text:
Mozaic.io, a global payment platform for co-creators, announced that it has raised a $20 million Series A funding round from Boston-based growth equity firm, Volition Capital.
Mozaic, founded in 2015 by CEO Marcus Cobb and SVP of Growth Rachel Knepp, has secured over $27 million in funding thus far, with support from investors such as Rise of the Rest, Maverick Nashville, and music industry executive Joe Galante. The company’s mission is to create innovative tools addressing various facets of the music business, including credits management and ticketing.
According to Mozaic, although the payment app landscape is well-established with platforms like PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, Zelle, and others, there has been a notable absence of a solution for creative teams to seamlessly divide income among all contributors in their respective local currencies. Mozaic addresses this gap in the market by offering the sole global split payments API.
Initially concentrating on facilitating payouts for music distributors, artists, and collaborators, the company has now broadened its scope to cater to the entire peer-to-peer creator economy. Furthermore, Mozaic aims to extend its reach into the gig and freelance economy in the future.
“The Creator Economy is a global economy and for it to reach its full potential, compensation has to be as seamless and as natural as collaboration,” said CEO, Marcus Cobb. “There is massive demand for a solution that enables simple and transparent payments. We estimate 7 out of 10 collaborative payments are painfully delayed or distressed. So, you can imagine what might happen if that pain turns into joy at-scale. It’s a multi-billion-dollar opportunity.”
Thanks to the new funding round, Mozaic is set to channel its resources into fresh product development initiatives. This includes the introduction of a self-serve feature designed to empower creators in overseeing all aspects of their endeavors, allowing seamless integration with various platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Shopify, and others. The objective is to centralize payment transactions, collaborations, and sales data within a unified platform. Additionally, Mozaic has plans to augment its workforce, aiming to double its current headcount of 24 by the conclusion of 2023, thereby expanding both its sales and product teams.
“There’s been a significant secular shift in the content people consume, which has increasingly moved from traditional entertainment media to social-mobile,” said Larry Cheng, Volition Capital Managing Partner. “People creating and making money with podcasts, music, gaming, ecommerce and other projects often collaborate with globally distributed teams. Mozaic’s platform solves the biggest challenge creators face with shared revenue and is securely positioned as the go-to solution for automating multi-party payments. Mozaic’s dynamic and experienced leadership team coupled with a solid first-mover advantage make this an exciting partnership.”


text:
Thanks to the support of all brands and retailers, they are arranging charity sales of black items at their shops from September to October, echoing to Orbis World Sight Day. Part or all of the proceeds will be used to fund our global sight restoring initiatives!
What's more, it’s our honor to have Cityplaza being our Mall Partner this year, World Sight Day ceremony event and eye health exhibition will be held at the mall during October 5-11 too.
Interested in joining us? Please contact Ms Crystal Lau at 2508 7037.

domain: news


text:
A new study shows a smartwatch might be the dirtiest piece of consumer technology you own. In fact, the device may very well host more bacteria than a toilet seat!
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
The research comes from mobile comparison service comparemymobile. The study pitted various pieces of tech against each other to see which hosts the most bacteria (total aerobic bacteria, Coliforms, Staphylococci and Enterobacteriacea). Swabs were taken from three cohorts of a range of items including smartwatches, phones, games controllers and laptops.
Surprisingly, it found that some of these were up to 30 times dirtier than a toilet seat! The worst culprits were smartphones, keyboards, controllers and smartwatches, as shown in the table below.
Bad news for wearable tech owners. Smartwatches were found to be dirtiest of all items tested in the study, harbouring a whopping 3,746% more bacteria than a typical toilet seat. Wow! They been found to be good breeding ground for large levels of aerobic bacteria and Staphylococci. This was both on the watch surface and strap.
For those not in the know Staphylococci is a bacteria that can cause a range of illness. This is anything from skin infections, boils, styes, abscesses, to food poisoning and even toxic shock syndrome.
Here are some of the gory images.
“Our tests found that smartwatch owners should regularly be cleaning their tech, making sure to clean both the watch face and strap,” said Dan Clifford from comparemymobile.
“This is especially true if you use your wearable to track your fitness at the gym or when you run as this can cause them to get particularly dirty.”
We couldn’t agree more. At a time when we are all making sure to wash our hands more often, it might be a good time to reassess how often we clean every day items. A smartwatch is a good place to start.
Apple has recently updated its guidance on cleaning the Apple Watch. It now says it is okay to use Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes on all its devices. You should not dip them into any cleaning agent and, of course, using bleach is a no no. Previously, the guidance was not to use any substance apart from water to clean your Apple product.
The full study from comparemymobile can be found on this link: https://www.comparemymobile.com/features/dirty-talk/
Like this article? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and never miss out!


text:
Credit card debt is a problem for many consumers and has necessitated that many find help when it comes to paying off these credit cards and implementing responsible credit card use, due to the fact that many consumers across the nation are suffering from excessive credit card debt in their personal life. Understandably, credit card debts may be easily met by some, in terms of the minimum payments that these consumers will meet, but when it comes to the overall cost of credit card debt, this can create a great deal of needless waste in the lives of consumers who are continuing to rely on credit but are doing little to pay off what they owe.
Also, there have been some studies that, according to an article on MSNBC.com, “…show that people who pay with cash save approximately 20 percent over those who pay with credit and don’t feel deprived.” Obviously, consumers who plan their purchases, pay with cash, and avoid charges related to credit card interest rates are going to save more overall and also find that they will be in a position where stress may be reduced since they will have less debt in their life which is hanging over their head.
However, there are some financial advisers who point out that consumers who may refuse to use their credit cards to make purchases could do some harm in their financial life as well, as credit purchases and repayment practices by consumers can lead to a higher credit score and, as a result, this can make buying a car or home more affordable, while low scores may prevent consumers from being able to access these types of financing opportunities altogether. While there are other options outside of credit cards that can be used to increase a consumer’s credit score, it all simply relates to the spending and repayment habits through credit cards, personal loans, or other financial obligations that a consumer may have as to what their credit score may be.
When it comes to those who are in a substantial amount of credit card debt, paying off what they owe and implementing responsible financial practices will be vital, and this may require a great reduction in credit card use for a set period of time. Understandably, getting out of debt is not easily accomplished and can be almost impossible if a consumer is continually using their credit cards as a way to make purchases, but are only making minimum payments on these credit card charges and, as a result, are simply living outside of their financial means.
However, some financial advisers suggest that consumers may benefit from credit card use, in terms of their credit score, but also will put themselves in a situation where they can avoid excessive debt if they will plan their purchases, save up money for big-ticket items, and use their credit card to make these purchases but pay off the entirety of the balance on a month-to-month basis. Consumers who may feel that simply avoiding credit card use altogether is best may find that when they are living a cash-only lifestyle, this can be used along with credit card purchases, as the cash they saved for these expenses can be applied to a credit card bill each month if they purchase these items with their card and erase this credit card debt obligation immediately, and this can also lead to benefits with their credit score.
Understandably, those who may have problems when it comes to credit card debt and controlling their spending may have to consult outside assistance, like a credit counselor, but for those who feel that completely avoiding credit cards is the best way to get their financial life on track, they may find that after they have erased their debts, implementing saving practices and responsible credit habits can be a part of their financial life which, again, can help them improve their credit score and use their credit card in a way where excessive debt will not arise thanks to these spending, saving, and repayment methods.


text:
Make in India is set to get a major boost in Budget 2018 through a customs duty rejig, according to a report. However, these measures are likely to pinch customers' pocket as they could make imported high-end mobile phones and electronic goods expensive. Basic customs duty may be imposed on components such as printed circuit boards, camera modules and displays that are allowed duty-free entry now.
Custom duty rejig in Budget 2018
Customs Duty may be revised on certain other selected goods. Through this, the government can address inverted duty structures—finished goods facing lower duty than the inputs that go into them.
Post implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), customs duty is the only levy which still falls under the central government's domain.
In December 2017, the government had raised basic customs duty levied on imported mobile phones to 15 per cent, up from the 10 per cent, which it had levied earlier on July 1 last year.
The government has imposed 15% basic customs duty on mobile phones and parts like charger, headsets, battery and USB cable with immediate effect to boost domestic manufacturing.
However, this decision drew flak from tax experts.
"With BCD exemptions available under FTA as well, their impact will also require a separate evaluation on Make in India initiative," Rahul Shukla, executive director, indirect tax at PwC, told Economics Times.
Make in India programme
As part of the Make in India programme, the government is planning to make India a manufacturing hub rather than a destination where goods are assembled. The engineering sector in India attracts immense interest from foreign players as it enjoys a comparative advantage in terms of manufacturing costs, technology and innovation.
Today, Indian manufacturing companies in several sectors are targeting global markets and are becoming formidable global competitors.
Reality check - Smartphone users, mobile phone assembly
There are over a billion mobile phone users in the country. According to a new study by US-based media agency Zenith, India currently has in between 300-400 million smartphone users. There are about 650 million mobile phone users in India, and just over 300 million of them have a smartphone, according to Counterpoint Research. Two out of three Indian mobile users – or roughly 433 million people – are planning to upgrade their phones in the next year, according to Indian Express.
But the value that manufacturers add to the end product is still minimal. Because of a loophole in the law that charges no tax on imported phone components, home-grown handset makers bring in phones as semi-knocked down (SKD) units, in which all the key high-value components are already soldered to the main printed circuit-board.
This circuit board, and the microscopic chips on it accounts for over half of the value of the phone.
A typical mobile phone assembly line begins with the hand-kit, which includes plastic volume and power buttons and the proximity sensor sleeve (which makes your screen go blank during a call). The radio frequency is tested and the circuit board is screened; Wi-Fi antenna and cameras are added and the battery is pasted, the front housing of the phone (the touch screen, panel) is added, the LED and mic are tested, the OS is loaded and a dummy SIM is inserted to check if everything is synchronised. After this, the battery is charged, and a sample from each lot is tested for durability and pressure resistance. The rest of the units head to the packaging line, where the phone is placed in its gift box with the accessories and the instruction manual.


