Lindsey Breeden

You remember this Spider-Man drawing meme from a few years back? https://lnkd.in/gXwXApdd You know, the one that shows the level of quality you get when you give an artist 10 minutes vs. 1 minute vs. 10 seconds? I remember when it started doing the rounds, a lot of creative types used it as an example of how much worse their work is when it's rushed vs. when they get enough time to truly ideate. What's funny is, this isn't even the best depiction of that. Imagine instead if you started by giving someone 10 seconds to draw a *brand new* superhero — one that doesn't already exist. My guess is the result would go something like "Uhhhmmmmm.... I dunnnoo.... (hastily scribbles rough silhouette with a cape)". Then give them 1 min and watch more detail get added. And then 10 and watch really rich character and story elements emerge. I see this a lot in organizations that put a premium on sprints and MVPs. It's one thing to put time constraints on refinement, evolution and optimization of an idea. It's another to rush the ideation itself. That's typically not a good recipe for innovation, since (as my example illustrates) when people are rushed, they tend to regurgitate/replicate the familiar. There is something to be said for putting some time constraints on ideation as a generative exercise. And when facilitated with a focus on lateral connections sparking new combinations, there is a way to hack novelty at pace. But often the main value is in getting all the obvious ideas out of the way, and getting the gears turning in the back of brains to let time do its work of mental marination. Then the real gems that team members can't stop thinking about can be prototyped/MVP'd/etc. Have you seen rapid ideation produce novel concepts (in product, comms, org design, etc.)? Or has it tended to churn out ideas that feel like replications/regurgitations, logical/linear progressions and slight incremental improvements on what already exists? #innovation #creativity #ideation #agile #mvp #prototyping #poc

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Well, it seems there's a shake-up in the music industry. Major record labels have initiated lawsuits against two leading AI music companies. While this move isn't entirely unexpected given the ongoing debates around AI and copyright, it's prompting some intriguing questions: How will this legal battle shape the future of music creation and intellectual property? Interestingly, major labels have shown interest in utilizing AI technology themselves. The big question now is how they will navigate this complex landscape and whether they will rally around a unified approach to "ethically trained" solutions. What are your thoughts on these developments and their potential impact on the music industry? 🎶 #MusicTech #CopyrightLaw #AIinMusic https://lnkd.in/dpj7ZtvS

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Film and TV studio A24 has secured a new round of funding led by Josh Kushner’s investment firm Thrive Capital. In connection with the investment, Kushner will join the board of directors for A24, best known for such films as “Civil War,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Moonlight” and “Uncut Gems,” and TV series “Euphoria,” “Beef,” “Ramy” and “The Sympathizer.” Financial details and exact figures were not disclosed by A24 and Thrive Capital, but sources confirm to Variety the investment from Thrive Capital gives it a valuation of about $3.5 billion — a 40% increase since A24’s most recent round of funding in 2022, which was $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation. Founded in New York in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, A24 boasts a catalog of 150 films and 50 TV series and has garnered 16 Oscars, 14 Golden Globes and 18 Emmys. A24’s business also includes 2AM, Half Magic and the Cherry Lane theater. In 2021, A24 explored a sale with a floated asking price of $2.5 billion to $3 billion. #thrivecapital #a24 #investment #venturecapital #tech https://lnkd.in/gdVi_xCv

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Just experienced Assassin’s Creed Mirage on the iPhone 16, and I’m shocked by the power of the new A18 chip and its ray tracing graphics core—it’s simply wow! 🎮📱 Apple has elevated mobile gaming to a whole new level. While some debate about technology saturation, I firmly believe it’s not about hitting a wall—it’s about optimization and pushing forward. Whether in tech or business, it’s not the specs or the number of resources that matter—it’s the user experience and how efficiently we utilize what we have. Just like @apple innovation, success in management is about harnessing core strengths, maximizing efficiency, and crafting a winning strategy. Hats off to Apple for proving that the future isn’t just about specs—it’s about creating experiences that truly make an impact. 🚀”

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Even the "godmother of AI," Fei-Fei Li, admits to not fully understanding what artificial general intelligence (AGI) truly means. Despite leading advancements in AI, Li emphasizes the need to focus on tangible issues rather than getting caught up in ambiguous terminology. Her work now centers on building "large world models" that bridge the gap between visual perception and action, aiming to develop a more comprehensive "spatial intelligence" in AI. #AI #AGI #ArtificialIntelligence #SpatialIntelligence #TechInnovation https://lnkd.in/gHKnhd8f

