OVERWORLD:
-Ticketmaster gets a little present from DoJ-

ONE BETWEEN:
-Good students being good students-

THE DEPTHS:
-Bake a living bird into your pie, it’ll taste better-

“Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television.”
— David Letterman

✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

▶️ YouTube:
Trump Found Guilty

👽 Reddit:
"who's crying motherfucker"

✖️ X:
Walmart store managers can now make up to $500k a year.

❓
Mystery link.

More music industry bullshit

Ticketmaster gets a little gift from DoJ

124 pages of “eat shit” were just sent to Ticketmaster.

It's an anti-trust case, and the Department of Justice sent it.

Here’s what’s inside:

So, it’s not just about high ticket prices or scalpers, but about the company's big ass vertical integration in the live music game.

This means Live Nation is eating the whole cake, and smiling about it. They dominate tickets, live music venues, artists' tour bookings, and concert promotions, leading to numerous downstream effects like higher ticket prices and difficult-to-obtain tickets.

The Matrix that is Live Nation pretty much traps independent bands and venues.

They struggle to get booked at Live Nation venues, and independent venues face obstacles if they don't use Ticketmaster.

This forces most to conform to using Live Nation's services, leading to limited competition and negotiating power for artists and venues.

The lawsuit claims Live Nation’s dominance harms artists, venues, and fans by reducing competition.

John D. Rockefeller energy: In Washington, D.C., Live Nation’s venues and ticketing services forced independent venues like Merriweather Post Pavilion to either join Ticketmaster or lose out on major artists.

The lawsuit also sheds light on the relationship between Live Nation and Oak View Group. It alleges that the latter, while nominally a competitor, actually works with Live Nation to push artists and venues towards using Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

In essence, the DOJ argues that Live Nation's practices have led to higher fees for fans, fewer choices for artists and venues, and a lack of competitive innovation in the live music industry.

Let’s see how this shaboingery plays out.

✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech

Donald Trump was found guilty by a New York jury on all 34 counts in his hush-money case. This verdict makes him the first criminally convicted former president. Despite this, Trump remains the presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election. He plans to appeal and continues to campaign, framing the verdict as politically motivated. The trial’s outcome adds a significant twist to the race between Trump and President Biden. Voters’ perceptions of Trump seem unchanged, with his base remaining supportive.

Big deal, literally: The US Army awarded Palantir Technologies a $480 million contract for the Maven Smart System, extending through 2029. This project utilizes AI to enhance battlefield assessments and target identification. The contract moves Maven from prototype to production, significantly increasing its users across various US military commands.

HubSpot shares jumped 8% after reports that Alphabet is considering an all-stock acquisition, potentially its largest ever at $33 billion.

Apple and OpenAI have reportedly sealed the deal to bring ChatGPT to iOS 18 in 2024. This move shifts Apple's focus from on-device models to server-side AI for Siri. Details will be revealed at the WWDC keynote on June 10. Stay tuned for more updates.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

Stupid, expensive and cool: Balenciaga revealed a collaboration with Under Armour on a soaked Shanghai runway. The collection includes branded belts, performance outerwear, and more. Available now, the six-piece range features loungewear items like a $1,450 hoodie, $795 T-shirt, $1,150 shorts, and $1,290 sweatpants. The full lineup is available on Balenciaga’s webstore.

Golden Goose SpA plans an IPO in Milan this week, aiming for a €3 billion valuation. Despite a slowdown in the luxury market, investor interest remains high. Known for handcrafted, celebrity-favored shoes, Golden Goose's IPO follows a surge in European listings. The new stock is expected to start trading before July.

Ah shit, here we go again: Another reference track from Drake's Scorpion era has surfaced, this time for "Mob Ties" by co-writer Vory. The leak has reignited debates about Drake's songwriting authenticity. Additionally, a PARTYNEXTDOOR reference track for "Ratchet Happy Birthday" is also circulating.

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

Get inside his head: Guy explains how he sold his company for $600K, and the little-known secrets of the process.

Cozy 1-minute-read: On Writing

Cozy 2-minute-read: “My Bike Is Everything to Me"

Good music: happy new year!1!!! have a great 2007 :]]] e

For programmers: Don't DRY Your Code Prematurely

Orcas aren't attacking boats – they're just playful teens, scientists say

ONE 

BETWEEN

Fly shit? Fly shit.

Good students being good students

Since 1989, Central Saint Martin University has been London's breeding ground for fashion's most influential talents.

If you didn't know: Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and John Galliano have all honed their craft within its walls.

Last night, the academic grounds transformed into a runway. 40 students presented their final collections, showcasing their unique design languages.

Graduates from various programs showcased: BA Fashion Womenswear, Menswear, Design and Marketing, Knit, and Print, each displayed six distinctive looks.

Here are 5 collections that stood out:

✦Hamish Olrik-Small: Fairy tale meets British prep✦

✦Jack Lambert: SCUM✦

✦Lulu Yang: What the fuck✦

✦Yoonji Kim: Rei Kawakubo aura✦

✦Taehun Kim: Fly apocalyptic utility✦

THE DEPTHS

Sonic seasoning

Bake a living bird into your pie, it’ll taste better

You already know this, but music profoundly influences our experiences.

What you probably don't know is how it might affect us when we eat.

Cool study: A 2018 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences found that louder music in restaurants leads to customers ordering more unhealthy foods, likely due to increased stimulation and stress. But it can also work the other way, potentially enhancing the dining experience.

✦Is music a legitimate ingredient?✦

Yes, could music be considered an ingredient, complementing the act of tasting, chewing, and swallowing?

But that concept isn’t new. Historically, food has often incorporated music. And sometimes, music is quite literally the ingredient.

This would be illegal today, but Medieval chefs hid singing birds in pies (not kidding). Here's a 1598 recipe for how ‘to make pies so that birds may be alive in them and fly out when it is cut up:

✦Tangent over, back to modernity✦

Sonic seasoning is a developing field that explores the link between sound and taste.

Another cool study: A 2010 Oxford University study found that different musical elements correspond with specific tastes: high pitches with sweet and sour, low pitches with bitter and umami.

Subsequent research showed that music tailored to enhance specific flavors can intensify those tastes. This phenomenon may relate to synesthesia, where one sense triggers another, as some individuals can "taste" sounds.

The point: Music in your ear hole spices up the food in your mouth hole, scientifically.