text:
You are being redirected to the story the piece of content is found in so you can read it in context. Please click the following link if you are not automatically redirected within a couple seconds:
CORE says UK Govt. must ensure that new measures shine a light into company supply chain practices
Author: CORE Coalition , Published on: 29 July 2015
CORE welcomes today’s announcement from Prime Minister David Cameron that companies with a turnover of more than £36 million will be required to report on slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains from October...CORE is now calling on the government to provide clear guidelines to business, detailing: the steps they are taking to assess and manage the risks of modern slavery in their supply chains; their organisational structure; policies; and staff training on the issue. The government must also ensure that a centralised repository for all slavery and human trafficking statements is established. Without this, it will be very difficult for investors, consumers and civil society organisations to find out what actions companies are taking, and to hold them to account.


text:
In Good Times and in Bad, Isenberg Economist Hedges His Bets
January 15, 2016
Students who take statistics and economics with Isenberg’s Robert Nakosteen gain analytical skills that include learning to hedge their bets. Consider the Isenberg professor’s circumspect comments on Massachusetts’ largely robust economy—insights that graced the December 15 issue ofBusinessWest.
“The picture is fuzzy, and through the fuzziness, we see a lot of positives, but we also see some risk.”
“The picture is fuzzy, and through the fuzziness, we see a lot of positives, but we also see some risk,” he told the magazine. “The [state’s] current expansion appears to be on firm footing — the economy in the state has slowed down recently, but it’s still been a really good year,” he told the magazine. “We’re expecting growth over the year or so,” he continued. “. . . but we’re definitely seeing some slowing. The economy has been growing at 2% or a little less, and that’s not vibrant.”
Still, Nakosteen and his fellow board members on the journal MassBenchmarks, where he is Executive Editor,* agree that employment in Massachusetts is growing at rates not seen since the late 1990s. And this time, he says, there is no tech bubble—the economy is more well-rounded. “Our resilience has surprised us,” he says.
A Comparative Advantage in Technologies and Innovation
Last year, Massachusetts added 50,000 to 60,000 new jobs, notes Nakosteen. Much of the overall economic growth, he says, has been driven by the state’s Technology and Knowledge-intensive sector, where jobs in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry grew by more than 5% last year. (That sector also includes legal, accounting, engineering, research, computer, consulting, and other services.) And, he adds, the state’s Health Services and Products sector, which includes pharmaceutical and medical device firms, and healthcare providers, has also proved dynamic.
Alongside that core of solid growth, there are pockets of uncertainty, he emphasizes. The strong U.S. dollar is dampening the state’s export performance, including sales to Massachusetts’ largest trading partner, Canada. Exports to Canada “have really dropped over the past year,” he told BusinessWest. And the slowdown in China’s growth rate is also likely to exert downward pressure on the state’s exports.
And, there are lingering issues with consumer confidence, he continued. “We have not seen the surplus from lower gas prices turn into consumer spending—it’s going into savings or to reduce debt,” he observed. “. . . it will be interesting to see if over time consumers start behaving differently and take this surplus and spend it,” he told the magazine.
As for the Fed’s recent .25% increase in the federal funds interest rate, “It’s not going to do much. It’s more a tapping on the brakes of a reviving economy, which has come through unprecedented, historically low interest rates in the wake of the Great Recession. All that contributes to the fuzziness that I discussed above.”
Auguring the Future
Nakosteen is yet more cautious about reading economic tea leaves. While generally optimistic about the coming year, he is reluctant to get overly specific. “Some academics, urged on by the press, relish that role,” he says. “Not me. There is too high a probability of unexpected events shaking things up,” he says. “Getting a handle on economic trends and tempering any wishful thinking with skepticism—that is my approach and I hope that my students can learn from it.”
*A journal devoted to the Massachusetts economy, MassBenchmarks is published by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute in cooperation with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.


text:
SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS: Marketers told to ditch istock and think
Steve Kemish, director at Cyance encourages marketers to stop relying on lazy habits and acquire the knowledge necessary to reach out to their audiences.
Speaking at the annual B2B Marketing Conference Kemish urged marketers to stop using istock images of groups of smiling ‘business professionals’, and not to rely on the marketing funnel saying, “We risk losing people if we stick them in the funnel, people fall out.”
Delegates were told they needed to be curious, to see what’s out there, listen to what’s said and only talk when you have something important to say.
Kemish was one of five keynote speakers at the B2B Marketing Conference including Ian Symes, marketing director UK & Ireland at Cisco and Richard Robinson, industry leader, Google


text:
Collandra North sells $20,000 ram to Vic
COLLANDRA North Poll Merino stud from Tumby Bay has achieved a new stud record selling an 11-month-old ram for $20,000 privately during the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo last weekend.
The 19.1 micron ram which was earmarked for the Adelaide Merino ram sale in September has sold to Victoria Merino breeders Kelvin and Jackie Pendergast, Pendarra Merino stud, Benambra.
The Pendergast’s paid the top price tag for the stylish son of Greenfields XP87 ( Bond) which Collandra North bought for $29,000 at the Adelaide ram sale three years ago..
He was only 11 months of age, weighing 93 kilograms, 19.1 micron, with a 2.5 standard deviation, 13.1 coefficient variation and 99.8 comfort factor.
Mr Pendergast said he was a Merino breeder that had bred a few Poll rams over the past few years, but was getting more and more requests from his clients for Poll rams, so they invested in a ram that had similar attributes to their sheep, minus the horns.
He said they did an artificial Insemination program last year to step up their Poll program and this was the next stage.
“I love the style of wool he had, confirmation and body structure all on a top ram with a very productive skin,” he said.
Mr Pendergast said you can find plenty of Poll rams that have good wool but lack production and visa versa, but rarely do you find a ram like this that has plenty of production and a great stylish wool.
Collandra North stud principal Sydney Lawrie from Tumby Bay said it was fantastic to see their genetics were gathering a lot of interest from interstate buyers.
“You take sheep there to present them to breeders from around Australia so it is very pleasing to get our genetics out and sold into other areas.”
“This line of rams are showing thick, gutsy wool, with early maturing, outstanding well grown ram lambs,” Mr Lawrie said.
He said the $20,000 ram was a real stand out of their show team.
“It was hard to even consider selling him in Adelaide but last year we kept two very good sons of XP87.”
“This gave us an opportunity to sell him, and we have still got his father and have two more drops on the ground.”
“There may be some people who have seen him who are disappointed we have sold him but to be able to get that money was fantastic. Everyone will have an opportunity to get semen and he will be shown in Adelaide before he goes to his new home.”
Collandra North has made the long trek to Bendigo for the past five years and also made two significant sales in 2011.
That year they sold two young rams at $10,000 each to New South Wales Riverina based Uardry stud at Hay and One Oak Poll stud at Jerilderie.
By BRETT TINDAL and CATHERINE MILLER


text:
Wales’ towns and villages are the beating heart of local economies on which many jobs and the social fabric of our society depends.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Candidate Andrew Parkhurst says, “Covid has hit retail and hospitality disproportionately hard, and many of our high streets need urgent life support to survive.
“From talking to local businesses it is clear that business rates are unfair and hinder innovation and enterprise, and place an unfair burden particularly on smaller businesses.
“An immediate first step must be to extend the current business rates holiday into the 2021-2022 financial year.
“After that, business rates should be frozen until they are replaced with a fairer system that incentivises investment rather than penalises entrepreneurship.
“To reduce the number of empty commercial premises and to increase footfall, Welsh Lib Dems will speed up the planning process to repurpose use of vacant properties.
“We will also create a substantial Welsh Towns Fund so our high streets can evolve and thrive post-Covid into attractive retail and leisure destinations with top-class digital connectivity.”


