After a few days settling into my new home and office, I hopped on the mer-maiden voyage of Virgin’s new cruise business, Virgin Voyages. It was a four-night excursion to the Caribbean and the first trip of its kind.Look, I’m not a cruise person. The only cruise I’ve ever been on was Summit at Sea. When I think about cruises, I generally have a bad taste (more on that shortly). But I have to hand it to Virgin: they along side their partners at Bain Capital, diligently surveyed the cruise landscape and found the key pillars that people hate about the cruise experience, then counter-balanced them one by one.
Cruises are bad for the environment. This cruise took active measures to reduce its environmental impact. The engine and mechanics are designed to be greener, plastic water bottles are banned, and the crew’s clothing is sustainable.
Poor WiFi and work scenarios. They nailed this. My WiFi was perfect the whole way through, I had a great work station, and was tethered to my desk during office hours. It was awesome to work with an ocean view. I didn’t miss a beat.
Cruise food is gross! Not on this trip. There were so many fun, delicious restaurants and no buffet vibes. There was an experimental test kitchen, a Korean bbq, an Italian spot, a vegan spot… and great snacks and treats along the way. On top of that, the dining wasn’t restricted to particular times. There were always food options ready to serve without formal attire required.
Lack of nightlife. There were multiple bars and even a pub crawl the first night. There were great venues and stages. There were private karaoke rooms and, on the second night, the entire boat turned into a “Sleep No More” experiential theatre vibe based on the cruise’s name: The Scarlet Lady. I love experiential theatre. It brings new audiences to Broadway and definitely brought new energy to the cruise experience. Data shows that having kids on cruises is a turn off for many, so Virgin Voyages is 18+.
Wellness Activities. The gym was awesome and there were plenty of classes and workout options, from bungee jumping to boxing, spin, and HIIT. There were also talks around nourishment and nutrition, posture, foot analysis, yoga, meditation and more.
The staff is generally not treated well. All of the staff seemed very happy on this cruise and genuinely excited to be there, even after a long pandemic pause (fwiw, this business was slated to launch before Covid and everyone who was hired prior was brought back). Tipping can be awkward in these situations, so Virgin stepped up and included tips in the staff’s wages. Bonus: nobody had to carry their wallets!
Safety. This was my biggest concern going in, and there were no issues at all. Everyone on board was vaxxed and tested before being allowed on the boat. The testing process took about 45 minutes. I still wore a mask but it was smooth sailing. I felt like I was in a Covid-free bubble.
The Virgin brand is phenomenal. It has an aesthetic and a fun, adventurous vibe. It’s sexy, with a culture rooted in music. Locally, Virgin even sponsored art in Bimini, one of the islands we stopped in.There’s still room for growth, of course. The ambient music was a lot of fun and there was even a record display from the first Virgin Records shop back in the ‘70s. But with all of these stages and microphones, I would have loved to see a deeper connection to live music. I know Major Lazer performed at the New York media circuit, but the onboard musical experiences could get crazy. I’m sure that will be in the pipeline based on previous pre-Covid plans and rumors I’m hearing.I also think there’s something interesting about the potential for a conference on a Virgin Voyages cruise. The attendees are out of their comfort zone and off native soil together. Different than a conference like Worldz or Advertising Week (roll call for both!), where people are dipping in and out as they see fit, a cruise conference would lock everyone into the same reality. Summit at Sea pulled it off and it was awesome. That was part of the magic of SXSW back in the day, too.Overall, this was an experience like no other and a great example of what smart market research and a fantastic brand can do. Virgin is opening the door for new audiences to experience cruises. The Virgin Group has a reputation for innovative infusions and cultural enhancements in the markets they enter. In this case, I think Virgin’s new play will be the tide that lifts the entire cruise industry.Click here to learn more or book your trip: www.virginvoyages.com or let me know if you need a direct connect.Ahoy!
