Tuesday has arrived, and so has the moment to get rid of all the tents, camping chairs, and sleeping bags left behind in Indio Valley after Coachella and Stagecoach. Last year, Goldenvoice, the organizer of the festivals, donated a total 34.6 tons of abandoned gear to local nonprofits like Galilee Center, so that it could be distributed to people who needed it. Talk about circular camping.

In other news… stand-up comedy rakes in the cash, teens are making friends with AI, and ChainFest cooks up an expansion.

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• YouTube – The Acolyte

• X (Twitter) – Furiosa

• Google – Tom Brady’s The Greatest Roast of All Time

• Reddit – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

• TikTok – “BOOGIE” - BROCKHAMPTON 

• Spotify – “These Walls” - Dua Lipa

.ENTERTAINMENT.

Stand-up comedy is a booming business

The Future. These days, stand-up comedians are laughing all the way to the bank, with the industry tripling in value over the last decade and commanding the audiences of even hit bands. Netflix is to thank for the boom, with social media and podcasts expanding the market even further… which could finally make comedy a dominant theatrical genre again, too (if Hollywood gives it a chance).

Funny money
We’re in a peak stand-up comedy era, analyzes Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg.

• Comedians like Bert Kreischer and Taylor Tomlinson have mostly avoided acting roles in favor of true moneymakers — touring and TV specials.

• Just how big of moneymakers? Ticket sales for live comedy events have skyrocketed from $371.4 million in 2012 to $909.6 million in 2023.

• Mike Berkowitz, the co-head of comedy at WME, sums up the market expansion best: “When I started, there were three or four active comedians who could fill even a small theater. Now there’s hundreds.”

In decades past, comedians could only blow up by either starring in a sitcom or getting a guest spot on a late-night show. Specials were reserved for only the biggest stars.

But Netflix changed that equation, paying up to $20 million for specials… which the streamer made a lot of, releasing 50 or more in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and solidifying a new generation of stars, who used those specials as key marketing for their tours.

Things have slowed down slightly since then (while also growing with Netflix’s Netflix Is a Joke Fest), but now that Max and Prime Video are writing big checks to bid on specials as well, the market for laughs may be better than ever.

52.5% of you answered Air (Nike) in yesterday’s poll: Have you seen any of these titles about corporate brands (Flamin’ Hot, Air, The New Look)?

“I’ve seen the top 2. Not Dior, though.”

“Actually have seen all three.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT STRV

Spatial experiences are coming for us

How we work, unwind, and consume digital content is changing, as brands discover new ways of interacting with consumers.

STRV is leading the pack by designing original concepts for spatial experiences with Vision Pro.

They recently launched Float, which was featured in the App Store’s Health + Fitness section for Vision Pro apps, to create ideal meditative experiences for users that begin with softening reality and end with fully transforming the surroundings via 360° videos. Spoiler alert: it’s otherworldly.

STRV is also making magic happen with Zoe, a top-rated dating and social networking app used by 10 million queer women. Vision Pro allows love-seekers to get to know each other (and laugh face-to-face) on spatial reality dream dates.

And finally, STRV crafted the design concept for Rebel Girls for Vision Pro — where beautiful illustrations come to life in girls’ rooms as they hear stories about inspirational women who paved the way for younger generations.

See what STRV’s Vision Pro can do for your brand today.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• ChainFest, B.J. Novak’s celebration of all things fast-food, has partnered with live events producer Medium Rare to help grow the fest’s offerings and expand to more cities. [Read More]

• Netflix has acquired Mark Duplass and Mel Elsyn’s Penelope — an indie TV show made entirely on spec — paving the way for a new kind of TV dealmaking. [Read More]

• Country singer Randy Travis, who lost his voice from a stroke in 2013, released a new single, “Where That Came From,” with a little help from AI and a surrogate singer. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• KidSuper turned fashion and the fashion world into a joke at Netflix Is a Joke Fest with his special event, “Funny Business: Fashion Is a Joke.” [Read More]

• TAG Heuer brought back its iconic Formula 1 watch model at the Miami Grand Prix with a little update from Kith. [Read More]

• MSCHF is going high-art by finding representation with Galerie Perrotin and kicking off the relationship with a show at the gallery’s new LA location. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• The SEC fired a warning shot at Robinhood’s crypto business, signaling that it intends to bring a civil suit against the company. [Read More]

• A 12-year-old boy is the first recipient of the CRISPR-powered sickle-cell treatment after it was given FDA approval. [Read More]

• X is using its Grok chatbot to generate news summaries in a new feature called “Stories by X.” [Read More]

Creator Economy

• MrBeast has left his long-time management company, Night Media, to have more control over his business… which brings in a wild $600 million per year. [Read More]

• Meta is rolling out an AI update to its creator-brand matchmaking service, Instagram Creator Marketplace. [Read More]

• Jack Dorsey has left the board of Bluesky, despite being the biggest backer on the social media platform, which was incubated at Twitter during his tenure as CEO. [Read More]

.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Teens make friends with AI

The Future. Some kids are opting to spend more time with their chatbot friends than their real ones. It’s a trend that’s helping some kids overcome loneliness and anxiety but also endangering them of only developing relationships with AI. If the trend continues, we may soon see a mental health crisis not about loneliness but about a lack of human connection.

Chatbot clique
3.5 million users, many of them teens, flock to Character.AI to converse with, confide in, or even date AI-powered chatbots. 

• The chatbots are based on characters from popular shows, movies, and video games, and even celebrities.

• Users spend an average of two hours on Character.AI, telling The Verge that the chatbots have helped them boost their confidence, work through social anxiety, and try out jokes.

• But many share that talking to the chatbots has become an addiction, choosing instead to have group chats among various chatbots rather than go out with peers.

Experts are worried, of course, casting doubt that these teens will be able to transition from AI friends to real ones, especially if those human interactions go wrong. 

As if being a kid wasn’t hard enough…

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT QUARTZ DAILY BRIEF.

Get to know the global economy

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Their free newsletter delivers a delightful analysis of everything that influences the global economy and more.

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• Read: Highsnobiety lands the first interview with the person behind the viral @21metgala Insta account, an 18-year-old named Maria.

• Watch: China’s spaceship launch hopes to be the first to put a lander on the far side of the Moon.

• Listen: The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna chats with indie producer Navid McIlhargey (The Hunter’s Prayer, Broken City) about the nuts and bolts of how a movie gets made today.

4DX is coming to movie theater lobbies this summer.

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