š Good morning. And if youāre reading this from New York City ā hereās a virtual hug. Apartment rents in Manhattan hit a record high in February with a median lease of $4.5k, up 6.4% from the year before. To add insult to overpriced injury, bidding wars over rentals are increasingly common, with nearly 27% of last monthās leases closing with a war.
š§ On the pod:Atariās disastrous āE.T.ā video game.
NEWS FLASH
šø Spotify pays up: The company said almost 1.5k artists generated $1m+ in royalties in 2024. While an artist needed to amass 4m-5m monthly listeners or 20m-25m monthly streams to reach the million-dollar mark, more than 80% of those seeing payouts in the millions never had a song reach the appās Global Daily Top 50 chart. The big-time players also fared well: The number of artists generating $10m+ has grown 600% since 2017, reaching 70 in 2024. If your napkin math is telling you thatās a whole lot of money, youād be correct. Spotify paid an all-time high of $10B in royalties in 2024, an amount it claims is āmore than any single retailer has ever paid in a year, and over 10x the contribution of the largest record store at the height of the CD era.ā
š Home sweet 3D-printed home: The worldās largest 3D-printed community is complete. Construction company Lennar and 3D tech printing startup Icon partnered to print 100 homes in the Wolf Ranch development outside of Austin, Texas. The homes come in two- and three-bed models, start at just shy of $400k, and are 75% sold out. As for whatās going on inside, each home is solar powered and has textured, rounded walls unique to the 3D-printing process. Each 40-foot robotic printer operates 24 hours a day and does the job of 12+ construction workers.
š Delayed, once more: Remember Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station since June? Wellā¦ theyāre still there, and will be a little longer. A launch pad problem stalled takeoff of SpaceXās Falcon rocket on Wednesday, which was meant to carry four astronauts to the ISS to replace Wilmore and Williams. The stranded astronauts were meant to stay just one week after traveling on Boeingās Starliner capsule, but faced major breakdowns in transit. Would have been a good time to overpack.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
Intel announced Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO, starting March 18. He replaces interim co-CEOs David Zinser and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who filled in for retired CEO Pat Gelsinger. Tan was previously CEO of Cadence Design Systems.
General Millsā new ramen products tap two of its brands: Old El Paso with fajita and beef birria flavors, and Totinoās with cheese and buffalo chicken pizza flavors. The mash-up provides an entry into the ramen market, valued at $58B in 2023.
No big pitch today ā just one humble link to help you build a winning blueprint.
Itās the 10-page AI marketing plan playbook for fixing dings, finding weak spots, and paving a path to absolutely dominating your industry. (Sorry, we couldnāt resist. Enjoy.)
When sales on food delivery apps jumped by 162% YoY during the pandemic, brands capitalized on the demand with āghost kitchens.ā
These virtual restaurants only sold food through apps and used existing kitchens to ship out trendy (often celebrity-backed) food concepts like the allegedly āinedibleā MrBeast Burger.
The ghost kitchens have evolved
Ghost kitchens have inherent issues, but a startup called Wonder is trying to avoid them by building one from the ground up.
Wonder operates āfood halls,ā mostly in New York.
Each houses multiple delivery-focused ārestaurants,ā but unlike a food court, they all use the same kitchen.
With the app, you can order delivery from multiple ārestaurantsā at once.
This week, Wonder acquired media company Tastemade, which publishes recipes and food-based streaming shows (DoorDash may be big, but it doesnāt have TV shows).
Last year, Wonder acquired struggling delivery app Grubhub.
In 2023, Wonder acquired meal kit delivery service Blue Apron.
Wonder opened its first location in 2023 but plans to have 90 by the end of 2025.
It makes senseā¦
ā¦ that this would be the future of food delivery. In terms of gas and time, why send one driver to multiple locations when drivers could get several kinds of food from one location for multiple deliveries?
But, as with most ghost kitchens, a jack of all trades is a master of none.
Eater says Wonderās food is āhit or miss.ā
Possibly because a ghost kitchen isnāt necessarily going to produce something as good as a dedicated spot that only makes one thing.
So you might trade a little quality for some convenience, but aināt that the way of the future?
Kickstart your startupās strategy: Here are 18 marketing strategy ideas and tactics that actually work.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
Capacity of the baby spheres that Sphere Entertainment wants to build.
The companyās Las Vegas Sphere can fit 17.6k seated guests or ~20k if standing, and cost the company $2.3B to build.
Smaller spheres would allow the company to explore new markets where they could spend less money and attract different artists while still offering viewers a 360-immersive experience. It could even screen video performances of its Vegas shows for fans unwilling to travel or spend big bucks on the real deal.
Similarly, Cosm, an immersive venue with domed LED screens in Los Angeles and Dallas, offers filmed performances of āOā by Cirque du Soleil and live broadcasts of sporting events.
AROUND THE WEB
š On this day: In 1879, legendary scientist Albert Einstein was born in Germany.
š Something big is coming: The Hustle is giving one person their big break ā and some cash. Keep an eye peeled for an announcement in Mondayās newsletter.
Itās a classic romcom trope: A love-stricken suitor sprinting to an airport gate and arriving just seconds before the doors close.
And while TSA has, for many years, squashed that fantasy, gate access is seeing a resurgence with some airports introducing special programs to get nonflying customers to gates, perThe Washington Post.
Itās not just about creating the perfect hello or goodbye ā thereās increased demand for airport access from customers who want to use their restaurants, bars, and stores.
Philadelphia International Airportās Wingmate Pass program has had 10.3k+ nonticketed guests visit the airport since November 2023. Demand for Orlando International Airportās Experience MCO Visitor Pass Program was so high that the airport had to suspend it temporarily.
While we donāt recommend using your local airport as the destination of your next date night, the programs sure make for a great grand gesture.
SHOWER THOUGHT
It would be cool if the openings on bathroom stalls closed when you locked the door.SOURCE
