It’s a good time to be home and a great time to be watching TV.Even though GRAMMY ratings were down, the show delivered this year and set a new precedent for how award shows are watched and shared.The Super Bowl defied trends by drawing 126 million viewers, a 2% growth from last year. Apple Music’s halftime show was the most viewed halftime show ever, raking in 133 million live views and making it one of the most watched TV moments in history. So much for the death of water cooler moments and exclusively living in the long tail of niches. The ads weren’t half bad either, with a lot of interesting music tie-ins across the board.With these monster tentpole moments behind us, it’s time to settle into yet ANOTHER awesome week on TV.This weekend brings SNL’s 50th Anniversary show. The season has been building towards this moment and I’m sure it’s going to be everything we could hope for. On Friday, SNL is doing a massive concert, live from Radio City Music Hall, and although I wish I were in NY for it, I’m glad to be able to stream it live or watch on demand after the fact.On the music+SNL front, QuestLove has produced a fabulous documentary, SNL 50 Years of Music, which is a must watch. It’s a musical yearbook of relevance over the past half century. It’s so impressive how Lorne Michaels, the legendary producer of SNL, understood the power of music when he launched this show and knew that SNL could differentiate itself by embedding “music of the moment” into the DNA of the show. This commemorative season has been one for the books. Here’s to another 50 years!Speaking of QuestLove, he and Joseph Patel (who we had the pleasure of working with back in the CRWN days), are releasing “Sly Lives! aka the Burden of Black Genius” on Friday via Hulu. It looks like another masterpiece by the duo chronicling the life and times of music icon, Sly Stone. Do you guys miss those legendary interviews and live experiences with CRWN? I feel like we should bring that back…White Lotus comes back this weekend as well, with their highly anticipated third season in Thailand on Max. The first two seasons putting scriptwriting on display, but in the third season they pulled out the stops with partnerships, following the new playbook laid out by Barbie and Wicked. Launching with a consortium of brands in tow to build awareness and relevance is the new way, making this a truly exciting time for brand marketers.Nexlifx is also releasing the series finale of my guilty pleasure, Cobra Kai, this week. This series is a prime example of what I call NewStolgia: taking a feel good story from our childhood – in this case, The Karate Kid – and making it young, cool, and relevant today. Although I’m glad the story is ending, there is a movie, Karate Kid: Legends, dropping this May for one last Hiyah!Sports fans will get their glory this weekend as well, with the dunk contest and NBA All-Star Game surrounded by a host of great music performances. I’m not going to make it out to SF, but I’m going to bet that being in the Bay Area for the NBA Tech Summit will be particularly interesting. This is a warm-up for Silicon Valley since Super Bowl 60 will be back in SF next year.The golden age of content just keeps…goldening? There really seems to be something for everyone right now. My motto has always been “go big or go home,” but with a line-up like this and the best seat in the house being my couch, we might have to re-word that one...
BEATS
Super Bowl Synch Report: Brands Lean on Familiar Hits in Lucrative Year for PublishersPublishers scored paydays of up to $2.5 million this year, with Sony Music Publishing leading the pack with 14 synchs (Billboard Pro).
Record Store Day 2025 Lineup: Vinyl Exclusives From Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Charli XCX, Post Malone, Wu Tang, John Lennon, ‘Wicked’ and Hundreds MoreFor vinyl aficionados, the rollout of the Record Store Day lineup each year, with 350-plus titles revealed all at once, can prompt a paralyzing case of information overload. There’s no hurry to absorb it all; the day in question is April 12, which leaves plenty of time to peruse the full list (Variety).
The Company Behind Shaq’s Super Bowl Party Says It Solved The Industry’s ‘Dirty Secret’ And Will Make $15 Million From 3 EventsMedium Rare, an events and entertainment company, is responsible for three of the biggest parties during Super Bowl weekend. They partner with celebrities including Shaquille O’Neal, Guy Fieri, Travis Kelce, and Rob Gronkowski to put on multimillion-dollar events—and manage to turn a profit (Fortune).
Superfan Streaming Is Getting Closer to Being a RealityFortwo decades, the price of a music streaming service was frozen at $9.99 per month. Prices only began rising in 2022, leading to improved economics for both streaming companies and rights holders (Billboard Pro).
J. Cole Launches New Blog With His 2025 PlansJ Cole is embracing nostalgia by launching his own blog, echoing the early internet era when artists like Kanye West and Tyler, The Creator connected with fans through personal platforms (Hot 97).
Listen to Yasiin Bey Narrate a Documentary on Clarks ShoesLast week, the U.K. footwear brand released an 18-minute documentary in honor of Clarks turning 200, with Bey serving as the doc’s narrator. His voice can be heard throughout, especially in the documentary’s beginning (Okayplayer).
Complex LA to Host Selena Gomez’s ‘Rare’ Pop-Up and Valentine’s ShopSelena Gomez's 'Rare' is commemorating its fifth year at Complex LA. Proceeds from the sale of all products will go to Direct Relief’s wildfire response efforts (Complex).
BYTES
In this episode of the Business of Talent Podcast, hosts dive into an engaging conversation with Mike Boyd from Gary Vaynerchuk's (Gary Vee) VaynerX. Boyd shares stories about discovering and supporting emerging talent like Tierra Whack and Gunna, as well as his experience with music-related campaigns for brands such as Budweiser and K-Swiss.
Music superstar, beauty mogul, fashion designer and … Smurfette? Rihanna’s next big role may not be what you were expecting (New York Times).
Notes is described as an all-in-one platform and gateway to financial independence, aimed to empower and support music makers as they grow their careers. According to TechCrunch, the app is currently in its beta testing phase, and provides financial literacy and music business education via multimedia courses, and offers step-by-step guides on topics such as financial management and monetising music (Music Tech).
The NFL is dropping a live visual album for Super Bowl LIX with performances from Jon Batiste, Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle, Ledisi, and Kendrick Lamar. The release offers another bounce for Apple Music, which is now establishing a longer-term Super Bowl Halftime sponsorship (Digital Music News).
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!