It truly is the Roaring Twenty-Twenties! There seems to be a gold rush in every industry as the world is flush with cash and the future is being written. From E-Sports and Gaming to crypto and NFTs; from music rights and startups to the rise of the mental health industry; from IPOs and SPACs to the imminent return of live events, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Even old-school trading cards are booming!One area that is finally coming into its own is cannabis. This is an area that we believe in heavily. We are in more than a green rush right now. This business is becoming an industry norm in America.17 states have now legalized the recreational use of cannabis. Federal legalization is feeling more and more likely. And it’s exciting to see New York join the ranks of the free (not like it hasn’t smelled like chronic on Broadway for years, lol). This is a momentous moment for cannabis culture.New York is destined to be the consumption capital of the world. It’s dense and everything is always available. It’s also set up to be a HUGE experiential hub. In other “cannabis meccas” like Colorado or California, if you are consuming cannabis you’re most likely still getting behind the wheel (under the influence). That’s a non-issue in NYC. That’s why the hospitality industry is clamoring to get in on the boom.Artists and musicians have been ahead of the curve on this for a while, so I expect to see more brand collaborations there. Uber announced this week that it is looking at the delivery business. That’s massive. As things go national, we’ll see the big US brands jump in and try to corporatize the industry.The industry is also getting more sophisticated and luxurious. Jay-Z does a fantastic job in his new Hype Williams-produced campaign at Frank Sinatra’s house in Palm Springs. The vision is summed up by Hype: “The perception around cannabis has shifted a lot since the 20th century. If you were to ask me and my peers how we’d define the good life today, weed would definitely be a part of it. Whether we’re smoking to inspire creativity or to celebrate an achievement, cannabis has a rightful place in modern-day culture.”Of course, the biggest cannabis holiday of all is coming up next week: 4/20!I’m excited to see how New York adapts to its first legal celebration in this (nearly) post-pandemic world. Could this be the new New Year’s eve?!There will certainly be some great online content, too. A few highlights for me are going to be:
B-Real x Mr. Cartoon’s “INSANE” NFT Dropt at 4:20pm on The new Blockparty 2.0! (Collect history and enjoy some exciting real world, exclusive experiences.)
There are also countless economic and social justice benefits to finally ending this chapter on the war on drugs and legalizing cannabis. I’m excited about the potential for this beautiful plant to make the world a better place.
p.s. Friday morning I’m talking NFT’s on Clubhouse with the AdWeek innovation team. Tune in and see how brand marketing is playing in this explosive space.
BEATS
Hype Williams Reimagines Slim Aarons’ Poolside Socialites for Jay-Z’s Cannabis LineSince Jay-Z first announced his new cannabis project Monogram last October, efforts to legalize marijuana around the country have sped up, suggesting we’re on the brink of a new era for recreational cannabis. Monogram has tapped creative legend Hype Williams to reimagine some of Slim Aarons’s most iconic photographs of socialites of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, imagining what Aarons’s vision of “the good life” might look like today. (Vanity Fair)
Kid Cudi Reveals 'SNL' Dress Is Part of His Upcoming Off-White™ CollabAfter creating an iconic moment with his Saturday Night Live performance this past weekend, Kid Cudi has now revealed that he is working on an Off-White™ collection. (Hypebeast)
Honda Taps H.E.R. for the Return of its Civic Tour Concert Series, but Must Overcome Livestream FatigueAfter pausing its long-running Civic Tour in 2019, Honda was set to bring it back last year with the kind of big-name music star that has headlined the multicity tour for years. But Honda had to cancel the 2020 event as the pandemic struck, robbing the automaker of a valuable marketing tool to reach young buyers. (US News Mail)
Live Nation and Veeps to Set Up 60+ Major Venues for LivestreamingIn a move that shows livestreaming will be a part of the concert experience even in a post-pandemic word, Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, and Veeps, the livestreaming platform Veeps co-founded by Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte. (Variety)
Spotify Is Officially A Hardware Maker Now, As Car Thing Arrives In The USMusic streaming service Spotify is making music listening hardware and its first official product release is a smart device for the car called the Car Thing.Initially available for select US users, the new gadget’s anticipated retail price is $79.99, but is available at no cost for a limited time for those select users, with SPOT only charging $6.99 postage. The company currently has a waiting list for it. (Music Business Worldwide)
The Next 20: Who Will Shape Youth Culture In 2021?From the start, we set out to improve the way forecasting in the fashion industry is done. To get there, we gave the power to the public through global data collection and enlisted external industry experts to go beyond the personal opinion of our editors alone. To discover who, and what, actually drive influence in youth culture today, and in the future, we had to dig deeper. (High Snobiety)
