This week kicked off with Apple’s WWDC Conference. Although it’s eternally missing the magic of Steve Jobs, I think these presentations continue to get better and smoother in a nearly-post-Covid era. I found the effects, transitions, and diversity of speakers to once again provide a blueprint for how a company should communicate its product launches.Say what you will about Tim Cook, in my opinion his tenure has taken the company to new heights. Apple continues to innovate and lead. It’s my favorite and most consumed brand.There are so many key new features and cool additions to the Apple portfolio. This presentation highlighted:
A new Shareplay feature that will include both video and music sharing into Facetime.
An updated iOS 15 with a built-in notifications system for iMessage and FaceTime.
A whole new Spatial Audio System for Apple Music & Apple TV.
Live text that will read text from photos and let users copy and paste it freely.
A new identification system built into Apple Wallet that will replace physical ID’s at U.S. airports.
An enhanced security system built into Safari & Mail with daily updates from their App Privacy Report.
On-device speech recognition for Siri which will now work without an internet connection.
The ability to share new health data with family members via the health app.
New changes to Airpods that will augment hearing and improved Find My Network WatchOS 8 with new health features including the Mindfulness app.
Access to Siri for Third Party developers.
Launch of Apple’s new OS for its Macbook & iMac computers called Mac OS Monterey.
The new OS will allow users to use the same cursor across iMacs, Macbooks and now even iPads.
A whole new redesigned Safari with new Web Extensions coming soon.
In more tenuous news, Apple is involved in one of the most important court cases of modern times. Apple vs Epic Games (the maker of Fortnite) is going to have a substantial impact on App culture for years to come. Apple’s App ecosystem is a massive driver of business and relevance for Apple.Epic’s argument is that Apple’s policies are monopolistic and anti-competitive in nature. "The fight isn't over Epic wanting a special deal, it's about the basic freedoms of all consumers and developers," Epic Games CEO Tom Sweeney said in an interview. I have to hand it to Epic, their 1984 commercial attacking Apple was pretty legendary and certainly won points in the court of public opinion.I understand that Apple built the App Store and has the right to charge whatever fee it wants, but this fee does feel arbitrary and its non-negotiability stifles innovation in the world of Apps. The arguments have been made and the ruling will come later this year, which will unquestionably have a huge impact on culture and games.Facebook, too, is squaring up against Apple in a battle royale, this one around privacy and data. Ahead of WWDC 2021, Facebook informed users of a new tool that would show them how much money Apple and Google take from them. The new interface will inform creators of the taxes and hidden fees they are being charged for. The company also announced that it will keep paid online events, fan subscriptions, and online badges free for creators until 2023. This sounds good in the short-term, but after 2023 it’s tough to trust that Facebook won’t change the rules in their favor again. I’m still let down by the way they treated Fan & Band pages and changed the algorithm so the only way to reach their audiences -- audiences that people spent real time and money building -- is with a pay-to-play model.With the launch of iOS 15 in the fall, Apple is also slowly laying the groundwork for features that people would normally use on IG and Facebook, but with more emphasis on privacy.Apple and Facebook are on a crash course. Facebook is heavily into the data collection and sharing business, while Apple is hoping to ramp up privacy, harshly limiting Facebook’s revenue. The future is being written and things are going to get prickly! Let’s just say...heavy is the head that wears the crown.
BEATS
Ikonick Signs NFT Licensing Deal With Bravado, Universal Music Group’s Merchandise UnitLeading digital art brand Ikonick is teaming up with Bravado, Universal Music Group’s global merchandising and brand management company, to produce, market and distribute canvas art and NFTs across their extensive roster of artists. (Variety)
YouTube Isn’t the Music Villain AnymoreThe question is whether YouTube has achieved a lasting peace or a temporary one. If it persists, YouTube might have achieved something that few internet companies have: a relatively healthy relationship with an established industry that it simultaneously helps and disrupts. (NY Times)
Streaming’s Microwave Era: Music’s Shelf Life is Shorter Than EverMusic streaming is a lot like video streaming. Some believe that this is a quality issue, but it’s less about quality, and more about control. (Trapital)
Ice Cube’s Big3 Basketball League Signs Media Rights Deal with TrillerSocial media company Triller agreed to a joint venture deal with rapper Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league and will host its first all-star game, the parties told CNBC. (CNBC)
A$AP Rocky Becomes The Latest Investor In $31 Billion Fintech Platform KlarnaThe company has become elephantine in such a short time by offering customers the ability to make purchases and pay later, making money by charging merchants to utilize Klarna’s payment technology. Today Klarna names a new investor: rapper, designer and producer A$AP Rocky.
