Thursday is upon us… and so is the new season of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Who’s going to be watching this season?

In other news… California bans unregulated actor deepfakes, Skydance finally bags Paramount, and Every Frame A Painting makes a comeback.

Want to discover even more newsletters? Here are some of our favorites

• YouTube – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

• X (Twitter) – Fantastic Four

• Google – Paralympics Games Paris 2024

• Reddit – Dolly Parton

• TikTok – “Sorry Not Sorry” - Liil Yachty & Veeze

• Spotify – “Lonely is the Muse” - Halsey

.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

California’s deepfake-protection bill generates a path to signage

The SAG-AFTRA-backed bill that gives working actors protection from the creation of deepfakes has officially passed California’s Senate and is on the fast track to being signed into law.

The Big Picture: The use of digital doubles by studios and streamers was a major point of contention during last year’s actors’ strike, so California’s passage is a win for workers’ rights in the state with the largest entertainment industry in the world.

Between the Lines: Assembly Bill 2602 has been SAG-AFTRA’s biggest legislative project of the past year, which aims to codify the gains from its last contract negotiation into law and cover all actors.

• It requires consent and compensation when any production seeks to create a realistic audio or video deepfake of talent to be used in any commercial project.

• It unanimously passed the Senate after a few revisions, so now it goes back to the House (which had passed the previous version) and then goes to Governor Newsom’s desk.

• SAG-AFTRA will now set its sights on AB 1836, which would give deceased performers the same protections as AB 2602.

Closing Thoughts: AB 2602 is the first of the AI-focused bills working their way through the state and federal government. Meanwhile, the federal ones are crawling through Congress, as usual. But with California leading the charge in the states, expect AB 2602 to be modeled across the country.

Go Deeper: California’s larger AI bill, SB 1047, has been the talk of Silicon Valley all month.

56.7% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you have an Apple TV+ subscription?

“Consistently the best programming out of all the streamers. To hear they’re struggling with growing subscribers is puzzling.”

“Of course, I do. I cut out cable two years ago to get an antenna and stream what I wanted to save money. So, ‘of course,’ I’m now spending more on streaming services than I did on cable! Ugh.”

“Subscription services need to be bundled into one package deal? Where’s Flo from Progressive when you really need her?”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NIKE.

Pssst… we know how to get 25% off Nike gear

Air Jordans, graphic tees, backpacks, leggings — you can score a discount on all the Nike must-haves.

How? Check out Nike’s 25% off sale (which ends soon, btw) and load up on select styles for you and the whole fam.

Perfect for back to school or “just because.”

Jump on the Nike sale now before it ends.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• It’s official: Skydance has won the bid for Paramount Global. Now, it goes to regulatory review. [Read More]

• Bill Belichick, the former New England Patriots head coach, is going to be all over ESPN next season as a host and contributor. [Read More]

• According to Horowitz Research, 66% of Americans now watch FAST channels. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Kith scored the very first collaboration with Italian designer Giorgio Armani on a “suit project.” [Read More]

• Lyft is rolling out a rider-verification program to help keep drivers safe. [Read More]

• Starface Pimple Patches have become an unlikely Gen Z fashion statement, thanks to TikTok. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Calm is trying to bring meditative practices to the endless scroll with a suite of new features. [Read More]

• Meta isn’t done with mixed reality yet as it looks to ramp up work on a new glasses device codenamed “Puffin.” [Read More]

• The SEC sent a warning shot to NFT marketplace OpenSea that it might be in store for a new lawsuit. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Every Frame A Painting, the influential, film-focused YouTube channel, is making a return after seven years. [Read More]

• Snapchat is now on the iPad… 13 years later. [Read More]

• #DormTok is the trend that every retail brand wants to get in on. [Read More]

.SOCIAL MEDIA.

Endlessly scrolling just increases boredom

A study out of the University of Toronto at Scarborough found that jumping from video to video while scrolling without actually finishing any of them, makes people more bored than they already were.

The Big Picture: Social media has a negative effect on people for a variety of reasons. Understanding the whys behind those effects is key to improving user habits.

Between the Lines: The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, included 1,200 people across seven different experiments.

• Participants were given a series of videos (cat videos, memes, and other videos popular on social media) that they could skip, fast-forward, rewind, etc., and then another series of videos that they simply had to watch straight through.

• People, especially those around college age, overwhelmingly reported that they were more engaged and satisfied after simply watching the videos in their entirety… which came as a surprise to them.

• When skipping around, participants reported feeling less attentive and found less meaning in what they were watching — aka, they were more bored because they’re simply searching instead of engaging.

Closing Thoughts: Actually focusing on the thing you’re watching turns out to be the key to fighting boredom on social media. That goes against the idea of the endless scroll. And from a creator standpoint, as brands start to favor engagement over viewership, micro influencers with passionate fanbases who actually watch their content may be more important than the big names with millions of followers.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT KENNY FLOWERS.

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• Watch: OneRepublic frontman and prolific producer Ryan Tedder breaks down how he crafted the song “Counting Stars” and the David Guetta hit “I Don’t Wanna Wait.”

• Read: Wired interviews Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker about the platform’s 10 years as one of the top communication apps.

• Listen: WSJ answers every question imaginable about the ins and outs of the work-from-anywhere life with KPMG director and global mobility policy expert Daida Hadzic.

Yeti and Liquid Death think it’s so hot outside that even the dead need to stay hydrated.

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.