BEATS
Brian Eno Calls For “A Revolution” in Music Industry’s Approach To Climate Change“We’ve got quite a few people on board already,” Eno explained, “either actually on board or with a commitment to join us. We’re not talking only to artists; we’re talking to agents, promoters, managers, record companies, publishing companies, legal and so on.” (NME)
Jay-Z Adds Incubator to Portfolio of Blockchain/Crypto InvestmentsJay-Z knows diamonds are forever, but what about crypto? The hip-hop legend and business mogul’s Marcy Venture Partners (MVP) is adding spatial LABS (sLABS), a metaverse and blockchain-based tech incubator, to his growing list of crypto investments, according to a report from Billboard. (Yahoo Finance)
Bored Ape Yacht Club Creators Yuga Labs Sign Representation Deal With Madonna, U2 Manager Guy OsearyYuga Labs are the creators of the NFT collection, known colloquially as BAYC, which was first released as a set of 10,000 computer-generated cartoon ape avatars in April. A second set of Mutant Apes followed, selling out in less than an hour and generating more than $90 million in gross receipts. (Variety)
Blackstone Is Investing $1 Billion In Music Rights Via Merck Mercuriadis And Hipgnosis… And There Could Be Billions More On The Way.MBW has confirmed that this money will be poured into a new private fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital. Hipgnosis Songs Capital is a separate entity to the Mercuriadis-led Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG), which trades on the London Stock Exchange and has invested around $2 billion in music rights to date. (Music Business Worldwide)
TikTok’s Lil Nas X NFT Has Been ShelvedAn NFT collaboration between TikTok and Lil Nas X will no longer be released, Rolling Stone reports. The digital artwork was set to be revealed last Wednesday, but sources close to TikTok tell Rolling Stone that the program's rollout has been “a challenge,” “a mess,” and “a complete joke.” (Fader)
Worm Capital: “Spotify Will Ultimately Prove Out To Be the Google of Audio”Though Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT) has parted with more than one-quarter of its value since the start of 2021, financial professionals at five-year-old Worm Capital are confident that the Stockholm-based audio-entertainment company “will ultimately prove out to be the Google of audio.” (Digital Music News)
#LatinxHeritageMonth is in Full SwingSenior Director of Content Marketing and President of TENIS (our Latinx ERG) Richie Cruz wears his culture on his sleeve and matches it with his kicks. Check out his collection and hear about TENIS’ mission to serve as the eyes, ears, and voice of the Latinx community at Foot Locker, Inc. (Foot Locker)
Coldplay Announce Intergalactic Pop-Up to Celebrate Music of the SpheresColdplay have announced an immersive "audio-visual experience" with Amazon Music for fans to celebrate the release of their hotly-awaited new album, 'Music of the Spheres'. Chris Martin and co have announced the two-day event in Shoreditch, London, this October 15 and 16, and invited fans to "step inside 'The Atmospheres' - an intergalactic audio-visual experience.” (Music News)
Republic Launches Security NFTs, Giving Music Fans Shares to Artist RoyaltiesRepublic, the financial services company, is offering music fans and artists the privilege of benefiting from the creation, production, streaming, and licensing of music, through its blockchain platform Opulous. (Bein Crypto)
Kanye West Is Opening A Prep SchoolKanye West is opening “Donda Academy,” a private school 30 minutes outside Los Angeles, California. The school is named after Donda West, Kanye’s mother, who passed away in 2007 after a 31-year career as a college professor at Chicago State University. (Huddle Up)
What Will Be Music’s Next Blockbuster Rights Buyout? And What Can Labels Learn From Scarlett Johansson?In this episode, Ingham ruminates on where music’s next blockbuster music rights buyout will come from, as well as the relevance of Scarlett Johansson’s recently-settled Disney lawsuit for the music business. (Music Business Worldwide)
Who Controls The Flows Of Money In Music? And we all know that the current streaming boom isn’t the best in terms of generating revenue for the average musician. Moreover, as catalogue music grows in stature, where does this leave new music? Or, what does a shift away from albums, and even singles, towards creation and personality mean for those flows of money? (Music Tech Future)
