Happy Thursday to everyone… except, maybe, stock photographers. WSJ posted the closest thing we’ll probably get to a eulogy for the once-lucrative profession. But with generative AI turning the heads of cash-strapped publications, stock photographers are no longer earning the livelihood they once did. Tech disruption rarely comes without some casualties.

In other news… brands flock to Stagecoach, The h.wood Group gets into the film business, and Tesla unplugs its Supercharger team.

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• YouTube – Lee

• X (Twitter) – Furiosa

• Google – Paul Auster 

• Reddit – Beavis & Butt-Head

• TikTok – “The Chicken in Black” - Johnny Cash

• Spotify – “Sweet Talk” - Iron & Wine

.MUSIC.

Stagecoach rounds up a fresh fanbase

The Future. As country music, Western wear, and all things Taylor Sheridan have leaped in popularity over the past couple of years, Stagecoach has taken the cultural center stage — especially with influencers and brands. To capitalize on the popularity, expect blue-chip brands to roll out country or Americana-themed marketing campaigns on their way to launching major activations at next year’s fest.

Brand country
Everyone’s putting on a pair of cowboy boots in Indio, California, now.

• Dominick Paielli, co-founder of the influencer management firm The Clementine Group, told Insider that this year’s fest drew significantly more influencer interest than ever before.

• Brands like Tarte Cosmetics, e.l.f. Beauty, and the luggage brand Béis had major activations and hosted influencers in nearby housing.

• The retailer Revolve even split its resources between Coachella and Stagecoach, which takes place in the same valley the week after Coachella — demonstrating the growing power of the country festival.

Paielli believes that brands have an opportunity to really stand out at Stagecoach because it’s not as saturated as Coachella, saying that Coachella has “a lot of bigger names that take up the majority of the presence there.”

Basically, relatively smaller brands have the chance to be the big guy in a boomtown. There are few pitches better than that.

93.5% of you answered No in yesterday’s poll: Would you ever want to engage with a celebrity’s deepfake?

“What’s the point? I prefer authentic connection, and I think we will see a trend moving that direction as people crave human interaction with the rise of deepfakes and AI.”

“It is just very creepy!”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NEXT EVO.

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Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Fox’s starting asking price for ad space during next year’s Super Bowl is $7 million for a 30-second ad — $500,000 higher than the starting bid last year. [Read More]

• Live Nation’s Concert Week kicks off on May 8th, offering tickets in 20 countries to top acts like Peso Pluma, Vampire Weekend, and Maggie Rogers for as little as $25. [Read More]

• As Paramount figures out who it’s selling to, Charter Communications has agreed to extend its carriage negotiations for an undisclosed period of time. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Amazon announced that it’s rolling out its Q chatbot widely to the public, so expect integration into its ecommerce store any day now. [Read More]

• Roblox will start selling in-game video ad space that will target users aged 13 and up, with Warner Bros. and Walmart among its first clients. [Read More]

• Accidental fashion: menswear brand Jordan Luca sold out of its $600 Stain Stonewash Jeans — which New York Post named “pee-stained denim” — after debuting during Milan Fashion Week. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into Block after it was discovered that Cash App and Square had authorized transactions from sanctioned countries and terrorist groups. [Read More]

• Tesla has gutted its Supercharger team, putting its partnerships with other EV automakers and The White House’s budding EV-charging policy in jeopardy. [Read More]

• Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in US prison for money laundering. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Substack will allow creators to paywall their Chat discussions to further monetize their content. [Read More]

• Pinterest saw its stock skyrocket 20% after reporting its fastest revenue growth since 2021. [Read More]

• A report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron concluded that kids should be banned from using smartphones until they’re 13 and from using social media until they’re 18. [Read More]

.ENTERTAINMENT.

The h.wood Group now serves movies

The Future. After developing bars and lounges like Delilah and Bootsy Bellows into premium haunts on the LA nightlife scene, The h.wood Group is hoping to develop some premium entertainment with its newly created h.wood Media. Considering how brands are now investing in film and television, h.wood Media could become a go-to connector for both worlds… and throw a great premiere party in the process.

Doc night
The h.wood Group is in show business.

• Partner Jeremy Allen, the founder of the film financing company New Slate Ventures (The United States vs. Billie Holiday, They Call Me Magic) will build a slate of mostly movies and documentaries.

• Many titles will focus on talent in the music world, including in-development projects from Kid Cudi (the Lucas Brothers-written comedy Hell Naw! at Sony), Post Malone, and Machine Gun Kelly.

• Additionally, h.wood Media will invest in consumer products and brands, potentially creating more synergy between its film and merch (a strategy out of the A24 playbook).

Allen says that h.wood’s work in hospitality isn’t too different from producing a film in the sense that they’re a “butts-in-seats business.” If you eventize the product and tell a good story, people will want to come.

Just don’t expect any unscripted shows about the celebrities who roll through their establishments — that’s the one thing that’s strictly off limits.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BETTER HELP.

Make changes that stick in therapy

The beginning of a new year always inspires people to make positive changes in their lives, but many of us end up frustrated because we can’t stick to those changes for more than a few weeks.

That’s because most resolutions don’t stick.

A minor setback can make us feel like we’ve “failed” at our resolution and lead us to abandon it. We also tend to have too many resolutions at once.

And there’s often little social support for our efforts — we feel like we have to achieve our goals on our own. This year, skip the resolutions and do something that can bring about real change in your life: therapy.

Whether you want to improve your mental health, understand yourself on a deeper level, or adjust some of your habits, therapy can be a powerful way to create real and lasting change.

• Read: Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei details in his new book, Just the Good Stuff, how to apply the publisher’s “smart brevity” approach to every aspect of work and life.

• Listen: The Deal chats with tennis GOAT Serena Williams about her second act: serial investor with her new firm, Serena Ventures.

• Watch: Mike Tyson stops by Forbes to talk about his success in the cannabis industry with his brand Mike Bites… which, yes, has edible gummies shaped as ears.

Serve ‘em the classics.

JOBS OF THE WEEK

Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.

Artist Management, Sr. Accountant
Live Nation
Beverly Hills, CA

Event Booking Intern
Kroenke Sports Enterprises
Denver, CO

Partner Engineer
Ripple
San Francisco, CA

Educational Content Strategist, Vice President
Blackstone Group
New York, NY

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