text:
Multivariate testing, personalisation and optimisation solutions firm Maxymiser has doubled its client base across Europe in the last year.
Travel clients include Avis Budget EMEA, Brittany Ferries, easyJet and Laterooms.com.
The company has added more than 50 staff, principally in client services and software engineering to support expansion and customer experience optimisation.
Chief executive Tim Brown said: “We strive to deliver exceptional products and services, month on month, year on year to our clients.
“It’s great to see the results of this reflected in the rapid growth of an array of long-term partnerships with industry-leading brands.
“With more and more companies wanting to implement consumer-centric digital marketing strategies, we are excited that they are turning to multivariate testing and personalisation to achieve this.”
Non-travel clients include Virgin Media and Lacoste footwear licensee Pentland Chaussures.
EasyJet head of digital James Millett said: “Maxymiser has become a valued partner with our e-commerce team.
“The team’s ‘can do’ entrepreneurial attitude mirrors our own and serves as a great foundation for our relationship.
“We have numerous examples of driving commercial performance through increased agility and our capability to test, learn, optimise and action.”


text:
#1: More Resorts, Countries Announce Official Pandemic Policies for 2021-2022 Season:
Hello, and welcome to Top Five Fridays, the September 24, 2021 edition! This week we have a few exciting updates to share with you, as well as one that’s significantly less fun. As such, we’ll borrow a bandaid removal technique and apply it to this week’s news. That is, we’ll get the painful part over with as quickly as possible so we can move onto more fun topics of discussion! So, on that subpar analogy, let’s get into this week’s first topic of discussion: Covid-19 protocol updates.
We touched on this topic briefly last week when we shared the news that the Aspen Skico. has made vaccines mandatory for all employees, barring any religious or medical exemptions. This week, on the heels of that news, we’ve learned that Arapahoe Basin has also implemented a similar mandate. Perhaps overshadowing that news though, was the press release from Vail this week outlining the latest in their overarching covid policies. In that release, they too announced that vaccines would be mandatory for employees across all Epic Resorts. As we’ve come to expect from Vail when it comes to handling the pandemic though, they also took measures a step further. While they’ve reconfirmed that there won’t be a reservation system in place this year, and that lifts will be operating at full capacity without the need for facemasks, their indoor experiences have increased in restrictions. This year at Vail resorts, in addition to all employees needing to be vaccinated, guests who want to use the resorts’ cafeteria, restaurants, or other dining options will also have to be vaccinated. In the words of Vail CEO Rob Katz, “Consistent with many other large-scale indoor activities and venues, we believe the vaccine requirement is important for the protection of our guests and our employees, given the number of people using these facilities and the fact that guests will not be wearing face coverings while eating and drinking.” While we have yet to hear any announcements from Ikon, we have to believe that they’ll also be making a similar announcement in the coming weeks. When we do, we’ll update you. Until then, check out this report from the Denver Post about Vail’s latest announcement.
In addition to this week’s North American news, we also caught some news regarding pandemic precautions in European nations. As you might recall, the ski season was a bit of a disaster in Europe last year as neighboring countries often had conflicting policies. This dynamic was particularly difficult in regions where borders can be crossed on skis. While the verdict is still very much out on the year ahead in Europe, we do know that Austria will be requiring all guests who use the chairlift to have a Covid-19 pass. That pass is only available to those who’ve been vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19, or have received a recent negative test. Additionally, guests will have to wear face coverings on enclosed lifts, and will likely need to wear them in indoor spaces as well, although that final restriction hasn’t been put in place quite yet. Looking ahead, it’s also believed that Italy will be implementing a similar set of rules. Considering the fact that last year’s difficult season in Europe largely stemmed from varying rules between countries, it would be excellent if nations within the EU could create a common system such as the Covid-19 pass to unify regulations across their borders. While that idea is still just a concept, it could prove to be the way forward in the weeks ahead. To learn more about this, check out the report from Reuters.
#2: The Work Continues - SKI Magazine Publishes Their First Cover Featuring a Black Skier, Shot by a Black Photographer:
Alright, enough heavy lifting, let’s get into some more interesting, positive highlights. With that mentality in mind, we’re excited to share with you a story from SKI Magazine this week that takes us behind the scenes of one of the most important photoshoots in the magazine’s history. This week, SKI Magazine released their 2022 Gear Guide, and on the cover is a black skier, photographed by a black photographer, marking the first time this has ever happened. Now to be fair, there’s plenty we could say about how this is great progress for the magazine, and shows a real commitment to diversifying the sport of skiing. A real commitment to actions promised after a tumultuous year. But, rather than having us, a community of white skiers, explain the importance of this moment for the black community to our largely white audience, SKI Magazine has fortunately taken their effort a step further by giving the shoot’s photographer, Stan Evans, the opportunity to speak his mind on both the importance of the occasion, as well as the current state of BIPOC talent in the outdoor industry. His words are a solid mix of revealing, reassuring, and hopeful.
In the article written by Evans and published by SKI Magazine, Evans finds himself discussing at length the awkward yet important role that BIPOC winter athletes currently find themselves in. Until recently, BIPOC participation in skiing was overlooked from a marketing standpoint, resulting in a limited availability of talent now that outdoor brands are beginning to realize the importance of including these communities in our culture. Evans describes this dynamic beautifully when he says, “It was like a bunch of brands looking to pull carrots while realizing they never planted any seeds.” In other words, BIPOC athletes find themselves in a strange environment these days. Until recently, brands didn’t market to their community, resulting in low participation numbers. Now, in the wake of last year’s racial reckoning, brands are eager to partner with minorities for marketing campaigns, but are quickly realizing that the availability of athletes is limited. Therefore athletes and photographers such as Stan Evans, Errol Kerr, Lauren Samuels, and Justin Samuels find themselves suddenly in high demand and having to pioneer the value they put on their services. Recognizing the importance of their inclusion in marketing campaigns, they find themselves having to balance their needs to earn compensation that’s on par with their value, with the bigger picture importance of showing inclusion in marketing campaigns to grow participation within their community. All in all, it’s a complex dynamic and one that’s likely to have uncomfortable moments on both sides of the aisle as brands and athletes will be forced to acknowledge their awkward pasts and presents as they look to build a better future together. For more on this, check out the excellent article from Stan Evans, and shout out to SKI Magazine for not only making this cover happen, but for also giving Evans a platform to freely voice his thoughts on a complex matter.
#3: Vail Announces $320 Million in Investments Across All Resorts for 2022-2023 Season, Including 19 New Chairlifts:
In other big news this week, we caught wind of massive investment plans from Vail as they announced a new $320 million initiative they’re calling Epic Lift Upgrade. Now, before we get into some of the more exciting parts of this plan, we want to set the stage a bit by reminding you of some news we shared back in July. At that time, we learned that Vail had approximately $1.3B available in cash reserves, as well as the fact that they’d told investors that they plan to remain aggressive in acquisitions. Taking that news, and pairing it with this week’s update, we can assume that Vail plans to spend $.3B on lift upgrades, leaving them with $1B in cash for further resort acquisitions and additional developments. We point this out simply to remind us all of where Vail stands financially, and to suggest that this week’s news likely won’t be the biggest news of the year for Vail.
Now, let’s break down this week’s news a bit further. In their Epic Lift Upgrade announcement, Vail clearly states two goals for the project: increase uphill capacities, and at some resorts, introduce new terrain. Across their $320 million spend, they’re planning on adding 19 new chairlifts across 14 resorts. Of these lifts, 12 will be detachable high speed lifts, 1 will be a gondola, and 6 will be fixed grips. While the most exciting individual upgrades could be debated at length, the one that most immediately caught our attention is the confirmed expansion of Bergman Bowl at Keystone. There, Vail will add a brand new 6-person high speed lift, as well as 16 new trails, a ski patrol hut, and additional snowmaking infrastructure. Another project that we’re personally excited about is an upgrade right here at Stowe, where the Mountain Triple on Mansfield will be replaced with a detachable 6-person chairlift, access to which will be brought to the same level as the base lodge and parking lot. In total, after this latest round of additions and upgrades, Vail will have invested $2.2B in infrastructure upgrades over the span of 15 years. Love it or hate it, Vail’s consolidation play has certainly resulted in some big improvements at a lot of resorts. To learn more about this week’s announcement, check out the official release from Vail, or this coverage courtesy of prenewswire.com.
#4: It’s Ski Movie Season! Salomon Announces Their “Quality Ski Time” Film Tour:
Finally, we round out this week with a piece of entertainment news. Being that it’s the last Friday in September, it’s beginning to be that time of year when skiers in ski towns flock to their local venues to take in the latest ski flicks and bask in preseason excitement. Now, to be sure, this ritual has been changing slightly in recent years. Due in no small part to the constant stream of media we intake every day, film makers have started restructuring their models from the traditional “one film a year” approach, to releasing shorter, more focused films, more often. Between this evolving model, and last year’s pandemic, it’s safe to say that this year’s edition of premiere season could look different than years past.
Case in point: this week, Salomon Skis announced their cleverly named “Quality Ski Time (QST)” Film Tour. This tour, put on by not a traditional ski filmmaker but by a ski brand, will show five films at multiple locations across North America. At the moment, there are nine events officially on the schedule, all of which are in the Rocky Mountain or Pacific Northwest Regions. Fortunately though, the announcement from Salomon indicates that more dates and locations are yet to be announced, meaning there’s still hope for us East Coasters. In addition to the refreshing format of this tour, the content of the films is also cause for excitement. While there are a couple of traditional, powder centric movies on the roster, there are also a few films for thought. Drew Petersen’s “Ups and Downs” for instance tells his personal story of overcoming depression, anxiety, and PTSD following a rockfall incident in 2017 that nearly took his life. In the film “Girl Crush,” five female friends share the story of their adventures with ski touring and winter camping in a film that’s sure to not only entertain, but also to inspire a new generation of girls who are destined to follow in their footsteps. All in all, as exciting as a ski movie premiere format like this one is, it’s the variety and intention of the films shown that has us the most fired up about this news. To learn more, check out the release from Salomon.


