The weekend is almost here… and so is the end of Spotify’s Car Thing. The music streamer’s very, very brief stab at hardware products was such a flop that the company announced that it would render every device inoperable on December 9th. That’s right: if you purchased the $90 device, it’ll now be turned into a brick for your dash. Spotify said it won’t provide refunds, but it does hope you’ll recycle it responsibly. Lol.

In other news… the DOJ makes Live Nation face the antitrust music, millennials go on unsanctioned vacations, and Netflix flexes its 2023 viewership.

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• YouTube – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

• X (Twitter) – Kevin Hart and Kai Cenat

• Google – Jeremy Renner

• Reddit – Cassie Ventura

• TikTok – “WHAT I HAVE” - Kelsea Ballerini

• Spotify – “Heaven” - The National

.MUSIC.

The DOJ wants to rip Ticketmaster away from Live Nation

The Future. The US Department of Justice, along with 29 states and Washington, D.C., have joined to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, with the goal of forcing the largest live event company in the world to divest from ticketing giant Ticketmaster. If the case is successful (and we expect this one to be a long fight), the resulting increased competition in ticketing providers could greatly reduce the fees attached to event admissions.

Lawsuit lineup
The DOJ’s lawsuit alleges that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are too big, too interconnected, and have acquired too much power.

• According to the suit, the combined companies have done so by forcing venues into exclusive ticketing contracts, pressuring artists to use its promotional services, and either threatening or acquiring rivals to stifle competition.

• That’s led to higher prices for consumers (what the suit calls the “Ticketmaster tax”), a lack of technological innovation (partially what led to the TSwift debacle), and a lack of opportunities for smaller promoters or ticketers.

• Additionally, the suit points to the fact that Live Nation owns or controls many of the top venues in the US — its “flywheel” business model locks up every facet of an event to benefit its interrelated businesses and its involvement in secondary ticket sales.

Live Nation, which allegedly controls 60% of concert promotions at major venues around the US and 80% of ticketing at major concert venues, says the suit is ultimately without merit and won’t change the price of tickets (which are typically set by artists).

Not that Live Nation necessarily wants prices to go down — its revenue was up a record 36% last year to almost $23 billion.

51% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Are you into film franchises?

“They’re like excessive sales emails. While the first one might be truly meant for me, the others that follow are out of desperation and greed.”

“Some stories and characters deserve to exist in more than one film.”

“The best ideas are coming from low-budget filmmakers.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT HEAR.COM.

The smallest, mightiest hearing aid on the market

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Why? Partly because it’s tiny. Like James Bond-device tiny. Partly because it boasts the world’s first-ever dual processing system. And with double the power comes double the clarity.

In non-science-y talk, that just means you get maximum speech clarity with minimal background noise and, as a result, effortless conversation wherever you go.

You can also stream music, adjust settings via the app, and enjoy ultra HD sound all day, every day.

Ready to join the 385,000+ people who can hear with crystal clarity thanks to hear.com? Sign up for a 45-day, no-risk trial to test-drive the best-selling Horizon hearing aid now.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Netflix dropped its viewership data for the second half of 2023, showing that Sam Esmail’s Leave the World Behind was the top-watched title with 121 million views. [Read More]

• Despite all the sales drama, Paramount clinched a carriage renewal with Charter, which includes access to Paramount+. [Read More]

• Atari acquired rival Intellivision and 200 of its games for an undisclosed amount, ending what’s considered the longest console war in the history of gaming. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• QCP Capital estimates that the price of Ethereum will shoot up around 60% if Ether ETFs are approved by the SEC. [Read More]

• Stüssy is opening up an archival store in Brooklyn, which will feature clothing, art, and furniture from different eras of its design history. [Read More]

• Artist Trevor Gorji crafted an oversized Birkin bag that you can literally lay in. Hilarious. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• The US is spearheading an AI safety network with allies like the UK, Japan, Canada, and Singapore, and the EU. [Read More]

• Nvidia is feasting on the AI boom, posting an astonishing $14.9 billion in profit last quarter. [Read More]

• OpenAI has struck an over-$250 million, five-year deal with News Corp to license its content for AI training. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• X is taking away the ability for users to see who exactly liked other people’s posts or their “Likes” tab. [Read More]

• President Biden is ISO of a memelord for his re-election campaign. [Read More]

• Bonkers Toys and Invisible Narratives are teaming up to sell merch based on the Gen Alpha phenomenon, the Skibidi Toilet. [Read More]

.WORK.

Millennials go on “quiet vacations”

The Future. A survey by The Harris Poll found that a surprising number of millennials are taking advantage of work-from-anywhere arrangements to take sanctioned vacations — a phenomenon being called “quiet vacationing.” That’s sure to ruffle the feathers of employers, but as long as projects are getting done on time and up to standard, this trend will likely only increase… further blurring the line between life and work.

PTNo
Last year, it was all about “quiet quitting.” This year, it’s all about “quiet vacationing.”

• Almost four out of ten millennials report that they’ve taken time off work without telling their employer and taking paid-time off — in contrast to only 24% of Gen Zers and Gen Xers.

• Millennials are even pros of pretending like they’re working while they’re on their unofficial vacations, with 38% saying they’ve moved their mouse just to make their work apps look “active.”

• And to look like they’re working overtime, 37% of millennials have scheduled an email to send outside of normal work hours — 10% more than Gen Z.

The Harris Poll chief strategy officer Libby Rodney, who coined “quiet vacationing,” says “there’s a giant workaround culture at play” and believes millennials are the biggest perpetrators of it because, unlike Gen Z, the generation generally doesn’t voice their need for a work-life balance. They’re burnt out but don’t want to rock the boat.

And the data backs it up — 78% of Americans don’t use all their PTO days (despite wanting to) and over 50% have taken work calls while on vacation. Maybe being “off the clock” has been a fiction for a while.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NIKE.

Have you heard about Nike’s clearance sale?

Refresh your athletic wardrobe with Nike at unbeatable clearance prices, up to 40% off.

• Listen: The DOJ’s top antitrust economist, Ioana Marinescu, discusses how corporate anti-competitive behavior affects the economy with Odd Lots.

• Watch: Perplexity AI founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas explains to Forbes how the Google competitor hopes to personalize search.

• Read: Variety breaks down how AMC Theatres, the largest cinema chain in the US, has pulled out every trick in the book to avoid going bankrupt amid a rocky theatrical landscape.

The big debate in Hollywood: if a movie releases straight to streaming, does it make a cultural sound?

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today we get into the NFL potentially allowing private equity into team ownership, how brands are paying school tuition fees, and how streamers are trying to change the way they pay their talent.