The largest growth opportunity in my world right now is the Cannabiz, so much so that I’m willing to bet on New York and New Jersey being recreationally legal in 2019. My gut tells me that by 2021, the whole country will follow suit.The word is “revolution.” It’s like watching prohibition get rewritten for the digital age. This won’t only upend how we’ve seen the world for the last century, it will entirely overturn the commercial landscape and present a massive opportunity for brand marketers. This is an industry that is only in its infancy and there are already so many ancillary businesses sprouting around it.The early days of the “green rush” were about the product, the origin, quality, and effects. Next came distribution, identifying the most efficient and premium mechanism to get it into consumer hands Now, it’s about budding brands (pun intended); how is your brand different? What’s your identity? How do you connect to culture? The next frontier from there we believe will be about marketing and advertising.There are countless nuances, rules, and regulations to advertising, selling and branding cannabis. For example, you can’t buy pot ads on Facebook but you soon might on Snapchat. To make matters more complex, all active markets are fragmented by laws that vary by city and state. Lastly, corporate entities lack alignment on their overall approach to the industry. Look at the backlash to CBS shutting down a pro-legalization Super Bowl ad!Regardless of the convoluted state of affairs, we believe music marketing will play a big role in the next phase of Cannabis branding. Early adoption of tech in the creative industries catapulted the digital innovations that are saving the music business. We are seeing similar trends with marijuana and there is no company we are as vested in and excited about as SLANG Worldwide and their diverse product portfolio of strong brands. SLANG Worldwide goes public today on the Canadian Exchange. They are poised to lead the Cannabiz charge and we are thrilled to be along for the ride, supporting them in every way we can with our marketing prowess. Call it our Nue green thumb.
BEATS
Why 2019 Will Be the Year of Weed From more states legalizing to a boom of new kinds of products, here’s what to expect from the cannabis industry this year. (Rolling Stone)
10 Artists to Watch in 2019 Just as there is always a slew of prestige albums to look forward to, every new year is guaranteed to present to the world a crop of fresh, invigorating talent to get to know. And 2019 is no exception; there is already a wealth of promising young new artists breaking out in their respective scenes. (High Snobiety)
Viacom Acquires Nas-Invested Company PlutoTV For $340 Million ccording to Business Wire, PlutoTV- which Nas' company Queensbridge Venture Partners invested in in 2014- has been acquired by media corporation Viacom for $340 million. (Vibe)
Jay-Z and Meek Mill pledge $50m to free prisonersThe Reform Alliance, which was inspired by Meek Mill's recent stint in prison for a minor probation violation, hopes to free one million prisoners in five years. (BBC)
SLANG Is the Cannabis IPO to Watch This Week While consolidation may be key to the cannabis market in 2019, this IPO is worthy of a deeper dive. (Real Money)
Of Course Zuckerberg Wants to Integrate Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram According to a New York Times report, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has asked the social media site’s employees to integrate Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram. (Tech)
How I Wrote This: Gary Clark Jr. Shares the Emotional Story Behind His Anti-Racist Anthem ‘This Land’The guitarist details his experiences growing up black in the South — and plays his fiery new song in the room where he recorded it
iHeartMedia Bankruptcy Plan Approved, CEO Bob Pittman’s Contract Renewed A U.S. court has approved the bankruptcy plan of iHeartMedia, the biggest radio broadcaster in the U.S., which will shave down its crushing debt load and separate iHeartMedia from Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings. (Variety)
5 Things We Learned From Future's CRWN Interview With Elliott WilsonFuture’s seventh studio album The WIZRD descended upon fans mid-January. On Wednesday night (January 23), the Grammy Award-nominated rap star took some time to discuss the 20-track project with Elliott Wilson for TIDAL’s CRWN series at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. (HipHopDX)
Spotify’s Mute Button Is a Stop-Gap, Not a Solution With little fanfare, Spotify rolled out a new feature this week that allows users to mute musicians. Go to any artist page on the Spotify mobile app and select the “don’t play this artist” option in the menu bar. (Pitchfork)
John Mayer Is Bringing His Instagram Talk Show Back For Season 2 The 45-minute show is called ‘Current Mood with John Mayer,’ and is filmed entirely using an iPhone in Mayer’s living room. The idea has now progressed past its infancy stage, potentially prefacing a broader adoption of the Instagram platform for live shows. (Digital Music News)
BYTES
Killer Mike is a rapper, actor, and activist. He is one half of the group Run the Jewels and has a new show on Netflix called "Trigger Warning" available now.
Showtime released the official trailer for its upcoming four episode docu-series Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men. The Sacha Jenkins-directed series is set to showcase a new perspective on Wu-Tang Clan’s storied rise to the top of the game. (HypeBeast)
Twenty is the easiest way to meet up with friends and decide what to do. We’re about seeing what your friends are up to, making plans to hang out and actually getting together IRL.
The two songs, "Harmony Hall" and "2021," come from an album to be released this spring that's called Father of the Bride.
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!