text:
If the only contact you’ve had with Spiderman has been at the movies, then an event on Saturday may be worth reading up on.
It’s called Free Comic Book Day and five stores in London, plus the central branch of the London Public Library, are offering up free comic books to visitors.
“It’s going to be a huge event,” noted Carol Vandenberg, co-owner of L.A. Moods.
A North America-wide event, it introduces comic books to a new generation of people who perhaps haven’t had the opportunity.
“A lot of people, when they were kids, that was their pastime and we want to spread that joy to younger kids today,” Vandenberg said, noting comic books are great because they combine compelling stories with vivid artwork.
“They promote literacy – I hear stories from parents whose kids have trouble getting into the books at school and these characters appeal to them. They’re colourful, they’re bright, they’re exciting.”
There’ll be 40 different comics for visitors to choose from. Participants each receive a passport listing all five stops in the city, with prizes available for those who visit each location and receive a stamp.
The library will also be holding a costume contest at 2:30 p.m.


text:
Table of Contents
The overall market for cryptocurrencies showed a huge contrast around July 20th. Bitcoin has bottomed out before, falling below 30,000 to 28,000 at one point. But just when the market believed that the subsequent rally was a normal overshoot rebound, Bitcoin’s prices rebounded strongly, by more than 5% on July 21st. The price of Bitcoin climbed for the next five days, rising to 35,000 on July 25th. In fact, on July 26, the price jumped even more with a maximum gain of 12.49%. The market shows a bullish trend, with Bitcoin testing the $40,000 resistance level for the first time. In the following days, it constantly tested around 40,000, and successfully exceeded $42,000 on July 31st. So what happened on July 21st? What happened on July 26th?
On July 21st, the Bitcoin World invited Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, ARK founder Cathy Wood and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who led the multi-bitcoin campaign. Musk said that SpaceX and he himself held Bitcoins, Ethereum and dogecoins, but, bitcoins were worth much more than Ethereum and dog coins. Musk also mentioned that Tesla, SpaceX and others would not sell bitcoin while adding that if clean energy issues improved, Tesla may resume accepting BTC. Since its inception, Kathy Wood has been focusing on Bitcoin and was investing in GBTC from as far back as 2015, with Ark’s investment topics including genetic technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage and blockchain technology. Ark currently holds a large number of Bitcoin (GBTC) and Coinbase stock positions.
Undoubtedly, the Bitcoin World has injected confidence into the falling bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets, which have reacted to the news with a normal overshoot rally. CEO of social giant Twitter, Jack Dorsey also publicly announced on July 23rd that BTC would be an “important part” of the company’s future, and he plans to integrate BTC into Twitter’s special attention, subscriptions paid tweets and more. Square, the mobile payment company founded by Dorsey, has been involved in Bitcoin payment solutions since 2014.
On July 26th, an anonymous source inside Amazon told CityAM that the company planned to accept bitcoin payments by the end of 2021. Amazon’s previously announced hiring of digital currency and blockchain product owners also seems to support the news, with Amazon’s recruitment of digital currency and blockchain product owners to be part of Payments Acceptance and Experience.
According to a February survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers by Dealaid.org, 60.2% want more companies to accept BTC payments, with Amazon, Apple and Wal-Mart the companies consumers most likely to receive BTC payments. So if Amazon does accept BTC shopping, the benefits could be stronger than Tesla.
Although an Amazon spokesman denied the reports on July 27, it responded in an email:
“Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true. We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”
But Amazon’s news still weighed heavily on the market on July 26, with the BTC’s price peaking at $39,799 that morning, up by 12.49%. It must be noted that this is the biggest intraday gain since May, and ETH’s price rising 9.18% from $2,189 to $2,390. Other mainstream cryptocurrencies are up about 10%.
Amazon’s disinformation has failed to dampen the cryptocurrency market triggered by fake news, with BTC holding steady at 38,000 after a brief correction on July 27. In terms of cryptocurrencies, this is partly due to Tesla’s second-quarter results on July 27, which showed that Tesla did not sell or buy new bitcoins and still holds $1.3 billion worth of bitcoins. Meanwhile, we also believe that the NFT sector’s explosion also fueled this strong rebound in BTC, along with Axie Infinity’s total revenue of $196.9 million over the past 30 days, according to Token Terminal.
The NFT’s summer is coming, and the concepts of GameFi and SocialFi have given off-market or empty investors hope of a bull market recovery. In terms of macro environment, the rebound in the cryptocurrency market also seems to be inseparable from the global stock market crash in the last week of July, and that was solely because of the unexpected Delta outbreak which spirals out of control, Sino-US relations friction and policy risks as well as other factors. Nonetheless, the Cryptocurrency market has once again become a safe haven for investors’ funds.
The day before the sudden rise of Bitcoin on July 26, the blockbuster Bitcoin transaction broke out on July 25, and the blockbuster bullishness of Bitcoin continued to be hot, with 3000 contracts accounting for 36%. As time goes by, the exercise price becomes more and more imaginary. The time limit is getting farther and farther, and the IV is getting higher and higher.
The Ethereum block, which had been silent for many days, also became popular on July 25. The bullish block traded 20,000 coins, accounting for 32% of the total. It was mainly based on the short-term virtual value. It appeared when the market fluctuation was not obvious. Bulk bullish transactions are both an early warning and a signal.
The price of ETH successfully broke through 2500 on August 1 and is expected to rise above 2600. At the same time, the London upgrade of Ethereum will also arrive on August 4. Rewinding to August 1st, Ethereum’s bulk bearish transaction broke out, with 22,400 contracts, accounting for 26%. The bullish block of 11,650 contracts was eclipsed, and the call options dominated the trading market for multiple consecutive days. Mid- and long-term virtual value bearish transactions were strong. At the end of the year, more than 9,000 800P contracts were traded, with a turnover of 116%. However, under the strong rally, appears bulk purchase deep out-of-the-money options. The intention behind and the judgment on the market are worthy of attention.


text:
The transmission of African swine fever (ASF) can occur via contaminated objects such as shoes, clothes, vehicles and other items, according to Ireland’s chief veterinary officer Martin Blake.
Speaking on Newstalk‘s ‘Breakfast Business‘, Blake explained that this is due to the high environmental resistance of the ASF virus.
He added that a range of measures have been put in place on farms and in factories to help keep Ireland free from the disease.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s chief vet explained: “This transboundary animal disease (TAD) can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and through pork products.
There is no vaccine against ASF – with the only current solution being to slaughter animals.
“Millions of animals have been culled across China and Vietnam,” the chief veterinary officer remarked.
Continuing, he said: “I think what we’re seeing is chemical disease across two continents – in particular eastern Europe and into Asia.
“When we see that China has 50% of the pigs of the world, and the whole of China now seems to be affected by the disease; you can appreciate the actual impact that’s having on global pig production.
It is important to actually stress that this is a disease of pigs only – it doesn’t affect any other animal, or humans.
Blake added: “If we don’t bring back pork or pork products we actually significantly reduce the risk. I think that’s a clear message we give to people travelling abroad nowadays.”
Concluding, he stressed: “We’re trying to emphasise: Don’t bring back pork or pork products into Ireland. That is the primary advice we’re giving; do not bring back pork or pork products into Ireland.”


