same impulse as I; to get back out there and feel the world move.

Speaking of old friends (and moving the world) big shout to long time [SIC] homie and Joseph Patel on a historic Oscar win, undiminished, to my mind, by the controversy that surrounded it. Joey, I’m proud of you, dude. Now, when you coming on [SIC] Talks?!! 🤩

Alas, there is no [SIC] Talks this week, but the archive remains. Thinking of a jump of platform for the series, and would love to hear your collective thoughts on the matter. Let me know in reply or drop me a DM any time. I’m @dietznutz everywhere.

Likewise for contributions to the ‘sletter. Thanks a million to James, Rob, Iolanda, Kevin, Celeste, Tim, Bennett and Navaz for ideas this time. More, please.

Final thing before the deluge: my favorite painter Stephen ESPO Powers is finally bringing back his recurring (FREE) screenprint series to Brooklyn this weekend, and if you do one thing, it should be to go to there. It’s generous contribution to his community and a great moment from an artist (and his team), who’ve been community-minded from the jump. I unfortunately can’t make it, but if you’re in / near New York - go.

Ben

Steve ESPO Powers occupying minds in my hometown, Syracuse. Taken 10 years ago this month. It’s still running.

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The World

• No one can escape social media anymore, not even those who say they've unplugged / Protocol

• Social media wasn't ready for this war. It needs a plan for the next one. / WaPo

• Half of Russia’s 20 richest billionaires aren't sanctioned. Take a look at this excellent graphic. via Bloomberg Wealth

• The FACE surveyed more than 300 people aged 14 – 23 about how the pandemic has affected them / The FACE

• Related: How the pandemic created a new generation of stoners” in The Guardian via Today In Tabs

• Conversely, maybe it’s not so bad?! This new and relatively rigorous study of social media and well-being.  Small negative effects, highly dependent on age, somewhat dependent on gender. Via Marginal Revolution

• From Bennett Richardson: “Brother, thought of you with this crazy story from up near Cuse! [The Fingerlakes Bitcoin Mining Frenzy]” / Protocol

• A group of crypto enthusiasts bought a private island called Vanuatu — to be renamed Satoshi Island. Over 50,000 people have applied to live there so far with no capital gains tax, no withholding tax, no death tax and parcels of IRL land sold as NFTs. / Satoshi Island via Inside Cryptocurrency

• Apropos: some Crypto Tax Basics. And how NFTS are taxed, too.  / Coinbase

Trends

• Searching For Gen Z’s Four Loko / Garbage Day

• Related: [SIC] Homie Dylan Viner talks to Zine about revisionism, living through the memes and the weird outdoors / Zine

• Another corollary: Kids are learning history from video games now. Games give their players an expansive, detailed, exciting—and, yes, controversial—way to dive into history./ The Atlantic via After School

• Hence: why we can’t have mid-century modern / Hyperallergic

• And Secondhand Style Is Booming / Valet via Blazer

• How the pandemic shaped the way British youths dress/ The FACE

• Also be dressing: Met Gala Behavior and Other TikTok Wisdom. An influencer who goes by the handle @halbaddie has been helping define what “Met Gala Behavior” is in 2022 / Hyperallergic

• No surprise that Gen Z ‘is actually saving money while millennials aren’t / Yahoo Finance via After School

• From Iolanda Carvalho: Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends 2022.  / Deloitte

• Are rebrands becoming the new launch? Yes. / Snaxshot

Style

• From Rob Hubbert: “This is dope on a number of levels [The Swatch x Omega “Moonswatch”]”

• Which is now selling for 10x retail…. / Hypebeast

• To that end, from Iolanda Carvalho: “Really cool analysis” of the collaboration / Marketing Week

• Corollary, a Vogue x BAPE collaboration is offically in the works / Highsnobiety via After School

• Are beauty brands starting to embrace “unclean” ingredients again? / IG via Thingtesting

• Corollary: I liked the ‘delicore' street style trend inspired by bagels and babkas better when it was called “Zizmorecore”  / New York Post

The Arts

• Jeff Koons will be sending a group of sculptures to the Moon / Hyperallergic

• Corollary (on Earth) from Tim Fielding: “Extraordinary immersive light sculpture show in darkest New Jersey - who knew! It’s excellent and I believe the shape of more to come” / Barrons

• Sergio Sarri’s Robotization of the Human Body / Frieze

• Why should we care about the video essay / Hyperallergic

Entertainment + IP

• Mat Dryhurst and the Case for Crypto in Music (Part 1) / Money 4 Nothing via Music Redef

• From Tim Fielding:  “I hate Swedish house mafia but this is the best video to have come out of EDM ever and the tastiest confluence of vampires and nightclubs since Blade” / YT

• Elsewhere in Sweden: Swedish Musicians’ Union Calls On Spotify to Investigate ‘Fake Artists’ Amid Playlist Controversy / Digital Music News

• But an MBW reader just blew open the spotify fake artists story. / Music Business Worldwide

• Related from Celeste Blewitt: 'Tech Start-Up Aims To Get Artists Royalties For Resale' / NYT

• While ASLICE is a new app that asks DJs to voluntarily hand over a percentage of their live performance fees to the producers whose music they play in their sets, and gives them a tool to automate the process / Aslice via Music Redef

• At the S.F. Disco Preservation Society, ’90s rave culture lives on / SF Chronicle via Music Redef