Pride 2021: 8 LGBTQ-Themed Collaborations We Can Actually Get BehindCovid-19 may have cancelled parades and parties in 2020, but Pride Month, as a summer-long celebration of diversity, acceptance and love, will continue on this year—though not without controversy. Within the past few years, several brands have launched “Pride-themed” collaborations and merchandise. But how relevant is Pride merch in a year that found us all struggling to celebrate? (Rolling Stone)
Sean Combs Teams With Salesforce to Launch Digital Marketplace for Black-Owned BusinessesSean “Diddy” Combs has teamed up with Salesforce to launch Shop Circulate, a curated digital marketplace that allows consumers to discover and buy products created and sold by Black entrepreneurs. The new platform, announced on the 100th anniversary of the attack on Black Wall Street in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, aims to help build Black wealth by circulating economic investment among Black-owned businesses. (Hollywood Reporter)
Rapper IDK’s Guide To Succeeding In The Music IndustryWe have all heard a musician’s horror story after being signed, whether that’s having records shelved, getting dropped, or the infamous prison of a 360 deal. But, undeniably, corporate backing has the potential to push your music and career to heights faster and further than many artists could ever reach independently. (Vogue)
Lil Yachty, Bhad Bhabie Jointly Invest In Jewish Dating App — Lox ClubIf that first sentence sounds like I’m playing a game of Mad Libs, don’t be too surprised. Celebrities and musicians are teaming up to invest in tech start-ups, live streaming, and new social networking opportunities. Bhad Bhabie and Lil Yachty launched a VC fund called Scoop Investments, led by manager Adam Kluger. (Digital Music News)
10 Takeaways From Sony Music Group’s 2020 Review and Future ForecastWhile the pandemic sidelined untold numbers of physical businesses, Sony Music Group saw significant gains to its bottom line in 2020. That was the upshot of the company’s 2021 presentation to investors, held on May 27. (Variety)
Binance (BSC) MVBII Needs A Theme SongROCKI, the new music platform for NFTs that has already garnered attention from musicians and crypto enthusiasts, and Binance Smart Chain, are on the hunt for an official theme song for the Binance Smart Chain MVBII program. (Digital Music News)
TikTok Radio Could Mean A Chance At A Wider Audience For New ArtistsArtists are constantly looking for new ways to break out and increasingly that’s coming from TikTok. The platform makes it easier than most in that all you need is a short clip rather than a long video, and it’s also very active in promoting creators that begin to gain some traction. That ability is now increased with the upcoming launch of TikTok Radio in conjunction with Sirius XM and its Pandora subsidiary. (Music 3.0)
BYTES
Merck Mercuriadis, Founder and CEO of Hipgnosis, discussed the achievements made so far in revolutionizing music publishing and establishing music rights as an asset class during last month’s “Data, Rights & Royalties Summit”. The conversation primarily focused on the importance of placing songwriters at the center of the economic equation.
Some records and jingles start becoming the “theme song” for certain advertisements and commercials, and start getting associated with them with passage of time. These songs totally transformed advertising and have become iconic moments in the culture.
Using Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning to bring pictures to life in the form of a video, the lip syncing app Wombo has gone viral with the masses and investors like Ashton Kutcher are jumping on the tech startup bandwagon.
Tiny Desk is now working from home and for their latest edition and have brought on board FatJoe, a Latino Hip-Hop legend from South Bronx.
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!