text:
“Apple and a large number of tech companies have become the subject of a new music lawsuit, with the estate of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ track ‘Over the Rainbow’ composer Harold Arlen accusing the firms of creating a ‘music piracy operation’ that distributes unlicensed and unauthorized versions of copyrighted songs,” Malcolm Owen reports for AppleInsider.
“Filed in the US District Court of the Central District of California on May 9, the lawsuit from SA Music and Harold Arlen Trust has a lengthy list of defendants, headed up by Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Pandora, followed by a large number of distributors and studios,” Owen reports. “The accusation stems from a practice of failing to account for the ownership of music being submitted to music services, which due to a lack of proper clearance and licensing, is deemed to consist of ‘pirated recordings’ by the plaintiff. The failure to obtain a license to authorize the reproduction, distribution, sale, or stream of the recordings is said to be an infringement on the composer’s estate’s rights. ”
“For example, the 1964 Ethel Ennis recording of ‘For Every Man There’s a Woman’ is sold by RCA Sony for $1.29 while the pirated Stardust Records version, complete with doctored album art, sells for $0.89,” Owen reports. “Benny Goodman’s 1955 album ‘Get Happy’ sold by Capitol Records goes for $7.99 through Google Play and Amazon, while Pickwick Group Limited’s unauthorized copy sells for $6.99.”
Read more, including a copy of the lawsuit, in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Music clearance and licensing is obviously a convoluted morass. There has to be a better way to properly identify genuine recordings from pirated versions and remove/bar them from digital stores and subscription services.


text:
Sunnyvale (CA) – AMD was able to provide TG Daily with an update on the current x86 cross-license dispute between their company and Intel. We were told “The law departments of both companies are in-contact with one another” attempting to come to a mutual agreement.
On Monday, March 16, Intel offered to AMD to make the terms of their x86 cross-license public. While AMD has no objection to this, they feel Intel’s insistence on secrecy relating to the U.S. civil antitrust case is not appropriate. As such, they are using the offering as leverage against Intel to release documents in the antitrust lawsuit.
Michael Silverman, AMD Public Relations, told TG Daily today, “AMD would be happy to make the entire [x86] agreement public if Intel drops its insistence on secrecy concerning its exclusionary business practices under the guise of confidentiality it has imposed on evidence in the U.S. civil antitrust case. There is no commercial reason to have those documents under seal; it is simply a means for Intel to try to conceal its illegal behavior.”
AMD has declined to comment further while the mediation is ongoing, and Intel did not respond by the time of this article’s publication when a comment from them was requested.
Below is AMD’s original statement on the matter printed in full:
Intel’s action is an attempt to distract the world from the global antitrust scrutiny it faces. Should this matter proceed to litigation, we will prove that Intel fabricated this claim to interfere with our commercial relationships and thus has violated the cross-license.
AMD remains in full compliance with the cross-license agreement. And as we’ve stated all along, the structure of GLOBALFOUNDRIES takes into account all our cross-license agreements. We will continue to respect Intel’s intellectual property rights, just as we expect them to respect ours.
Again, we believe that Intel manufactured this diversion as an attempt to distract attention from the increasing number of antitrust rulings against it around the world. With a ruling from the European Commission and a U.S. trial date looming, and investigations by the U.S. FTC and NY Attorney General, the clock is ticking on Intel’s illegal practices – and yet with its dominant monopoly position it still tries to stifle competitors.
The AMD/Intel cross-license agreement is a two-way agreement, the benefits of which go to both companies. Intel leverages innovative AMD IP critical for its product designs under the cross license. This includes AMD patents related to 64-bit architecture extensions, integrated memory controller, multi-core architecture, etc.). The cross-license is very much a two-way street.
In fact, we informed Intel that their attempt to terminate AMD’s license itself constitutes a breach of the cross-license agreement, which, if uncured, gives AMD the right to terminate Intel’s license.


text:
A couple of months ago, a group of current and former Apple employees revealed what it’s like to work in the stressful yet rewarding environment that is the Apple Campus. Now that the year is coming to a close, Glassdoor has released its annual list of “Best Places to Work,” and although Apple did make the list, the Cupertino company fell behind some of the other giants in the industry. More →
“We now live in a world where there is no downtime.”
Today, I made a choice. I made a choice to carve out a chunk of time to write this article, but I did so at the expense of communication. I very intentionally decided to cast my eyes in the other direction by ignoring a deluge of inbound inquiries, and to be honest, I’m still unsure as to whether it was the right decision. Five years ago, I might have suggested that those employed in the digital industry would understand where I was coming from, but today, I’m more inclined to believe that everyone in a developed country would get the gist. This is the era where personal time becomes a relic, silence is the new distraction, and 24/7 expectations bleed from petrol stations into every possible aspect of your life. Consider this: how many requests are you presently ignoring by taking the time to read these words?
Twitter has had a major spam problem ever since it started to gain popularity. Without any tangible restrictions on account creation, spambots run rampant by automatically responding to key terms and following tens of thousands of users in order to boost their own follower counts. The Wall Street Journal spoke with Jim Vidmar, a Twitter bot “dealer” who buys fake Twitter accounts from suppliers and then sells them to users who wants to improve their standings on the popular social network. According to their findings, the problem is not going away any time soon. More →
Twitter stock opened trading at $45.10, instantly soaring 80% above its initial public offering price. This means that having a lot of users is much more important to investors than having any sort of plan to become profitable. We are back to 1999 and eyeballs are in vogue. This is manna for messaging apps like WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk, WeChat, Kik, Viber, Tango, Nimbuzz and BBM. More →
As most active Twitter users undoubtedly noticed, Twitter on Tuesday added a new feature to its website and mobile apps that is definitely making waves. In a move that pushes the service one step closer to the likes of Facebook and Tumblr — and makes ads much more valuable as well — Twitter now displays photo and video previews right in users’ timelines. There have been plenty of complaints out of the gate, as there always are when new features roll out to a social network, though most Twitterers will undoubtedly get used to them over time. If you’d rather not even give Twitter’s new photo previews a chance though, here’s a simple guide on how to disable them in the company’s iPhone and Android apps. More →
Instagram tried to crush Vine when it added video-sharing to its popular mobile service, and initially it looked like the company might succeed. Vine is still going strong, however, and the firm’s iPhone app sat at No.17 on Apple’s top free apps chart in the U.S. at the time of this writing. While people continue to enjoy making brief 6-second video clips and sharing them on Twitter, a question remained: Why did Vine choose 6 seconds as the limit for its videos? In an interview with NPR, Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann provided an explanation. More →
Twitter announced on Thursday after the market closed that it is setting its IPO share price at $17 to $20 per share and is looking to sell 70 million shares. Twitter’s offering could raise up to $1.4 billion, although it will raise somewhere around $1.2 billion if it sells all its shares at the median price. Twitter’s opening ask is much more modest than that of fellow social networking dynamo Facebook, which famously issued public stock at $38 a piece and raised a whopping $16 billion last year.
In the wake of countless music streaming services popping up over the past several years, Twitter’s own offering never made much of an impact. AllThingsD reports that Twitter will likely be shuttering its own #Music app after downloads have nearly slowed to a halt since Twitter launched the service back in April. Initial numbers were reportedly promising, but Twitter could not maintain the momentum and now Twitter #Music cannot even be found in the App Store’s top 1,000 apps according to market data company Onavo Insights. More →
Could Twitter soon go head-to-head with WhatsApp, Kik and other big mobile messaging services? Unnamed sources tell AllThingsD that Twitter has been working on “plans to significantly update its direct-messaging product in the near future” and has even “kicked around the idea of launching a standalone direct-messaging application separate from the Twitter app.” Doing a standalone direct-messaging app would put Twitter in direct competition with the scores of messaging apps that have taken the mobile world by storm over the past couple of years. AllThingsD notes that Twitter is still not settled as to whether its messaging revamp will include a standalone app for direct messages, although the company is definitely feeling some competitive heat from its rivals in the mobile messaging world.
Twitter may have found a good way to shore up potential revenue streams ahead of its IPO. BGR sister publication Variety reports that Twitter has partnered with Comcast on a new initiative called “See It” that will let users “record and watch NBC Universal programming directly off the social media platform.” Here’s how it works: Twitter will add a “See It” button to Comcast customers’ Twitter feeds that will let them watch their favorite NBC Universal shows online through any device they’re using or to access their television’s set-top box to start recording the show. While the Comcast deal isn’t likely to be a huge money-maker for Twitter, the microblogging site could see a nice boost in revenues if it negotiates similar deals with other cable companies and content providers.
It is surprising that Twitter only grew its U.S. monthly active user base by 1 million between the March and June quarters — from 48 million to 49 million. One year earlier, Twitter’s MAU base in America grew from 34 million to 37 million. The growth is slowing at a fairly surprising rate. But what is even more shocking is that according to Onavo, the number of U.S. iPhone owners using Twitter has stalled completely between March and August, moving from 27.2% to 27% over a five-month period. Why does Twitter have a growth problem in its core market? One explanation is that American smartphone users are extremely sophisticated and alert to new trends. Twitter and Facebook broke out first in America, and it is in their home market where these giants are now witnessing the explosive growth of alternative services. More →
The tech industry is captivated by two upcoming IPO’s, which offer an interesting contrast. Twitter is a great example of what software companies used to look like: it is American, it generated $250 million in sales in the first half of 2013… and lost nearly $70 million. That’s what the California model of software IPO’s looks like. Modest sales and big losses. More →
In line with earlier reports, Twitter on Thursday made its IPO filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission public. Twitter filed an S-1 confidentially earlier this year, and it was able to do so because its annual revenue was less than $1 billion in 2012. The company’s S-1 is now public, shedding light on Twitter’s financials for the first time ahead of its upcoming initial public offering. The company will look to raise $1 billion with its IPO, and it will be underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and several other banks. More →