Live Music is BackLive is back and it's been incredible to look around at each show and witness the waves of emotion as fans and artists experience live music together again. These moments are made even better by the fact that so many of you are participating with us in the return to live – either by attending shows in person, through brand activations, or both. (Russell Wallach)
Opulous Teams Up With Lil Pump And EDM Star KSHMR To Let Fans Invest In Their MusicThrough the offering of Security NFTs (S-NFTs), a term coined by Republic to describe a non-fungible digital asset, offered and sold as a “security” (as defined by the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934), users will be able to invest directly in artists’ music “for as little as $100”. (Music Business Worldwide)
Tidal and the Evolving World of Musician FinancingIs music financing changing, or are companies reviving the age old structure of a record label? Companies are claiming “...that receiving access to data and control over one’s masters are a worthwhile tradeoff for what is still a loan on future earnings.” (Penny Fractions)
An Overabundance of Music NFT Platforms — and ScamsAs Water & Music reported previously, the music NFT market reached its peak just over six months ago — generating nearly $27 million in primary sales in a month, thanks largely to blockbuster campaigns from the likes of 3LAU, RAC, Steve Aoki and Diplo. Since then, primary sales have plummeted by over 95% to just around $1.5 million a month on average, with almost no celebrity drops in sight. (Water + Music)
How Kidz Bop Turned A Simple Idea Into Chart DominationKidz Bop has become a trusted guide to pop for parents without the time or energy to keep up with music but who still want to hear today’s hits minus any overtly sexual, drug-related, or violent lyrics. But to its detractors, Kidz Bop is an unholy compromise between children's entertainment and adult culture, strip-mining each category for its worst qualities and Frankensteining them together. (Buzzfeed News)
Warner Music Strikes Partnership With $90M-Backed Influencer Text-Messaging Platform CommunityThe partnership will see select Warner Music artists given the power to “personally text with fans” via a 10-digit Community number – about exclusive releases, ticket sales, merch, and more, “free”, according to a statement “of social algorithm interference, spam, and ads”. (Music Business Worldwide)
The Music Industry Is Built on Artists, but Shuns CreatorsOn the surface, the gaming and music industries share many similarities: both have an enormous impact on popular culture, drive billions of dollars in consumer spending each year, and rank #1 and #2, respectively, when Gen Z consumers are asked how they prefer to spend their free time. (Future)
Why Nas Is Teaching a MasterClass on Hip-Hop StorytellingMasterClass, a platform that offers online classes for students of all skill levels, boasts that their instructors are “the best in the world.” And that’s why it made perfect sense for them to link with Nas, one of the greatest rappers ever, and have him teach a class on hip-hop storytelling that will drop on Oct. 14. (Complex)
BYTES
Mike Weissman is the CEO of SoundCloud. He returns to the podcast to talk about the independent artist community, user-centric monetization, and the potential in NFTs and the like in a Web 3.0 era. He then weighs in on the revenue model in relation to the rise of streaming services and on SoundCloud’s progress to becoming a modern music entertainment business.
In a history-making career move, Johnson is making his rap debut, featured on Tech N9ne’s new single, “Face Off.” Speaking to Variety in an exclusive interview, Johnson says, “I love music. Anytime in my movies when I can implement some musical elements, I always love doing that.”
Power of Music (POM) is a new dating app that relies on users’ mutual musical loves to try and help them find real love. The app launched in August, but initially limited sign-ups to 25,000. Once downloaded, users connect their preferred streaming service — either Spotify or Apple Music, which is then fed through an algorithm that determines compatibility.
Casper Caan broke new ground with his debut single 'Last Chance'. An emphatic statement, it won a prominent placement in Electronic Art’s massive FIFA 22, bolstering its viral status. The NYC polymath returns with new single 'Pretty', melding together elements of indie rock, electronic production, and some classic songwriting tropes.
This week's newsletter was carefully curated by the Nue Agency staff and our editor Rachel Meisner. If you think we missed something this week or have any suggestions/comments for next week's newsletter, let us know!