It’s been a minute since I wrote about it, but Nue Agency continues to explore the psychedelics and psilocybin space (not just recreationally 🙃). We’re aligning with various funds, companies, and brands because the power of psychedelics to change the world compels us to get involved. These psychedelic-based therapies are providing a great deal of hope in the field of mental health.The psychedelics industry’s public market value went from zero at the onset of the pandemic to over $9 billion across more than 70 public companies in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. We're only scratching the surface.With over $300 billion of U.S. public assistance spending going to hit-or-miss mental health and substance abuse treatment services, there's a huge disruption opportunity for the psychedelics sector.Last weekend, the #MushRush was on full display at Meet Delic, the premier psychedelic wellness event in Las Vegas. In Miami this week, the Wonderland Conference followed suit as the largest psychedelics medicine (microdosing) business event in the world.These were both physical and metaphorical psychedelic playgrounds where the visionaries and thought leaders in the sector converged to unveil exciting research and explore powerful new ideas shaping the evolving world of psychedelics.Topics of interest ranged from wellness, microdosing, business, technology, and entertainment to ever-important conversations about PTSD, addiction, severe depression, and anxiety. Many of the psychedelic super molecules and plants aim to mitigate the impact of these conditions.Higher profile names are helping to bring the conversation into the mainstream. Mike Tyson, Rick Doblin (of Maps), Michael Pollen, Aubrey Marcus (CEO of ONNIT), and Lamar Odom (who was at both events) have become vocal proponents of these remedies.Psychopharmaceuticals have long been used for healing and spiritual purposes by indigenous societies. It wasn't until the last century that they were criminalized and stigmatized by “the war on drugs.”Let the destigmatization begin. The narrative has shifted and pop culture is taking part. Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka had their recent bouts with mental health, which propelled them to drop off the largest stages of their expertise and Will Smith made news recently for his use of these medicines.One company, Cybin, emerged the clear winner of Wonderland Conference (they literally won company of the year), beating out juggernauts like MindMed, Field Trip, and Compass, which released exciting data that had a positive impact at the conference.Cybin's story has been inspirational. They recently received a breakthrough FDA authorization for a study with Kernal, a brain imaging device, to measure brain activity during psychedelic treatment. Kernal is founded by Bryan Johnson, who also founded Braintree which acquired Venmo in 2012.We are at least three years from FDA approvals, but Cybin has the capital, team, vision, and clinical research apparatus to create a molecular compound that replicates the effects of psilocybin without the natural ups and downs that occur in the organic material.For me personally, psychedelics (microdosing periodically) have been a boost. I’m more tuned into serendipity and my purpose in the world than ever. I bumped the newsletter this week so it could go out on 11/11 @ 11:11am EST. You know what they say: set an intention and make a wish!After a whirlwind week, I’m back home from WORLDZ, which outdid itself this year. But there’s no rest for the wicked: I’m speaking this week at the Miami Crypto Experience and the Coast 2 Coast Convention. Come holler if you’re here!