text:
Though this dispute is reportedly more the result of a technicality than an actual fight, the Russian government has fought with Google before.
Getty’s global head of talent acquisition on what it takes to join its ranks of elite photographers.
Everything hinges on the weather.
Beef up your bona fides without breaking the bank.
Apple explains its 'Memories' tab in old school terms.
Running a government like a startup misses the point of government.
But when is the next "Carpool Karaoke"?
The company is giving web creators more business tools.
The YouTube ad boycott didn't last long in the U.S.
So much for that purchase.
Have you ever felt you were worth more than you were being paid?
Uber users are paying attention.
It's not as simple as it sounds.
Take a look at what the future of energy could actually look like.
Liane Hornsey joined Uber right before the #DeleteUber movement.
Or you can go in "Ghost Mode."
How one program is helping students across the country.
They're fixable, but you have to actually fix them.
Making up for unfair tax dollars.
The three steps that put me on a new course.
VidCon is no longer about YouTube.
Facebook's first-ever Communities Summit was held this week in Chicago.
Incredibly, it lost 90 percent of its fleet.
But Germany's fight isn't just about taking down trolls. The country wants to make social media giants responsible for online hate speech, too.
Exactly what we had in mind when we asked for diversity.
This is how those prices on events like Black Friday are possible.
Travis Kalanick has resigned as CEO of Uber; he will remain on the company's board.
Elon likes to party.
Kickstarter is bringing back some of its greatest hits.
This only took forever.


text:
E-learning startup mLevel has raised $5.3 million from an Atlanta venture firm.
The Chicago-based company has about 20 employees and is a spinout of Seattle-based management and technology consulting firm Slalom, which employs about 400 people in Chicago.
MLevel uses games, videos and other engaging on mobile, tablet and desktop devices to help train workers.
“We focus on improving learning for enterprises,” said CEO Dave Cutler, who started the company. “It's about engaging the user. Our goal is to take things from consumer—social, media, mobile and games—and make learning more effective.”
It has about 40 customers, mostly Fortune 500 companies, Cutler said. The company does work in 30 countries and 10 languages, Cutler said.
The investment in mLevel came from Atlanta-based venture firm BIP Capital, a unit of Buckhead Investment Partners.


text:
Maty Noyes has released her new single online.
“London” is now available via iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Tidal and all other digital streaming platforms.
The track was co-written and produced by Stephan Moccio, whose other credits include The Weeknd’s “Earned It,” Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” Celine Dion’s “A New Day Has Come,” Seal’s “Daylight Saving,” Jon Bellion’s “Fashion,” Skylar Grey’s “I Know You,” and Ne-Yo’s “Ballerina.”
The Canadian record producer and songwriter also contributed to the next projects by Skrillex, Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, Stanaj, Julia Michaels, Tori Kelly, Jasmine Thompson, Conrad Sewell, Jessie Ware, Avery Wilson, Lea Michele, Emeli Sande, James Blunt, and Dua Lipa.
Noyes’ debut studio collection, on the other hand, is expected to arrive later this year via Lava Records and Republic Records.
Listen to the audio clip for “London” below.


text:
Watch out, iTunes.
This week country-music icon Garth Brooks—who has long refused to allow any download store to sell his music—hopes to show the digital-music world how it’s done.
As the centerpiece of his new strategy, the 52-year-old singer is launching his own iTunes competitor: GhostTunes.
Mr. Brooks said in September that he would begin selling digital versions of all his albums, including his latest, “Man Against the Machine,” which comes out Tuesday, though only on his own site. With GhostTunes, which is set to go live the same day, he will be marketing roughly 10 million digital songs by thousands of artists signed to the three major record companies, plus a handful of independents.
GhostTunes, which will include all kinds of music, is designed to let artists sell and bundle concert tickets and merchandise with their music, and it encourages discounts to drive sales. Mr. Brooks will be selling nine studio albums, plus some live material and a 2015 release, for a total of $29.99.
Last week, on a beta version of the site, many albums by winners of the Country Music Awards were available for $3.49 each, compared with $7.99 to $14.99 on iTunes.
Executives said GhostTunes will provide both downloads and streaming, but users can only stream songs from their GhostTunes cloud-storage “locker” if they have purchased them. It won’t offer an unlimited monthly subscription service like Spotify AB’s. The service is “device agnostic,” GhostTunes said, and will deliver compact discs by mail for fans who prefer them. Country-music fans tend to buy more CDs than listeners of most other genres.
GhostTunes is allocating 80% of each song’s sale price to artists, labels, songwriters and music publishers, more than Apple Inc. AAPL 0.15 % ’s iTunes Store and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.82 % ’s digital music store, which pay around 70%. It also is promising to share more sales data with labels and artists than competitors do. On the site, artists can include lengthy, in-depth descriptions of themselves and descriptions of each album for sale.
For the past few years, technology executives have been meeting with Mr. Brooks, trying persuade him to join the digital age, either by selling his work online through their stores or by making it available to paying subscribers on streaming services such as Spotify, Apple’s Beats Music and Google Inc. GOOGL -1.51 % ’s All Access.
Those proposals “didn’t really work for Garth,” said GhostTunes Chief Executive Randy Bernard, who formerly ran the Professional Bull Riders Inc. organization, as well as the IndyCar auto-racing sanctioning body. Mr. Brooks started talking about creating his own digital-music platform about a year ago, and in July asked Mr. Bernard to run the company.
“ ‘Garth,’ I said, ‘We’re just a little ant on this big mole hill. What stops [Apple, Amazon or Google] from doing our model?’ ” Mr. Bernard recalls saying.
Mr. Brooks answered that if the big digital music-services stole their idea, then “music wins. That’s my gift to music,” he said, according to Mr. Bernard.
Mr. Brooks has sold more than 134 million albums to date, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a number that some industry watchers say could be much higher with digital distribution.
Apple, Amazon and Google allow users to stream their purchased music, but they don’t sell or bundle concert tickets or merchandise with the tunes.
Mr. Brooks’s company isn’t the first to allow artists to bundle music with other products, while earning more than 70% per song and amassing data on their fans. Topspin Media, Bandcamp and other companies that help artists market their music directly have been doing the same for years.
But GhostTunes has a sleeker interface than some predecessors. And it may have timing on its side as well, debuting just a week after one of Nashville’s youngest stars, Taylor Swift, pulled her entire catalog from Spotify. Ms. Swift, 24 years old, hasn’t made her new album, “1989,” available for streaming on any subscription service. Withholding it may have helped her sell nearly 1.3 million copies in the U.S. in its first week on the market, according to SoundScan. Ms. Swift’s catalog withdrawal reignited a long-simmering debate over whether streaming services pay artists enough, even though the amount artists ultimately receive is largely a function of their contract with their record label.
Still, the download business overall is looking increasingly bleak compared with subscription streaming, which is growing at a rapid pace. Music sales at the iTunes Store have fallen more than 13% this year, while revenue from streaming services jumped nearly 30% in the first half of 2014, according to the RIAA.
Mr. Brooks’s move shrinks the already-small list of major acts that don’t sell digital downloads. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Bob Seger all have relented in recent years. The hard-rock band Tool remains a holdout, though much of its music is free on YouTube.
Mr. Brooks, whose biggest hits include “Friends in Low Places,” from 1990, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Only Mr. Brooks’s die-hard fans may realize that the name “GhostTunes” stems from Mr. Brooks’s nickname, “G.” Mr. Brooks was helping his associates brainstorm names for the site one night and suggested that it was “G-hosted,” sparking the idea for the word “ghost.” The logo features a ghost wearing headphones; the tagline reads “in the spirit of music.”
Write to Hannah Karp at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
South African retailer Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (SNH.JO) said Monday that it plans to place 29.5 million shares in investment company PSG Group Ltd. (PSG.JO) through a bookbuild, as part of its efforts to stabilize and deleverage its accounts.
Steinhoff--which holds a 16% interest in PSG, according to FactSet--said the bookbuild would start immediately and that it could close the placing at any time.
The company said it would issue the shares with institutional investors, subject to certain conditions including achieving an "acceptable" placing price.
The South African retailer said this is part of the refinancing measures it announced last week.
On Jan. 18, Steinhoff said it would seek refinancing as soon as possible for its South African debt and that it planned to sell a limited number of assets to further raise liquidity.
Shares in the company tumbled in December after it disclosed accounting irregularities for its 2017 results and said it will have to restate its 2016 financial accounts.


