(Ashok Kumar/Getty Images) |
Actually getting back together |
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After Airbnb's viral success with its Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse, the rental platform is launching "Icons" stays for guests who want to be the main character. Listings include a re-creation of the "X-Men" mansion and the floating house from Pixar's "Up" (which can be lifted by a crane). Big Tech stocks led yesterday's gains. Post-close, Apple stock rose after it reported a smaller-than-feared sales decline (oh, and announced a $110B stock buyback, its largest ever). Today, the US March jobs report could inform expectations for rate policy. 🌷 April showers bring May quizzes: Our weekly Snacks Seven tests how closely you've been reading this week's newsletters. Here's the first Q: |
- Whose market cap is bigger than the economy of the country it's HQ'd in? (Check your answer.)
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The day the music revived… After a three-month blackout, Universal Music Group (the world's largest music company) reached a new agreement with TikTok, restoring its massive song catalog to the FYP. Since February, songs from UMG artists like Taylor Swift, Drake, and Billie Eilish have been absent from TikTok after a dispute over royalty payments and AI protections. That created problems for artists, many of whom rely on the app for promotion, and users, whose timelines became way too reliant on that Joe Keery "End of Beginning" (aka "Back in Chicago") song. |
- Deal-tails: UMG said it had secured better royalty payments for artists. TikTok makes $18B in ad rev, but reportedly pays just $400M/year in music royalties. AI protections were also established.
- Swift turnaround: The holdout appears to have lost steam after Taylor Swift (UMG's biggest artist) returned her tunes to the app ahead of her album "The Tortured Poets Department" through a separate deal last month.
- Awkward timing: Last week, President Biden signed into law a bill that would force TikTok parent ByteDance to sell the app within nine months or be banned in the US.
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Struggling to keep the beat… Despite both TikTok and UMG separately implying the blackout didn't particularly affect business during the feud, the app has become a vital discoverability tool (with record labels even tailoring songs to be Tok-friendly). The music biz has struggled to keep up on the compensation side. Warner Music reached a new multiyear deal with the app last year, but Sony Music hasn't ruled out following UMG's lead with a blackout for better royalties (and in the past has pulled its catalog from ByteDance-owned Resso). |
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Labels are facing the music… TikTok has a lot of power in the audio industry, even with a potential ban on the horizon. It said 56% of its users (it has 170M in the US) began listening to a new musician or podcast after scrolling the FYP. Like its limited royalty payout deals with Spotify, the music industry may have to once again settle for exposure with TikTok. |
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Pull up a chair… Whatever your home needs, Wayfair has it — and May 4 marks Way Day, their biggest sale of the season. With thousands of sitewide deals on outdoor appliances for the summer season to classic centerpieces that'll be with you for years to come, you won't want to miss out! Start up the cart: Get your list ready now to maximize savings on furniture, decor, appliances, and more when Way Day goes live tomorrow. Save up to 80% on everything for your home until May 6. |
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Pull up a chair… Whatever your home needs, Wayfair has it — and May 4 marks Way Day, their biggest sale of the season. With thousands of sitewide deals on outdoor appliances for the summer season to classic centerpieces that'll be with you for years to come, you won't want to miss out! Start up the cart: Get your list ready now to maximize savings on furniture, decor, appliances, and more when Way Day goes live tomorrow. Save up to 80% on everything for your home until May 6. |
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"Chimichanga" in 7 languages… Mint Mobile, the cheeky telecom co owned partly by Ryan Reynolds, is now officially owned by T-Mobile. The deal includes Mint Mobile parent Ka'ena Corp. and its other wireless brands, Ultra Mobile and Plum (call it the MMCU). Reynolds is expected to score $300M+ from the ~$1.4B takeover and plans to stay on with Mint in a creative capacity. So, yeah, there's still hope to get another voicemail from "Deadpool." |
- On hold: T-Mobile announced it was buying Mint Mobile last spring, and getting approval has taken longer than execs expected.
- Dialed: The FCC finally gave T-Mobile the green light when the telecom titan agreed to make it easier for Mint and Ultra users to switch networks within a 60-day period.
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Networking it out… Critics of the deal said the telecom giant getting giant-er would be bad for competition. T-Mobile's the US's No. 2 phone-service provider by subscribers, alongside AT&T and Verizon (recall: it acquired Sprint for $30B in 2020). The tri-opoly of 5G control has raised privacy concerns. Major telcos have had massive data leaks, and the FCC this week fined them hundreds of millions, alleging they illegally shared user data. Defenders of T-Mobile's minty takeover said that Mint's biz consists of reselling T-Mobile service on repackaged plans. In other words: T-Mobile isn't expected to gain many new subs from the deal. |
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Prepare the hold music for M&A… Deals are taking a long time to get regulatory approval, especially in industries dominated by a handful of players. It took Microsoft 20 months to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, while Kroger's still waiting for approval to add Albertsons to its cart. Others aren't making it past the scrutiny stage: JetBlue's bid to buy Spirit was grounded. |
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- iO-No: Apple's revenue sagged for the fifth time in six quarters as iPhone sales fell 10%, the biggest drop since 2020. Meanwhile, competition from Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei heated up.
- Trending: Novo Nordisk saw sales of its weight-loss drug Wegovy more than double last quarter. The Danish pharma biggie is investing $6B to boost production of Wegovy and Ozempic, with both in short supply.
- Dashed: DoorDash stock fell 15% after the food-delivery leader unboxed record sales but a fatter-than-expected loss. Grocery appetite was strong, but restaurant orders cooled. Rival Uber reports next week.
- Twist: Paramount's fate is a nail-biter. Sony Pictures and private-equity firm Apollo offered $26B in cash to buy Paramount Global, which has been in exclusive talks with Skydance Media for a complicated merger.
- Pelodone: Peloton's boss is hopping off the CEO bike, and the struggling company will cut 15% of its staff = 400 employees. The pandemic darling has been losing $$ as paying subscribers shrink.
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| - April jobs report
- World Press Freedom Day
- Earnings expected from Cheniere Energy, Hershey, and FuboTV
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Apple, Microsoft, Uber, and Warner Music Group |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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