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I’m super excited to be kicking off a new series of events: Open Invite. There are two strong beliefs we hold at Metrikus that are behind this series of events. 1. We’re still in the early days of creating workplace experiences and the smart building industry is still young – but the change is more necessary than ever and real progress will only happen when we come together to share insights and collaborate. 2. Buildings aren’t just stand-alone structures – they shape cities, build communities, and leave a lasting mark on culture and history. This is something that should not and cannot be forgotten as we innovate into the future. So... we’re celebrating these things by hosting a series of meetups at interesting venues, offering unique experiences that inspire curiosity, spark conversations, and connect people from the PropTech, smart buildings, and workplace industries. For the first event, we’re heading to a free gig at the Southbank Centre, featuring Toby Corton and Kiiymm. It’s at 6pm on Thursday 10th October, and we’ll be heading to a pub nearby for a catch up after. It’s free to enter but please let us know here if you’re planning to come: https://lu.ma/4r5xu6q3 We’re starting in London but hope to celebrate the diverse culture of New York in the not-too-distant future.

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Worst hot take on Meta's Orion? Hard to say Apple is behind, but fair to say Orion was 10x more impactful than the AVP. Agree? Last week we saw Meta tease the new Orion glasses. Safe to say it was one of the most impactful pieces of technology we've seen in the past 5-10 years. I've seen some people online saying they'd actually buy it for $10k (which is the rumored cost of the device). But they wouldn't pay $3500 for the Vision Pro (which is really interesting). We can also agree that while the Orion will likely be here only in 2027, other companies are likely to release new devices. Snap Inc. has already released the Spectacles 5, which is nowhere near as good as the Orion, but it's an "affordable" tech that can be used today. There were many rumors about Apple releasing their own as well, but only in 2027. Alternatively, we have other companies like Rokid, Samsung, Google, HTC, Lenovo, that are likely to release something similar. Plus startups that are already in the space of smart glasses. Ultimately, we can say that Meta teasing the Orion was great for the market. Additionally, it should become even more competitive in terms of devices, which is also great. What a time to be alive! What are your thoughts? ==== 🔔 Click the notification bell on my profile and follow #DailyEly to keep up with #Metaverse Marketing and related trends. 👾 DM me if you'd like to join our Metavertising Telegram group or our AR/VR/3D job opportunities Telegram group. #MetaverseMarketing #MetaverseNews #SpatialMarketing #SpatialComputing

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This week on Growth@Scale, I got to talk to Daniel Barnes, a gaming executive who’s basically done it all…at scale. Dan has driven billions in value in his career for gaming companies like N3TWORK, NaturalMotion, Zynga, and Machine Zone. We talk about company culture, LiveOps, the limits of automation and AI, and what gamification principles can be applied to non-gaming industries. 👉 Give it a listen: https://lnkd.in/gptyfsPa

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Human creativity is becoming increasingly valuable in the evolving landscape of AI. As David Lee, Squarespace's CCO, notes, "As the world becomes more homogenised through AI, true creativity and craftsmanship will be seen as a luxury." While AI handles repetitive tasks, the unique spark of human creativity and compelling narratives will differentiate exceptional work. Future creatives must balance design skills with the ability to tell compelling stories to differentiate their work in an AI-saturated market. Thanks for the share, Richard Sneesby.

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I’m here for so many elements of the BBL-Drizzy story… 🥩The beef between Drake and Kendrick that has done so much to put hip hop back on the mainstream cultural radar 💨The prodigious speed and quality of their output 👍The extent to which the world has not just observed but participated via memes, social commentary, their own musical contributions 🤖And now the first cleared sample (by Metro Boomin) from an AI-generated track raising vexing questions about whether that IP is owned by comedian King Willonius who wrote the lyrics and ‘generated’ the melody, the platform Udio whose tech enabled this or the thousands (millions?!) of artists on whose work it was trained 🤯 Ultimately this feels like a sign of our relentlessly paced times. As Billbaord comments… “AI samples offer a solution for musicians in today’s relentless online news cycle. While [Willonius] has made plenty of songs from scratch before, he says AI offered him the chance to respond in real-time to the breakneck pace of the feud between Drake and Kendrick. “I never could’ve done that without AI tools… It’s good for when you dig and can’t find the right fit. Now, you can also try to just generate new ideas that sound like old soul samples.” https://lnkd.in/ekY-AsiK #AI #Creativity #Drakebeef