text:
Glenmark Pharma's Q3 net profit rise by 143% to Rs 477 crore
The company's total income increased to Rs 2549.5 crore in Q3FY17 as compared to Rs 1780.4 crore in Q3FY16.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Thursday posted 143% rise in a net profit after tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates for the quarter ended on December 31. The company reported net profit of Rs 477 crore as against Rs 196.1 crore during the same period last year.
As per the regulatory filing, the company's total income increased to Rs 2549.5 crore in Q3FY17 as compared to Rs 1780.4 crore in Q3FY16.
Sales for the formulation business in India for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016, was at Rs 516.8 crore as against Rs 488 crore in the previous corresponding quarter, recording growth of 5.91 %.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., U.S.A. registered revenue from the sale of finished dosage formulations was at Rs 1230 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016 against revenue of Rs. 608.8 crore for the previous corresponding quarter, recording an increase of 102.15 %.
Commenting on the performance of the company, Glenn Saldanha, Chairman & MD, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, said, "The overall growth for the organization has been bolstered due to the strong performance by our US formulation business. It was further aided by the good performance from our API business too. In India, considering the overall demand environment, the business still managed to record sales growth.”
On Thursday, the shares of the company closed at Rs 907.95 per piece, up 0.98% or Rs 8.85 on BSE.
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.


text:
SEATTLE — The owner of a Fremont tea shop placed a sign at his front entrance, saying customers would not be allowed in his store unless they removed their protective masks.
KIRO 7 News attempted to interview the owner of B. Fuller’s Mortar & Pestle tea shop, but he quickly refused, saying, “I gotta go. I gotta go! Thank you!”
Yet those who have visited the store are still talking about the no-mask sign.
“I passed by it, saw the sign and thought, ‘This must be some kind of joke ... sarcasm or something,’” said a recent customer.
Placed at the front entrance, the sign contained bold letters that read, “Please remove your mask.”
In the fine print below, it went on to say that the coronavirus “was all a panic, mostly, and we can all admit we overreacted.”
After reading the sign, one customer told KIRO 7 that she asked the owner if he was truly serious about his no-mask policy.
“Am I not allowed to come into the store because I have my mask on?” she said she asked the owner. “No, you’re not,” he responded, according to that customer, who added that he stated, “I don’t want this dirty thing in my store,” referring to the mask.
After he refused to talk to reporters, KIRO 7 watched as the owner of the store abruptly closed for the rest of the day.
Customers in Fremont said they were shocked that such a policy would exist, especially during a pandemic.
“I understand why people need to express their views, but when it runs up against public health, that creates a problem,” said Charles Balter.
“Obviously, (Coronavirus) is not going away,” added another customer. “We know yesterday was a record for the number of cases that were filed.”
This is the second time this week that a western Washington business has made headlines for objecting to masks.
In Snohomish, the owner of Flower World stopped his employees from wearing masks, claiming they posed a health hazard in hot greenhouse settings.
Days later, people in Fremont are also at the center of masked controversy.
“As much as I wanted to fight against his belief, I smiled and walked away. I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked,” said a customer of B. Fuller’s Mortar & Pestle tea shop.
As of Friday afternoon, the sign advising against masks is now gone from the shop’s window.
© 2020 © 2020 Cox Media Group


text:
It’s going to be the battle of the 8′s! M8 vs. R8.
BMW’s new supercar is reportedly going to be called the M8 according to Autozeitung. It is going to take aim directly at the Audi R8.
The M8 is going to take a lot of styling cues from the Vision Efficient Dynamics concept pictured above. That concept uses a diesel-hybrid engine which relies mostly on torque for its get-up-and-go and was thought to carry over to the production model, but apparently BMW has dropped that idea in favour of another hybrid set up.
They will reportedly take the power plant from the upcoming M5 which is expected to produce 580 horsepower from either a V8 or a V10. They are then going to add two electric motors for added boost and of course for added efficiency. Since it’s a BMW, the weight will be distributed properly with one electric motor in the front, and the other in the back for perfect weight distribution. Total output is expected to be in between 600 and 700 horsepower!
Add the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG into the mix and you’ve got yourself one tasty German supercar showdown. Can’t wait![Autozeitung via BMWblog]


text:
Ford Motor Co. has come up with a way to squeeze an office into a truck.
Ford teamed with Microsoft Corp. (microsoft.com) and Stargate Mobile Inc. (stargatemobile.com) to create a rugged, portable computer system that can be taken to a job site. It is aimed at contractors and other businesspeople who need technology normally found in the office -- for example, Internet access and the ability to process credit cards -- on the road.
The system, called Fordlink, is expected to be available this fall as a dealer-installed option on the 2007 Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup. The price: about $3,000.
Jerry Carlson, automotive business development manager at Microsoft, says: "Ford knows their truck consumer very well. They know a good amount of their truck buyers use them as a rolling office."
Fordlink is designed to be mounted inside a truck and unplugged for use at a construction or other site. The package includes Bluetooth-enabled satellite navigation, word-processing and spreadsheet software, a carrying case with integrated keyboard and mouse, and a vehicle-mounting cradle and hardware.
Fordlink weighs a little less than 2 pounds and has an 8.4-inch touch screen. There also are ports to dock electrical devices such as digital cameras and printers.
Ford would not disclose its sales target for the system.


text:
This week, Adidas officially announced Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega as their new brand ambassador and we couldn’t be more pumped!
Jenna was specifically tapped to launch the new “Adidas Sportswear” line, the brand’s first new label in 50 years.
Adidas has already dropped images from the campaign and they’re awesome!
Jenna rocks three different outfits — all of which are giving us *major* Wednesday Addams vibes. The purple and black aesthetic is seriously on-point and, in one photo, Jenna even rocks a skinny black tie with a white collared shirt, a clear nod to her Netflix series.
Check out Jenna Ortega‘s new Adidas campaign below and where you can get all the outfits she rocks.
Psssst… this article contains affiliate links.
Jenna Ortega wearing an Adidas Purple Tiro Suit-Up Advanced Track Jacket and Adidas Purple Stripe Tiro Suit-Up Lifestyle Track Pants.
View this post on Instagram
In an interview with Yahoo!, Jenna said that she loved how comfy the collection was and really loved the pop of purple in the photo shoot. She said,
“All of the clothes were so, so comfortable and it was kind of interesting for me because I don’t typically wear a lot of color. Even like the purple jumper, for example, it makes me want to wear more color, which is funny because I find myself living in black nowadays or at least for the last couple of years.”
The photoshoot was styled by Jenna’s personal stylist Enrique Melendez, who has been styling Jenna for her red carpet and TV show appearances since she nabbed the role of Wednesday Addams. Fans have been gushing over Jenna’s outfits, particularly her dress at the 2023 Golden Globes.
To shop the new Adidas Sportwear label repped by Jenna Ortega, head to their website here.
READ THIS NEXT
Feature photo courtesy of Depositphotos.com


text:
Milan and Hong Kong—Prada Spa said Tuesday that it posted a 75% jump in its third quarter sales as demand from affluent shoppers increased in its Prada and Miu Miu brands.
The strong performance—along with similar positive reports from other luxurygoods leaders such as LVMH and PPR—seemed to fly in the face of retail analysts who predict the uncertain global economic picture may cloud sales even in the high end.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the Italian luxurygoods company, which launched its IPO in June in the Stock Market of Hong Kong, reported a net profit of 93.6 million euros (about $125 million) ahead of analysts’ average estimate for 89.9 million euros.
Net sales increased 33% to 596.1 million euros ($795.7 million) with its Prada and Miu Miu brands leading growth with increases of more than 25%.
Leathergoods Account for Over 56% of Total Sales
“All geographical areas recorded growth rates in double figures, with Asia Pacific reconfirming itself as the principle market,” said the company which raised $2.6 billion in its IPO, the largest in Hong Kong this year.
The Greater China region, which includes Hong Kong and Macau, posted a 50% increase, with 45% increase in the Far East. Sales in Europe increased 21% and 19% in the United States (27% increase at constant exchange rates) while Japan increased 12%.
Prada said all categories contributed to the sales increases led by leathergoods that “grew 41% and now account for over 56% of consolidated sales.” Sales of ready-to-wear increased 3% and footwear rose 14%.
“Once again during the quarter we achieved very strong results in terms of sales and profitability, which confirm the group’s ability to sustain high growth rates while improving operating margins,” said Patrizio Bertelli, Prada’s ceo. “While we will continue to closely monitor markets’ behavior, we remain confident in the strength of our brads as well as in the luxury market’s potential.”
To that end Prada is continuing to expand its own direct-operated retail stores which now number about 370. Another 80 stores are planned in Asia over the next three years.
‘We have been Immune So Far’
The company’s emphasis on Asia may be a buffer against any economic turmoil in Western nations, especially the Eurozone, that could affect luxurygoods sales.
When asked about such fears in a conference call with analysts, Carlo Mazzi, deputy chairman, brushed off concerns saying “while it’s necessary to be prudent amid economic difficulties, we are confident to maintain the same level for the full year.”
Later, Mazzi told Reuters that “we are in a niche market that caters to the affluent, so we have been immune so far. However, we are necessarily cautious about giving triumphant predictions. If the current economic trends remain so difficult, also the wealthy will start to feel the pinch.”
Pressed about what efforts the company is undertaking to avoid risk should a luxury downturn materialize, Mazzi said the company had turned down offers for “interesting” acquisitions that would have required it to seek additional financing.


