(Mark Horton/Getty Images) |
Birds of a feather stream together |
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With "Deadpool & Wolverine" and "It Ends With Us" dominating the box office over the weekend, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively became the first husband-wife duo to star in the big screen's top two flicks in 34 years. Colleen Hoover, welcome to the MCU. Stocks didn't budge much yesterday as traders waited for tomorrow's inflation-data dump. This week we should get some insight into Americans' spending with retail sales #s due, plus earnings from Walmart and Home Depot. |
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Billion-dollar baby… Yesterday Universal Music Group and Meta announced a beefed-up version of their multiyear music-licensing deal, which makes UMG's songs available to share on Meta's apps (think: Reels soundtracks). UMG is the world's largest record label, repping stars like Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, and Taylor Swift. UMG's tunes will be available on WhatsApp and Threads (in addition to FB and Insta). UMG and Meta first teamed up in 2017. |
- AI-Drizzy: UMG execs say the refreshed deal expands moneymaking opportunities and addresses issues with artist royalties. UMG's also working with Meta to curb unauthorized AI-generated content (remember AI Drake?).
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Morgan Wallen song to pair… with your Nashville bachelorette post. Social media has become a top destination for music discovery as platforms roll out new ways to share tunes. Last year TikTok began letting users save tracks directly to Spotify and Amazon Music. In May, Meta launched an "Add Yours" music sticker, letting users share their fave songs. But while social-media streams help tunes go viral, they've led to conflict with labels over royalties. In May, UMG agreed to a new deal with TikTok, bringing its massive song catalog back to the For You Page after a three-month blackout (UMG wanted higher royalty payouts and AI protections). |
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Labels need social feeds to succeed… A study found that half of those between 18 and 24 use social media to discover music, and record labels are tailoring tunes for TikTok. Last month UMG stock plunged after the company reported that its Q2 music-streaming revenue disappointed (partly because of the TikTok blackout). Rival Warner Music Group said it would take a $10M-per-quarter revenue hit after Meta removed its premium music video catalog. |
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Beyond Nasdaq… Monogram's new investment potential |
Elite investors often get special deals that aren't available to the public. Take Warren Buffett, for example. When he invested $10B in Occidental Petroleum, he didn't buy the publicly traded stock. He got preferred stock paying an 8% dividend. While you won't be investing alongside Warren Buffett, Monogram is offering you preferred stock with an 8% yield (in cash or shares of MGRM) that's convertible to its common stock. Monogram's common stock's (MGRM) 52-week high is $5.15* and its closing price on 8/12 was $2.58, but the unlisted preferred stock (which is convertible into one share of common) is available for $2.25 per share. This opportunity is planned to come to an end on September 12, 2024.** *52-week range for MGRM is $1.53-$5.15 as of 8/12/24. |
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Beyond Nasdaq… Monogram's new investment potential |
Elite investors often get special deals that aren't available to the public. Take Warren Buffett, for example. When he invested $10B in Occidental Petroleum, he didn't buy the publicly traded stock. He got preferred stock paying an 8% dividend. While you won't be investing alongside Warren Buffett, Monogram is offering you preferred stock with an 8% yield (in cash or shares of MGRM) that's convertible to its common stock. Monogram's common stock's (MGRM) 52-week high is $5.15* and its closing price on 8/12 was $2.58, but the unlisted preferred stock (which is convertible into one share of common) is available for $2.25 per share. This opportunity is planned to come to an end on September 12, 2024.** *52-week range for MGRM is $1.53-$5.15 as of 8/12/24. |
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No gain, more pain… After a slew of early pandemic bankruptcies, gym chains are feeling the burn. Blink Fitness, Equinox's lower-cost offshoot, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Blink has 100+ US locations, 2K employees, and 440K+ paying members. It said it would keep its doors open and treadmills running while it looks for a buyer to deadlift it out of bankruptcy. |
- Empty benches: Blink blamed its woes on the pandemic, which forced it to close for nine months. It's racked up $280M in debt. This year, Blink made multimillion-dollar upgrades to its most-visited gyms.
- Joining the club: 24 Hour Fitness, Gold's Gym, and Town Sports International all went bankrupt in 2020 and '21. Home-fitness company Bowflex filed for Chapter 11 in March, and Peloton's slashing its expenses as demand spins down.
- Eucalyptus towels: Things are going better for Blink's bougie owner, Equinox, which said its revenue grew 27% last year. This year, the luxury chain began offering a $40K/year longevity-focused membership.
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Gyms are feeling sore… and it's not just from the pandemic. The FTC is finalizing "click to cancel" rules that would require companies to make ending a membership as easy as signing up (gyms are notoriously difficult to ditch). There are also weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, which some analysts worry could shrink elliptical demand. Another issue: Gen Z crowding. Younger gym-goers are showing up in higher numbers, packing locations and causing more churn for companies like Planet Fitness (which relies on a majority of its members not actually using the gym). |
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Financial fitness ain't easy… Facing the higher turnover that's expected to follow "click to cancel" rules, budget-friendly gyms are having to strike a balance between boosting memberships and keeping attendance levels tolerable. In May, Planet Fitness raised its prices for the first time in nearly three decades. |
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It's almost like we're nothing but revenue to them. Read More. |
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8% Dividend Yield Investment Opportunity |
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8% Dividend Yield Investment Opportunity |
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- TickTock: The Biden admin said it would go after companies that waste customers' time with things like hard-to-cancel subs. The initiative also aims to make it easier to score refunds and submit paperwork online.
- Billi: Temu's slogan "Shop Like a Billionaire" has taken on new meaning now that founder Colin Huang is China's richest person. The low-cost ecomm platform and Shein rival is the top shopping app on Apple's US App Store.
- SeHabla: Duolingo said it hit 100M monthly active users last quarter. The language-learning app has leaned into its oddball owl mascot and gamified lessons, and its Q2 profit was up 6x on the year.
- Kidult: McDonald's new "collector's meal" comes with Happy Meal-toy-themed cups (Hello Kitty, Shrek). McD's could be tapping nostalgia to boost sales, which dipped last quarter for the first time in three years.
- Gold: After the Paris Olympics' closing ceremony on Sunday, economists are calling out the ballooning cost of hosting the games. Five of the past six Olympics have cost at least twice their proposed budgets.
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- Producer-price data for July
- Made by Google event
- Earnings expected from Home Depot
- International Left-Handers' Day
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Apple, Walmart, and Warner Music Group |
Advertiser's disclosures:
** This is a paid advertisement for Monogram Technologies Series D Preferred Stock offering. A prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus have been filed with the SEC. Before making any investment, you are urged to read the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus carefully for a more complete understanding of the issuer and the offering. The securities offered by Monogram are highly speculative. Investing in these securities involves significant risks. The investment is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Investors must understand that such investment could be illiquid for an indefinite period of time. There is no existing public trading market for the Series D Preferred Stock. Monogram does not intend to apply for listing of the Series D Preferred Stock or the common stock purchase warrants on a national securities exchange or quoted on an over the counter market. DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
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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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