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Welcome back, party people. For all you McFlurry lovers out there, it’s time to celebrate — the great broken McDonald’s ice-cream machine plague is finally ending. The US Copyright Office has granted an exemption that allows franchise owners to fix those machines themselves, instead of an official Taylor repairman. It went into effect yesterday, so now you can hit the drive-thru with some peace of mind.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

California Wants Hollywood Productions Back

California is set to double its film and TV tax credits to lure productions back to the entertainment industry capital of the world.

The Big Picture: Even though California is home to Hollywood, most movies and shows now shoot in locations with generous tax credits — Georgia, Louisiana, New York, the UK, Australia — as a way to get more bang for their budget. That’s displaced workers all over the world and cratered production in California.

Behind The Scenes: Tied with recent studio and streamer cost-cutting, California productions are reaching historic lows, forcing workers to relocate, change industries, or rely on welfare. That set off alarm bells within the offices of Hollywood unions, LA city hall, and, finally, Sacramento.

• Governor Newsom called for the state’s legislature to approve doubling the tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million annually, guaranteeing as much as $3.75 billion in tax credits over the next five years.

• There are different allocations to reward new productions, existing productions in the state, and productions relocating from other areas — covering up to 20% of a production’s budget.

• The credits would provide some relief for companies who choose to shoot in California despite higher labor costs and permitting fees (for example, the cost of an LA permit is exorbitant).

• But, unlike other places, California’s credit won’t be applicable to above-the-line costs (directors, writers, stars) or VFX.

Closing Credits: California has left a lot of money on the table by not staying competitive with its tax credits — it lost $1.6 billion from productions that applied for the credit but didn’t receive it because of how small the pool is. Most productions don’t even bother applying. By expanding the tax credits — which spurs a lot of economic activity and net-positive tax revenue — California, especially Los Angeles, could finally generate employment opportunities and reclaim its position as film and TV’s “company town” again.

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Meta Generates A Google Search Competitor

Meta has been quietly building a search engine to power its Meta AI chatbot, lessening its reliance on those of rivals like Google and Microsoft.

Why It Hits: Data is gold in the world of AI — how it’s collected and how it’s controlled. With chinks forming in Google’s search dominance and chatbots generating a new way for consumers to find information, search market share is shifting.

Between The Queries: According to The Information, Meta wants info about current events, sports, stocks, and other topics to come directly from the company itself — not an outside partner.

• It put a team under senior engineering manager Xueyuan Su eight months ago to crawl the web and create databases around the information collected — known as “web indexing.”

• Some publishers, like NYT, have already blocked Meta’s web crawler (like they did with OpenAI and other rivals).

• However, Meta did strike a deal with Reuters to license data — the first AI-focused news deal for the company.

The Future: A strong search business is one of the backbones of a strong ad business, which is the biggest revenue driver for Big Tech. Meta AI could supercharge that revenue — it already has 185 million users and is embedded across all of Meta’s apps. A fully functioning search engine would protect Meta from the possibility of losing access to Google Search or Microsoft Bing — echoes of how changes to Apple’s OS kneecapped Meta’s ad business. Big Tech may be becoming more siloed in order to service a user’s every whim… and reap all the benefits.

DEEP DIVES

• Read: WSJ has the definitive behind-the-scenes look at the 50th season of SNL, with great interviews from the cast, crew, and, of course, creator Lorne Michaels.

• Listen: Decoder chats with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky about the ins and outs of running a startup the size of the hospitality giant.

• Explore: Forbes lists its top 50 creators of 2024.

57.4% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Would getting paid for your insights make you more loyal to a brand?

“Money paid does create loyalty.”

“Beyond making money, it proves the brand is really listening and caring what their audience wants.”

“I’m loyal to a brand based solely on the quality of their product. Be it a cup of coffee or a car, that’s all that matters to me.”

“No. Quality, reliability, consistency, and price will always win the day for me when it comes to most products.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

✂️ Netflix is making it easier for people to share clips and scenes of its titles directly on social media.

🎵 Universal Music Group struck a strategic deal with “ethical media AI music company,” Klay Vision.

🧮 Amazon offered the team behind a new Wuthering Heights adaptation a pay-per-stream residual in an attempt to win the project — a potential industry game-changer.

→ Technology

📱 Apple released its much-hyped Apple Intelligence AI system on iOS 18 yesterday.

💻 Google is working on a computer-controlling AI agent on the heels of Anthropic’s recent announcement.

🤖 Microsoft, OpenAI, Notion, and X have all explored acquiring AI startup Perplexity for up to $200 million.

→ Creator Economy

🛒 TikTok is pulling out all the stops to ensure Shop is a hit this holiday season.

🤳 High-schooler social media stars are apparently choosing a college based on how it’ll vibe with their content. Wild.

💔 When a viral TikTok account gets caught in the middle of a divorce, things get… complicated.