The New Influencer

PRESENTED BY HEAR.COM

Monday’s back ‘round again. If you’re old enough to have had an AOL email account, we have some sad news. Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the iconic “You’ve got mail!” alert, has passed away at 74. He may have signed off, but his influence will live on forever… just like the AOL accounts we haven’t checked in a decade.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

New Media Is The Real Influencer

Podcasts, TikTok, YouTube, and X are now the new rulers of the influential media landscape, taking the mantle away from networks, cable outlets, and publishers.

The Big Picture: While new media formats create a deeper and more direct relationship with audiences, the authenticity of the information being shared is far more “sus” due to the lack of editorial standards and professional accountability. 

Behind The Scenes: The new media ecosystem is turning out to have been a major contributor to why Donald Trump won the presidency this time around.

• Podcast listening has tripled over the past decade, with 47% of Americans (and 60% under 35) listening to podcasts each month. 54% tune into news and political content.

• Trump appeared on 20 podcasts this year, including The Joe Rogan Experience (which netted 45 million views on YouTube and 25 million listens on Spotify), while Kamala Harris appeared on Call Her Daddy, which scored 8 million views across platforms.

• Newsfluencers have skyrocketed in popularity on TikTok and Instagram, including CJ Pearson and Emily Saves America on the right and Harry Sisson and Vitus “V” Spehar on the left. They sometimes get double the views of legacy media.

• Both Trump’s and Harris’ campaigns recognized the importance of courting influencers. They were accredited as press during the Democratic National Convention, and Trump organized for influencers to join him at his debate with Harris.

The Future: This is all a big wake-up call for legacy media. During election night, the top three cable channels (Fox, MSNBC, and CNN) were down a collective 32% in viewership. That hurts, but that’s what happens when the average audience member is 69. And that contraction is even more pronounced for traditional publishers on both sides of the aisle. But with conventional media’s digital arms growing, expect to see a full-court press to invest in these verticals with young, social media-native talent.

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TikTok And Spotify Are Friends Now

TikTok, Spotify, and Apple Music have launched a new feature to drive cross-app traffic to fuel discovery and listenership for artists… and even more engagement for the platforms.

Why It Sings: For the past few years, music-streaming services and TikTok were growing into sworn enemies — TikTok was encroaching into music, while music streamers were becoming social platforms. By making it easier for users to bounce between apps, expect a new breed of hitmakers to top the charts.

Between The Plays: The new “Share to TikTok” feature is the olive branch the music industry has hoped for… and a final nail in the coffin for the now-defunct TikTok Music.

• Users can share songs, albums, playlists, and audiobooks from Spotify and Apple Music to TikTok, which will link back to the streamers.

• Users can then use the songs in posts, Stories, or DMs.

• The feature allows platforms to be used for what they do best — driving trends on TikTok and actually playing music on streamers.

Final Track: Artists will likely be psyched that TikTok and streamers are getting on good terms. 67% of TikTok users reportedly search for new music after hearing clips of it on the platform. By making navigation to that music just a click away, expect that number to go up… meaning more money for everyone involved. We wouldn’t be surprised if more artists started beefing up their presence on TikTok to help drive new fans to their music.

DEEP DIVES

• Read: Deadline interviews Ben Affleck and Matt Damon about how their Artists Equity banner is shaking up the way artists get paid in the film industry.

• Listen: Decoder dissects why CEOs are pushing to get employees back in the office on the heels of the remote-work revolution.

• Watch: Insider explores how a drug being developed to extend dogs’ lives could lead to a human version.

95.1% of you voted Yes in Friday’s poll: Do you think personal connections are the easiest way to get a job?

“Technology has made the job search increasingly impersonal. It’s extremely difficult to break through the algorithm and actually get noticed by a real person these days. Direct connections remain (and have always been) the only way to expedite the process and sidestep all of the hoops you need to jump through to get a job in the corporate world. Blue-collar work is a slightly different story, but I think the same basic principle still applies.”

“If someone can speak to your qualifications, and even your working style, based on personal interaction, it carries more weight than words written on a resume.”

“When I got laid off from a former employer, I was finally hired by someone who I had worked with when we both worked for the same former employer. It’s because of networking.”

“No one gets to where they are without who they know. No matter what they say.”

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

🏆 The Grammy nominations have arrived, led by Beyoncé with 11 nominations for her country album, Cowboy Carter.

🤑 Hollywood’s C-suite believes that a Trump presidency means a lot more leeway to pursue M&A, including further consolidation.

🎾 Ari Emanuel is on the acquisition hunt for live events… live events that his own company, Endeavor, controls.

→ Technology

👨‍💻 A team-up among Anthropic, Palantir, and Amazon plans to give the US intelligence and defense community access to Anthropic’s Claude chatbot.

✈️ Supersonic aircraft startup Exosonic is grounding operations after failing to raise enough cash to continue.

🧩 Striking NYT tech workers are making some very cool indie games and puzzles.

→ Fashion / E-commerce

📦 Cheaper goods look to be exploding in popularity on Amazon as everyone minds their budgets.

🧘‍♀️ Activewear brand Vuori raised $825 million in a funding round led by General Atlantic and Stripes, giving it a $5.5 billion valuation.

🩳 BEAMS, a popular Japanese menswear brand, is coming to the US with a flagship store in LA.