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Before diving in on how #VentureStudios support founders, I must also answer the question many of you have in your minds right now... "Wtf is a venture studio?" It's a perfectly fair question...the studio trend is still relatively new, and I've come to learn that most studio leaders have to answer frequently. #VentureStudios create companies, playing the role of Co-Founder and actively participating in opportunity identification, strategy development, company formation, product building and testing, fundraising, growth... you name it. To do this, Studios typically maintain a roster of top-notch entrepreneurs, advisors, product managers, marketers, engineers, designers, analysts, lawyers, accountants, and finance experts that can be categorized into a few key buckets: ⚗ Research & Strategy 🛠 Building, Testing, & Scaling 🌎 Ecosystem Development 🤝 Corporate Development 📚 Platform Support I'll go deep on each one in my next few posts. 👀 If this content is at all interesting to you, please stay tuned or drop me a line. Talking about studios is one of my favorite things to do, so don't be shy!

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The Department of Justice's (U.S.) antitrust investigation into LiveNation and its desire to break up the merger that allowed Ticketmaster and LiveNation to become one may be more than what it looks to be. Just like one person's behaviour (alleged) created the "Me Too" movement and was, as I said the morning that news broke, "the tip of the iceberg," so too is this shot across the bow. The entertainment industry has been rife with all kinds of business arrangements that defy anti-trust concepts. Conflicts of interest, much like in the startup world, where one day you are the enemy, and the next day the best friend, so too do those types of relationships exist, often masked by "attorney-client privilege, " "confidentiality agreements," "hush money" or "NDAs." Ticketmaster has forever been the bane of all venues. Few may even remember Ticketron, its ancient rival that it ground down out of existence through a sale first to Carlyle Group and then Ticketmaster. Even fewer likely remember the days of "hard tickets" that were in place before the digital era. Even fewer likely knew that (some) venues shared in the "service fee" paid by patrons to the "remote" locations. Those "remotes" were originally a minor portion of ticket sales for sporting events and concerts, but as technology rose, so did the convenience of going to the local department store or merchant with a terminal to make a purchase. The major money came through the venue's box office (remember the lines for concerts that would form nights before for the Grateful Dead?) or the local ticket brokers who bought blocks of tickets or were consigned even more. As Ticketmaster rose in strength and power, the brokers died off, the remotes became Ticketmaster locations, and the lines dwindled at arenas and stadium box offices over time. So, as the DoJ digs in, this will be part fishing expedition, part hunting lesson, but one thing is for sure: The more they dig, fish, and hunt, the more that will come out, and when that does, don't be surprised at what becomes public. Peter Csathy Tony Loiacono Charlie Lico #concerts #sports

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As 404 Media reports based on documents leaked to its reporters, the TV and radio news giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims that its so-called "Active Listening" software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to "capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations." "Advertisers can pair this voice-data with behavioral data to target in-market consumers," the deck continues. #privacy #security #surveillance #tech #communication

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STORY vs. CONTENT The word "content" gets tossed around so much that it’s lost its meaning—especially when it comes to video work supporting a brand. But here’s the thing: the term "content" doesn’t do justice to the power video has in communicating a brand’s story. Consider this: 72% of people prefer to learn about and buy from brands through video rather than text-based ads. Video content improves message retention by 95%, compared to just 10% for other mediums. 84% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand after watching professional, high-quality video. The real magic? Video taps into emotions, which is crucial in building trust and creating genuine rapport with your audience. It’s more than just content—it's about telling a story that resonates. At Blue Oak Productions, this is the driving force behind our work. "Your brand is your story. Tell it well." It’s time to move beyond generic content and focus on creating videos that connect, engage, and inspire. Let's rethink how we talk about "content" and aim for something more meaningful. #BrandStorytelling #Videography #CustomerEngagement #BrandBuilding #VideoMarketing