A List Of The Top Five Recent Activations In Sonic Branding.Brands are upleveling bespoke audio assets into audio-first touchpoints and immersive soundscapes, for 360-degree multisensory engagement. Expect to see the rise of audio influencers and audio-led engagement as sonic branding matures. (Intelligence)
When Pandemic Ends, Will Artists Go Back to Pricey In-Person TV Tapings?For much of the past year, Adrian L. Miller has arranged for his clients, including R&B singer-songwriter Mereba and jazzy instrumentalist Cassowary, to perform on squeaky clean private stages with minimal staff and musicians. Then he noticed something: It's relatively cheap to create bare-bones remote performances and beam them out as livestreams, sponsored productions and TV performances.When the pandemic ends, why not continue this way? (Billboard)
Thinking Small: A Meditation On Scale vs Success For ArtistsWhen we think success, we tend to think big numbers. Yet, when discussing success with musicians, I’ve found most would just be happy to make a difference to some people & be able to make a living off of it. If the goal is to make a living, then why does success necessarily involve racking up small amounts of royalties through thousands of plays until you finally have enough to make a living when combined with live gigs? (Music x Tech x Future)
Phoebe Bridgers' Busted 'SNL' Guitar Sells For Over $100,000 at GLAAD AuctionFor all of the controversy and backlash it caused, Phoebe Bridgers' guitar that she smashed to bits on the stage of Saturday Night Live became quite the item of interest during GLAAD's latest auction.On Sunday (April 11), GLAAD closed their online auction in support of the GLAAD Media Awards, where the organization sold off vacations, pieces of art, and much more. (Billboard)
Hans Zimmer’s Ringtone for the Oppo Find X3 Pro is Fit for a Hollywood ScoreHans Zimmer, the legendary composer of The Lion King, Inception, and other iconic soundtracks, has brought his epic compositions to a new audio medium: phone sounds. Yes, Hans Zimmer created a ringtone and other phone sounds for Oppo’s newest flagship, the Find X3 Pro, and they’re amazing. (The Verge)
Kanye West's Yeezy Prototype Could Become The Priciest Sneaker Ever SoldThis prototype pair of Yeezys have just gone for private sale at Sotheby's, valued at a whopping $1 million. The Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes were the prototype created for the first Yeezy line in 2008 designed by West and Mark Smith for Nike. According to the luxury auction company, they're the most valuable pair of kicks to ever be on the market. (Hot New Hip Hop)
15 Years of Spotify: How the Streaming Giant Has Changed and Reinvented the Music Industrysk any executive what the music business was like in the ’00s and their face may take on an expression more commonly associated with narrowly averted disasters like car accidents or, more accurately, attempted robberies. (Variety)
The Who Team Up With Heinz To Support Children’s CharitiesThe charity partnership comes more than 50 years after The Who and Heinz partnered for the release of the band’s third studio album “The Who Sell Out” which featured Roger Daltrey sitting in a bath full of Heinz Beanz and featuring “Heinz Baked Beans” as the second track. (Celebrity Access)
NFT Raises $200,000 for ‘Save Our Stages’ With Support From Shawn Mendes, Tove Lo; Next Round Starts FridayTop NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway has joined the effort and announced a follow-up drop this Friday (April 16) at 1:30 p.m. ET, featuring many of the artists who have supported the cause so far: Tove Lo, Dillon Francis, Pabllo Vittar and Tycho will all donate their likenesses for an NFT portrait series called “Nifty For NIVA.” (Variety)
Social Audio Startup Stationhead Looks Beyond Music As It Hits 100k Monthly Active UsersThe startup says it’s growing quickly, with 100,000 monthly active users — a number that’s increasing by 65% each month — and 500,000 total users. There are 6,300 hosts on the platform, and they created nearly 2 million live and recorded streams in the first three months of the year. (Tech Crunch)
BYTES
A newly discovered flower known as the tulip was sweeping the land. As speculation on who might breed the best black tulip reached a fever pitch, tulipmania broke out, and then the first recorded economic bubble in history burst. Today we're seeking a mad rush to mint and buy and sell NFTs for art, music, and all forms of collectibles. Is this going to turn out to be a bubble or the next dominant economic force? Quarantime is enlisting pioneers at the frontline of this surge to help us find out.
Tierra Whack has shared the music video for a new single, “Link.” Created in partnership with the LEGO Group, the colorful brick-filled visual was directed by Cat Solen, who previously helmed Tierra Whack’s video for ”Unemployed.” Check that out below.In developing the concept for “Link,” the Philadelphia artist sat down with a group of schoolchildren as part of LEGO’s “Rebuild the World” campaign, using their ideas as a launchpad for the video.
You may not know what conversational media is, but there’s a decent chance you’ve used Holler’s technology. For example, if you’ve added a sticker or a GIF to your Venmo payments, Holler actually manages the app’s search and suggestion experience around that media. (You may notice a little “powered by Holler” identifier at the bottom of the window.)
A hardened heart with a gentle spirit, DMX didn’t succumb to a life that would have broken most. His first five albums all debuted at Number One, and for a time, he was the biggest name in music and a rising star in movies. (Rolling Stone)
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!