Happy Tuesday. If you’re in Ohio and craving a plate of boneless wings, you may want to chew carefully. After a man sued a restaurant in 2016 after accidentally swallowing a bone while eating boneless wings, the state’s Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that “boneless” doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t have any bones. It just refers to a cooking style. So, prepare for some very absurd marketing to hit the state to calm diners’ nerves, like “Boneless wings, with all the bones removed,” “Boneless wings… no, really,” and “Boneless wings, chicken-nugget style.”

In other news… the American South wants your recent college grads, Doodles enters the rap game, and Deadpool & Wolverine is the biggest movie of the year.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe

• YouTube – Bagman 

• X (Twitter) – Ryan Reynolds 

• Google – Dollywood flooding

• Reddit – Josh Hartnett

• TikTok – “Skinny Love” - Bon Iver

• Spotify – “Chasing Low Vibrations” - Foster The People

.WORK.

Southern cities want young professionals

The Future. For recent college grads, landing a job has become increasingly harder. But cities in the southern US are putting up some much-needed “hiring” signs. If the recruiting continues, the influx of young people may turn the South into a new cultural hub.

Hot generation
A study by payroll provider ADP found that big cities in the South are becoming the best place for young people to find work.

• The top five locations are Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; and Atlanta, Georgia.

• They offer plenty of entry-level positions in the tech, healthcare, and financial industries, as well as plenty of research universities. (Raleigh, the top location, is part of the Research Triangle.)

• While they may not pay as much as cities like San Francisco and New York, they have good salaries relative to their costs of living.

How rough is it for college grads right now? According to Goldman Sachs, the unemployment rate for workers between the ages of 20 and 24 is higher than before the pandemic, with the monthly rate of hires for people with little-to-no experience at 13%. 

And as major companies scale back their workforces due to high interest rates and the rise of AI, regions that are still hiring (and hiring humans) are worth paying attention to.

51.4% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you use generative AI tools?

“There is no way I could get my work done on time, accurately, and competitively without the use of AI text support.”

“AI is really helpful, but only as helpful as the information you provide it. With that said, I utilize AI quite frequently but only after conducting my own primary research and exploring my own knowledge of a subject.”

“It’s just very tempting, but I think of all the implications — loss of thought, environmental factors, theft from artists — and I’m just not inclined to.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT ARMOIRE.

Dress up even if you WFH

You don’t have to make plans to dress up. You can just go to a local coffee shop or hop on a Zoom call for an hour. It’s a confidence boost, and it changes things up!

The best way to keep your wardrobe fresh? Armoire — a female-founded clothing rental service for women.

Here are some things about Armoire we know you’ll dig:

• Their style quiz. It’s quick, and their initial recommendations are legit.

• They put together some great collections that make shopping less overwhelming.

• Shipping is free and speedy! You can get stuff the same week you order it.

• And if you’re really obsessed with a piece, you can buy it for a steep discount off the retail value.

Choose from three monthly plans starting at $89/month. Use the code thefutureparty for up to 50% off your first month.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine scored a way-above-expectations $211 million at the domestic box office, making it the sixth biggest theatrical debut in history. [Read More]

• The Teamsters and Basic Crafts Union have reached a tentative agreement with the studios on a new three-year contract… nearly finishing the last of the high-profile labor negotiations during the past year. [Read More]

• Fantastic Fest, one of the top genre festivals in the world, is adding a showcase for horror video games during its event this year. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• The medals awarded at the Paris Olympics contain a small piece of the Eiffel Tower’s original iron frame. [Read More]

• Sabrina Carpenter is partnering with Scent Beauty on a fragrance label, Fragrance by Sabrina, available exclusively through Shopify. [Read More]

• Pharrell debuted his collab with Adidas on a unique colorway of the Adizero Adios Evo Pro 1 by wearing them as he carried the Olympic torch. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Apple announced that it won’t have Apple Intelligence ready for its September rollout of iOS 18 in September, pushing the launch date to October. [Read More]

• LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok are starting to team up with publishers to sell ads, splitting the revenue. [Read More]

• Donald Trump has vowed to build a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile” if elected president. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Despite Twitch’s massive popularity, parent company Amazon has been unable to make it turn a profit after acquiring it for a billion dollars in 2014. [Read More]

• Creator company LTK rolled out a shoppable vertical video feed that allows users to scroll through a single chosen creator. [Read More]

• YouTube influencer MatPat is devoting his time to lobbying for creators on Capitol Hill after successfully selling his media brand earlier this year to Lunar X. [Read More]

.MUSIC.

Doodles mints a record label

The Future. Doodles seems to be one of the few NFT projects to really expand beyond that label, with the creation of a branded music label. Considering its Web3 roots, Doodles Records may experiment with releasing music through limited-edition drops that give singles a streetwear vibe.

A&R avatars
Doodles is launching Doodles Records in partnership with Sony’s The Orchard.

• The first release will be a soundtrack to an original short film titled Dullsville and the Doodleverse.

• The project features music from Pharrell (Doodle’s chief brand officer), Coi Leray, Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, Kyle Richh, and Swae Lee.

• Every single and album that the label releases will be accompanied by an animated visual created by Doodles founder Burnt Toast and in-house animation studio Golden Wolf.

Additionally, Doodles is launching DoodlesTV, a direct-to-community platform that offers early access to music, video, and merch releases. A season one “all-access media pass” will be available next week, per Variety.

As you might expect, that will give members the first chance to listen and watch Dullsville and the Doodleverse.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BRAD’S DEALS.

Get the most out of your Amazon Prime membership

Maximize the value of your Amazon Prime membership by uncovering 10 lesser-known benefits that can transform your shopping, streaming, and saving experience.

Learn more.

• Learn: World-champion gymnast Simone Biles partnered with Masterclass on a course that teaches gymnastics fundamentals… in case you want to learn from the GOAT.

• Watch: Bloomberg put together a mini-doc about Mark Zuckerberg and his push to transform Meta into an AI juggernaut.

• Listen: The Vergecast explores whether AI can truly make perfect movie recommendations and put an end to the endless scroll on streaming services.

Marvel doubles Downey on the multiverse.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today, on an extra special bonus episode of Future Forecast, our hosts Boye and Chris sit down with Andrew Kenward, the President and COO of Almost Friday Media. Andrew was an agent at WME in the digital media department at WME before being brought into the Almost Friday universe in 2021. We chat with him about his career, his goals for the brand moving forward, and what it's like working in media today.