BEATS
Dreamstage Launches a Roku Channel to Bring its Live-Concert Experience to Living RoomsDreamstage, the HD livestream platform focused on bringing live music performances to fans all around the world, has today launched its own channel on the Roku streaming platform. The move gives Dreamstage access to Roku’s reported 56.4 million active accounts. (Tech Hive)
McDonald’s Mariah Carey Holiday Menu is all We Want for Christmas, BabyThis drop stands out from McDonald’s previous celebrity collaborations because it’s a whole dang menu. It also involves freebies: During the 12 days of Mariah, McDonald’s will give customers one free item if they use the McDonald’s app and spend $1 or more. (Yahoo)
Todd McFarlane, Steve Aoki Launch NFT Marketplace Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and musician Steve Aoki are teaming up to launch OddKey, a new NFT marketplace they say will put artists in control of their digital work and allow fans to resell NFTs for little cost. (Hollywood Reporter)
Video Games Inspire a Generation of Classical Music FansIt was Koji Kondo’s infectious melodies in the original Super Mario Bros. that first piqued Shimomura’s interest in video game music. Not long after, Koichi Sugiyama’s classical score for the RPG Dragon Quest inspired her to marry her love for video games and classical music. (Wired)
Dior’s Entire Next Men’s Collection Is a Travis Scott Collab – Now It’s a Business Nightmarein the wake of the fatal tragedy at Scott’s Astroworld festival, Dior is now facing an unprecedented business nightmare, experts said. “It is an apocalyptic marketing turn for that brand,” says Eric Schiffer. (Rolling Stone)
Justin Bieber Joins the Metaverse With Upcoming Virtual PerformanceJustin Bieber: An Interactive Virtual Experience is coming on November 18. The pop star partnered with virtual platform Wave to launch the metaverse performance, which aims to combine gaming, real-time motion capture, and a live musical performance into an immersive interactive experience. (Digital Music News)
Amazon Music Launches Synchronized Podcast Transcripts in U.S.Amazon Music on Tuesday launched synchronized podcast transcripts in the U.S. for recent episodes of select Amazon original and Wondery podcasts, including “SmartLess,” “Dr. Death” and “Uncommon Ground With Van Jones,” as well as popular podcasts. (Variety)
Dolby Laboratories Links With Derek ‘MixedByAli’ Ali, EngineEars PlatformEngineEars, which had secured $1 million in seed funding led by L.A. venture capital firm Slauson & Co., as well as angel investments from the likes of Lamar, Ricch and DJ Khaled. (Variety)
Billie Eilish to Appear on New Season of Sesame StreetBillie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves, and Anderson .Paak are among the special guests that will swing by Sesame Street’s 52nd season. Eilish will rub elbows with the Count, while .Paak will perform a song for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as USA Today reports. (Pitchfork)
The Astroworld Tragedy Is Impossible To Understand, Even If You’ve Spent A Lifetime In CrowdsIt’s difficult to find any clear meaning in the lethal chaos that unfolded at the Astroworld music festival in Houston on Friday night. Eight young people died in a crush between euphoria and panic, and now we want to know how it happened, and where to place blame, and how to prevent it from happening again. (Washington Post)
404 Error, Genre Not Found: The Life Cycle of Internet ScenesFor the first time, we are watching music scenes and microgenres with life cycles that play out entirely on the internet. Born from the open-source ambiguity of the online world, the last decade has seen genres accelerating from the void at a breakneck speed, chewing up an internet’s worth of influences, and spitting them out again. (Complex)
There is No "Creator Economy"Earlier this summer, the New Yorker posed a question that was answered by one of their cultural critic Kyle Chayka: What the “Creator Economy” Promises—and What It Actually Does. (Penny Fractions)
How To Accelerate A Music & Tech Start-Up?The idea of an accelerator is to put your company through a crash course in building out your product, learning from experienced hands, and staying hyper-focused on your ‘true north’. Often, founders get matched with mentors and after a number of weeks they come out finding their company in a place where they’re ready to go out. (Music Tech Future)
Get Ready For BTS NFTs: HYBE To Acquire $421M Stake In Crypto Firm And Launch Collectables JVThe strategic partnership will see HYBE acquire what Korean news site Pulse reports is 861,400 shares in Dunamu for 500 billion South Korea won (approx. $421m at current exchange rates). Dunamu meanwhile, according to a regulatory filing, will acquire 2,302,570 shares in HYBE for 700 billion South Korea won. (Music Business Worldwide)
Crypto Is Cool. Now Get on the Yacht.The masters of the metaverse — thousands of CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, artists and hackers, starry-eyed idealists and profit-hungry speculators — descended on Manhattan this past week, looking for a glimpse of the future. (NY Times)
BYTES
Will Smith’s memoir is inspiring and brave as he traces his inner happiness, outer success and human connections. His transformation and journey to get to where he is now is incredible, check out the Will Smith book now available on several platforms below.
Have you watched Kanye’s interview on Drink Champs? If not, check it out! This was such an interesting interview as Kanye was able to touch on a wide variety of topics. Definitely worth the watch.
Stop switching between Chats, Tasks, Docs, Calendar, & Meeting tools, and bring your team & clients together in one simple, yet powerful app.
At Stereogum, they are still as determined as ever to compile their annual Best New Bands list, in order to provide a look at the musicians that make us most excited about the future and organize them all in one place.
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!