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🏀 NBA Poised to Revolutionize Sports Media with Amazon Prime Video Deal In a groundbreaking move that is set to reshape the landscape of sports media, the NBA and Amazon Prime Video are on the verge of finalizing a deal that will make the streaming service a primary home for league games. This landmark agreement, as reported by executives with direct knowledge of the talks to The Athletic, is expected to span at least a decade and commence with the 2025-2026 season. Under the proposed framework, Prime Video's package is anticipated to include a significant number of regular season and postseason games, potentially even some conference finals. This move underscores the NBA's commitment to defining itself for the next frontier of viewing, with streaming at the forefront. Alongside Amazon, ESPN/ABC is also expected to secure a deal with the NBA, with the expectation that the network will retain the rights to the Finals for the duration of its contract. Like Amazon's agreement, ESPN's new contract is projected to span at least a decade. As the NBA's current nine-year deals with ESPN and TNT Sports, valued at an average of $2.6 billion, are set to conclude after the 2024-2025 season, the league is actively seeking to diversify its media partnerships. While the NBA prefers to have three companies involved in its new deals, it has not ruled out the possibility of adding a fourth. The advancements in talks with Amazon and ESPN have left incumbent Warner Bros. Discovery, whose network TNT Sports has been a long-standing partner of the NBA since 1984, to compete with Comcast-owned NBC for the likely last package of games. Although Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to match deals, NBC could attempt to structure an agreement in a way that makes it challenging for its rival. To accommodate the inclusion of a third partner, the current packages are expected to be slightly pruned. In one arrangement, ESPN is likely to reduce its coverage from around 100 games to approximately 80, as indicated by executives briefed on the talks. Amazon's regular-season games could potentially be slotted on Thursday nights, a time period where it already has a strong presence with its NFL coverage from September to early January. In recent years, the NBA has strategically moved its games off Thursday during this period to avoid direct competition with the NFL. Additionally, Amazon is expected to secure significant playoff inventory and has expressed interest in acquiring global rights, aligning with the NBA's negotiating strategy of synchronizing its domestic and international deals to end following the 2024-2025 season. As the NBA, Amazon, and ESPN are all under the impression that they will successfully complete deals, the pressure now falls on TNT Sports and NBC, with its streaming service Peacock, to vie for the remaining package. #sportsbiz

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So, a bunch of you have been asking me what META AI and Llama 3 is about. Here is a quick introduction I wrote on the subject for Aurora, Dawn. Will write a more detailed article on the AI wars between Google, Meta and other players in a couple of weeks. Let me know if you want me to cover any specific angle on the subject.

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Some call Kevin Rapp a creative maverick. Here's why he refuses to jump on the AI bandwagon... AI is the shiny new toy everyone's raving about but our fearless friend Kevin Rapp, isn't playing. Why? Ethics: Training AI models on the entire internet without artists' consent? That's a hard pass. Efficacy vs. Hype: The reality of AI tools often falls short of the flashy promises. Legal Concerns: The tech raises serious questions about copyright and ownership. Environmental Impact: Training these massive models ain't exactly eco-friendly. I'm all about pushing boundaries. But not at the cost of ethics, originality, or our planet. We'd rather create something truly unique, something that sparks real conversations and leaves a lasting impact. What are your thoughts on the AI revolution? Are you embracing it with open arms, or do you share some of Kevin's concerns? 

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Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion. The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead. Let’s break it down… DEAL DETAILS • $100 - 300M growth capital investment • Led by Highmount Capital • Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time • No previous capital raised USE OF FUNDS • Hire mgmt team to expand biz • More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products • Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming • Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network • New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”: – Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants – Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect • Digital-native comedy and sports media brand • Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”  • Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List”  • Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships • 25 current team members PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views • Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP • Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ  • Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear • Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service • ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival • TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon • Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football • 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023 ORIGIN STORY • Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M • Cofounders = twins Coby Cotton and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert • Started as YT channel featuring trick shot videos INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital • Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare • Founded in 2023 by jason illian and David Hawkins • 4 team members on website + advisor • 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios • No other investments listed on website other than DP My takeaway... I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media capital markets reports (will link them below), investment must match market and opportunity size. To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space. The DP bet is exciting, but could be overly optimistic based on our prelim math. My colleague Michael Booth's post breaks the math down (link below). More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My dm’s are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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