Presented by
Welcome to a new week. With Coachella wrapping up and Stagecoach rolling into Indio, California this week, we’re officially deep in desert festival mood over here at TFP. Who’s rallying for a third weekend of music and sun?
In other news… Sony wants a piece of Paramount, brains go private, and Taylor Swift rules the world again.
We hope you enjoy this and all upcoming issues, but we have one request: please share your feedback. If you have any thoughts at all about our new look, format, and direction, please reply to this email. It’ll go straight to us. Do not hold back.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
YouTube – Transformers One
X
(Twitter)– Dan StevensGoogle – Julie Andrews
Reddit – Kevin Bacon
TikTok – “Answer” - Tyler, the Creator
.ENTERTAINMENT.
New king of the hill? // Illustration by Kate Walker
Sony wants to help take Paramount off the table
The Future. Sony Pictures Entertainment is considering joining Apollo Global Management’s bid to acquire Paramount Pictures. The move would consolidate two of the major Hollywood studios (similar to when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019) and put Sony in the streaming business with Paramount+. If a potential deal is accepted, it may be DOA with the FTC, which has been more aggressive in enforcing antitrust laws.
Studio shrinkage
After having its $26 billion offer for Paramount rebuffed by majority shareholder Shari Redstone and her company National Amusements, Apollo is adding some more firepower to its takeover attempt.
A bid from Sony and Apollo (which also has backing from Legendary Entertainment), would likely be an all-cash deal that would take Paramount private, per NYT.
The reported scenario is that Paramount would then act as a label under Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Apollo getting its investment back by selling its stake in Paramount to Sony down the line (Legendary also has a film co-financing deal with Sony).
But there’s a wrinkle — Sony, a Japanese conglomerate, would likely run into regulatory issues when it comes to owning CBS, an American broadcasting company.
A Sony-Apollo deal couldn’t even be considered until the 30-day exclusive negotiating window with Skydance and RedBird Capital has concluded — a deal that Hollywood prefers, but Wall Street doesn’t.
Stay tuned.
     |
59.8% of you voted Yes in Friday’s poll: Is there a brand that you “irrationally love?”
“Chanel. They keep increasing prices, and they haven’t changed anything about their products, and yet, I still lust after their attire. Completely irrational.”
“Apple, I guess? Feels rational to me, though.”
“Hellman’s Mayonnaise.”
.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NEXT EVO.
Discover the all-natural secret to blissful, uninterrupted sleep
We all know the feeling of a sleepless night, watching the clock tick away, knowing that our morning alarm is getting closer and closer. 😖
NextEvo Naturals holds the key to your best night’s sleep. Their Triple Action CBD Sleep Capsules blend CBD with controlled-release and immediate-release melatonin to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
For those who prefer a sweet treat before bed, they also offer Sleep Support CBD Complex Gummies, which provide 4 mg of melatonin along with their calming, water-soluble CBD.
Check out their diverse sleep-enhancing products and enjoy 50% off across their entire site with the code TFP50.
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department not only became the first album to surpass 200 million streams on Spotify in a single day… it went ahead and crushed that record with over 300 million. [Read More]
Netflix announced that it would stop providing subscriber numbers next year, focusing instead on metrics like revenue, profit, and engagement — the things Wall Street now cares about. [Read More]
Blackstone is trying to beat Concord’s bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund with a $1.5 billion offer. [Read More]
Fashion & E-Commerce
LVMH added two of CEO Bernard Arnault’s sons, Alexandre and Frédédric, to the fashion conglomerate’s board, narrowing the succession field. [Read More]
Nike is re-releasing some of the most popular sneaker styles in the company’s history on the SNKRS app via a new program called “Cult Classics.” [Read More]
Best Buy is rolling out an AR shopping tool for the Vision Pro to make sure customers no longer buy a TV that doesn’t fit in their living room. [Read More]
Tech, Web3, & AI
China has forced Apple to remove messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram from its App Store in the country. [Read More]
Tesla is recalling all of its 3,878 Cybertrucks on the road due to a flaw that’s making the accelerator pedal get stuck. [Read More]
Supercharged: A Bloomberg study found that there’s now one EV fast-charging station for every 15 gas stations in the US. [Read More]
Creator Economy
The House overwhelmingly passed the bill that would force ByteDance to divest from TikTok in the US or face a ban. Now, it’s off to the Senate. [Read More]
Taylor Swift collaborated with TikTok on a novel, “in-app experience” for The Tortured Poets Department a week after she (a UMG artist) put her music back on the app. [Read More]
Twitch debuted a “Discovery” feed — its own version of TikTok’s For You page. [Read More]
.TECHNOLOGY.
Walled-off // Illustration by Kate Walker
Colorado now protects your brain waves
The Future. Colorado is the first state to pass a law that ensures your biological and neural data receive the same protections as your fingerprint or biometric data, joining similar laws in countries like Spain and Mexico. With firms like Apple, Meta, and Neuralink already working on tech that could collect such data, Colorado’s law could be the blueprint for federal legislation.
Thought police
In Colorado, your thoughts are now considered sensitive personal data.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill that bars consumer neurotechnology companies — like the ones behind sensor-filled meditation bands and implantable brain chips — from freely sharing and selling that data to third parties.
Users of these products will be able to access, delete, and correct their data on file and opt-out of targeted advertising served from the sharing of that data.
And it puts strict regulations on how companies handle, store, and use that data, requiring audits for how it’s collected.
The law comes at a crucial time — a Neurorights Foundation study of the privacy policies of 30 consumer neurotech companies found that only one company restricted access to user data, two-thirds could sell data if they wanted to, and two had already sold data.
In other words, your brain is open for business.
| |
.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NEXT EVO.
The ultimate solution for post-workout recovery
The old adage is, “No pain, no gain,” but with NextEvo Naturals’ new Maximum Strength CBD Lotion Cream, you can tip the scales in your favor.
Designed for those who demand a lot from their bodies, this cream offers deep, targeted relief to weary muscles and joints, combining the restorative power of high-concentration CBD with soothing botanicals to nourish the skin.
If topicals aren’t your thing, their recovery collection features a range of options, including fast-absorbing CBD capsules and gummies, all formulated to provide 4x better absorption than traditional CBD oil.
Embrace a new era of recovery with an exclusive 50% off their entire site using the code TFP50.
Read: Mark Zuckerberg chats with The Verge about Meta’s ambition to develop the most-used AI system in the world.
Listen: Project X Entertainment co-founder William Sherak speaks with Variety about his new hit film Abigail and the state of the horror movie market in Hollywood.
Watch: Michelin-starred chef Charlie Mitchell of restaurant Clover Hill breaks down the ins and outs of keeping the lights on at a fine dining restaurant in NYC to Forbes.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Yes, Hollywood is debuting trailers in space now. Have to make sure to market the new Transformers movie to the Autobots and Decepticons out there…
LATEST PODCAST EPISODE
Today we get into a new Comic-Con-type event for sports, how Tesla is prioritizing robotaxis, and how brands are wanting a bigger piece of the action when it comes to TV and movies.
Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us
Keep the editorial team going! Buy the team a coffee! ☕️
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Boye Akolade. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.