Platforms & Influencers

• Instagram's new chronological feed is a letdown / Embedded

• Why IG gives GenZ the ick / Nylon via After School

• The Homogenization Of Brands On TikTok / Mediapost

• The rise of deepfake LinkedIn profiles / LinkedIn via Retail Innovation Week

• So…I Miss Myspace / Mediapost

• Elsewhere: Shazam Is Also a Concert Discovery Platform Now. Apple seems to be building an IRL discovery ecosystem that combines the music you hear out with going out to hear music. / Music Business Worldwide via The Cadence

• And LinkedIn is trying to be the Instagram for entrepreneurial influencers / Protocol

• TikTok partnered with GIPHY on new video creation tool, ‘TikTok Library’ / TechCrunch via Motive Unknown

• Clubhouse ushered in a new way for communities to connect and interact, and we shouldn't dismiss it as a one-hit-wonder. Think Social Audio Is a Fad? Think Again / Adweek 

• L.A.-based startup Spotter Inc. is paying upfront fees to YouTube creators for exclusive licensing rights to their back catalogs and the ad revenue that comes from them. Bloomberg via Future Party

• While Google is searching for a solution to climate change via a patent for an “awareness program” called “Non-Fungible Planet” — a play on NFTs, of course. /  Input via Future Party

• The early pitch decks of 29 unicorn companies, including “AirBed&Breakfast” and LinkedIn / CB Insights via Morning Brew

Marketing & Advertising

• Jennifer Sey Was a Candidate to Lead Levi’s. Then She Started Tweeting./ NYT via Retail Dive

• Corollary, from Iolanda Carvalho: Pelle Sjoenell, chief creative officer at Activision Blizzard, explains how brands can market to gamers without being annoying or ignored / Contagious

• Breakfast, lunch and dinner… (but no Ruba??!!) Why Tiffany’s is hungry for more / How to Spend It

• Sonic’s got a slush ring so it can vibe with GenZ / The Drum

• While Dunkin' has a new makeup collection with e.l.f. Cosmetics inspired by donuts and coffee / USA Today

• A quick primer to illustrate how top agencies are selling their web3 offerings to clients. / The Drum

• Alibaba's Tmall Luxury Pavilion  has launched a one-to-one livestreaming feature, allowing sales associates to engage with customers individually — like a digital VIP room.

• But Chinese authorities also posted a notice with new rules to standardize online live broadcast marketing activities. The notice focuses on strengthening tax obligations of livestreamers and platforms, as well as preventing misleading advertisements / Global Times

• TV, merchant media and the unbundling of advertising. Amazon’s ad business is bigger than YouTube and more profitable than AWS. Shein is the biggest fast-fashion retailer in the US, with no stores. US pay TV subscribers have fallen by a third. Where do ad budgets go, where does rent go, and how many brands will there be?/ Ben-Evans

• Metaversal ‘digital twins’ are coming for most companies / The Drum

• Ergo: Rishad Tobaccowala on digital transformation: ‘While change sucks, irrelevance is even worse’ / The Drum

Media Business

• Why The Impending Launch Of 'Baltimore Banner' Is Attracting So Much Buzz / Mediapost

• WTF is Shybrid? Here’s an explanation. And here’s a glossary of running new terms as part of our “new normal.” / Digiday

Metaverse & Web3

• From Navaz Batliwalla: “Interesting for you - if you didn’t get already! [Liverpool FC, one of the world’s most historic and famous football clubs, is entering the world of digital collectibles with the launch of their very first NFT collection, the LFC Heroes Club] / Sothebys

• Behind the Drop has a studio tour and exclusive interview with the creators of FriendsWithYou, [SIC] homies Sam and Tury, for their fRiENDSiES NFT drop /  NFT Now

• How NFT metaverse worlds battle brands for the future of Web3 / Ad Age

• Hence, from James Friedman: “some skepticism for [SIC] [Web3 is going great] / Web3isGoingGreat

• Understanding fashion's role in the metaverse / Vogue Business

• Behcuz Metaverse Fashion Week was a mixed experience. / Vogue Business

• Or maybe? The Metaverse Has No Clothes / Mediapost

• Nevertheless Nearly 7 million people have visited Nike’s metaverse store / The Drum

• Nike Asked Kids to Build a Metaverse World Inspired by Its Classic Air Max Sneaker / Adweek

• So, serious question: Are You Too Old For The Metaverse? / Mediapost

• Because Unreal Engine says the future of e-commerce will be “play” in branded virtual spaces where consumers can move around with others freely. / Vogue Business

• Hence: Memes of Production: DAOs as Financial Flash Mobs and Hyperstructures / Creators.Mirror via Zima Red

Miscellany

• What is ‘Type II fun,’ and why do some people want to have it? / Wapo via Public Announcement

• Related? The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair by George Plimpton / New Yorker

• Marginalia is a search engine that specifically surfaces results from non-commercial, text-heavy websites, articles, and journals. / Marginalia via Garbage Day

• While Framed is Wordle but for movies, basically / Framed.WTF

• Chaotic Nightclub photos feels like a feed to watch… / Twitter via Morning Brew

Things to Do

• Favorite artist’s favorite artist Steve Keene will have his first in-person SK Art Show since 2019 April 7 - 10 at fave gallery Public Access gallery, 105 Henry Street. Steve’s Sirius XM Interview on "Debatable" CH 106 is here.

• And [SIC] homies Friends with You returns to the top of Roosevelt Island April 1. Too much fun.

• But … Shut the fuck up on the dance floor, sweeties / Rave New World

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