text:
The new Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T is latest Ferrari to get a twin-turbo V8 treatment. It will sit alongside the flagship V12 GTC4 Lusso as an entry-level four-seater.
The Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T has been revealed ahead of the 2016 Paris Motor Show. It drops the 6.0-liter V12 for a more environmentally friendly 3.9-liter V8 twin-turbo. Another big change is that the GTC4 Lusso T is a purely rear-wheel drive grand tourer and ditches the complicated four-wheel drive system.
The 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 engine is the same basic unit found in the 488 GTB. It produces 601 hp at 7500 rpm and 561 lb-ft of torque at 3000-5250 rpm. It’s mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and does away with the 4RM four-wheel drive system. This has resulted in a substantial drop in overall weight. In fact, the standard V12-powered GTC4 Lusso weighs almost 2 tonnes.
Meanwhile, Ferrari is yet to publish the performance figures for the new model. That said, it won’t be a slouch for sure and should crack 200 mph at full blast.
Moreover, CO2 emissions and fuel economy have benefited from the engine swap. Also, it will be much cheaper to own than its V12 sister, this opening up a new market for the GTC4 Lusso line up.
Keep watching this space for more updates.


text:
Even your local corner store could be hopping on the e-commerce bandwagon.
Chicago startup Foxtrot has built a chain of tech-enabled convenience stores that rely on a mix of e-commerce and physical retail locations. While the company launched in 2013 as an online-only food and alcohol delivery service, it soon realized that physical locations helped boost deliveries. Now Foxtrot operates both as a corner store/cafe and as an online grocery delivery service, mixing the online and offline experience into one business.
This business model is gaining momentum, and on Wednesday the company announced a new round of funding. Foxtrot raised $17 million from Imaginary and Wittington Ventures, as well as previous investors.
“We started Foxtrot to create a better way to shop for the goods we all buy every day — wrapped in a new kind of convenience store that combines the enjoyment of visiting your neighborhood corner store with the ease of shopping from your phone,” Mike LaVitola, co-founder and CEO of Foxtrot, said in a statement. “Customers can visit us in store to grab a cup of coffee, have lunch and discover new brands, or shop us online to get their favorite wine and grocery staples delivered.”
LaVitola says this new funding will help Foxtrot expand by growing its team and adding partners. The company also plans to open more locations, including two stores in Washington, D.C., slated to launch this spring.
Foxtrot is also opening its eighth store in Chicago later this year. This will bring Foxtrot to 12 stores total, with plans to announce new markets later in 2020.
As a business, Foxtrot has shown impressive growth. Its corporate team headcount is up 250 percent year-over-year and it’s achieved 2x year-over-year revenue growth.


text:
On Tuesday, Jawbone, which makes wireless headsets and music accessories, announced that it acquired BodyMedia, a company that sells wearable sensors, for about $110 million.
Jawbone declined to comment on how much it paid for the acquisition, but a source close to the deal who was not authorized to speak on the record confirmed the price.
“It’s a significant deal because it’s a significant opportunity,” said Hosain Rahman, the chief executive of Jawbone. “We looked at the market and what we thought about what we can do on our own or together with BodyMedia, and we found a deal acceptable to our shareholders.”
BodyMedia has been making and selling activity tracking armbands that can monitor exercise and sleep behaviors since 1999. Mr. Rahman said he was most interested in the company’s expertise, and its robust trove of data about how people use and interact with their body monitors and sensors. His plan is to continue to run and sell BodyMedia products and create a platform that will work with Jawbone’s line of wearable products and BodyMedia’s products and software services.
Presenting a diverse group of designers and scientists working in cutting edge textile research and production. From nanoparticles to circuit boards, technology is becoming embedded in the very fabric of the things we wear, creating clothing that’s more responsive to changing needs and conditions. Spurred in part by collaborations between academic and industry partners, “smart textiles” are beginning to enter the consumer market to enhance the properties of a garment whether it is heating, vitamin dissemination through the fabric, or weather proofing. These emerging developments are reshaping both materials and electronics for the human body. Join us as we explore possibilities within this growing area of creative and scientific innovation.
Presenters Juan Hinestroza, Associate Professor of Fiber Science and Director of Textiles Nanotechnology Lab, Cornell University Genevieve Dion, Assistant Professor and Director of Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab, Drexel University Becky Stern, Director of Wearable Electronics, Adafruit Industries Moderated by Dr. Sabine Seymour, Computational Fashion lead advisor and founder of Moondial
by ECAL/Cyrille Verdon, Renaud de Francesco, Marc Dubois, Aurélien Haslebacher ECAL Media & Interaction Design + ECAL Industrial Design Workshop led by the London based, japanese Designer, Yuri Suzuki. Projects realised by the students in Media & Interaction Design in collaboration with the Industrial Design students from ECAL. Workshop based on the concept of re-designing soundscape. In this workshop, re-consider and re-design alert sound such as alarm clock, ringing sound of mobile phone and bike bell. Improving surroundings with sound.
As computing moves from our desktops to our phones, we look into the future to see how technology will become increasingly ingrained in our movements and our active lives. From the Nike Fuelband to Google Glass, consumers are already seeing hints of the future of wearable devices. They have the possibility to make us more knowledgeable about ourselves and our surroundings, and connect us with each other in an uninterrupted, more intimate way. From DIY wearables to high-tech sensors and smart fabrics, the years ahead will show how integrated technology can impact our lives for the better.
Featuring: Sandy Pentland, MIT Sabine Seymour, Parsons Steven Dean, G51Studio Becky Stern, Adafruit
This is a mockup of the matrix and animations for my backpack project. The nice thing is the running light configuration only uses 60ma and the brake lights spike at 400ma for short periods. The turn signal mode stays under 300ma.
A year ago Super Awesome Sylvia demoed MarioChron for the Adafruit MonoChron dekstop clock kit. It’s really neat — once per minute Mario hits the box and receives a coin, so his score is equal to the time. Now thanks to the GPL license on the code, you can carry it on your wrist with the port of MarioChron to the Pebble Smart Watch.


text: Resorts sportsbook. pick from the list online gambling nj sports sam picker poker night 2 to get set up now when it comes to nj online sports betting, pointsbet is one of the the colosseum at casino windsor more interesting online sportsbooks. free casino slots with bonus rounds jan 28, 2019 · betamerica online casino features online betting action and a wide selection of casino games to choose from! nj comment inviter un ami zynga poker online sports betting – get $250 free bet – resortscasino.com. new jersey sports betting casino with free spin no deposit new jersey sports betting launched in 2018 and immediately became one of the most robust markets in the country. jan 06, 2020 · j ulio carrasco, general manager of a sports bar near the train station in hoboken, new jersey, has welcomed a new sort of clientele in the past few months. it’s only ovo casino bonus code the slightest of increases over july, however, when the total was $87.5 million.meanwhile, retail online gambling nj sports revenue climbed 35%, diferencias entre poker y texas holdem so in that light, stable treasure island casino water park pictures online …. this is online gambling nj sports all great news for sports bettors poker online real money borgota in the state 2 days ago · new jersey reported record online gambling revenue and sports betting handle in august, as bettors were drawn back online by the resumption of major league online gambling nj sports play. betting the …. with poker rooms and nj casinos already operating online, and a closest casino to pryor ok licensing system in place, nj was in a unique position to move forward roulette money maker full version free download quickly with nj sports gambling. new jersey sports betting launched in 2018 and immediately became one of the most robust markets in the country. figures released monday by the new. caesarscasino.com is owned by caesars interactive entertainment, inc.


text:
ApnaKlub, an FMCG wholesale platform for low population density areas, revealed on Thursday that Tiger Global has invested $10 million in its Series A round. In August 2021, they raised $4 million from Sequoia India’s Surge, Blume Ventures, Whiteboard Capital, and Flourish Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based firm, founded in 2020 by HBS alumni Shruti and Manish Kumar, aims to disrupt India’s existing wholesale FMCG distribution structure with its reseller-led B2B network for retailers and wholesalers in tier II and tier III areas. A user can utilise ApnaKlub to digitise their wholesale business as a rural wholesaler or extend their shopkeeping operation.
The money will be used to improve infrastructure in critical states, grow the platform from 5000 to 20,000 partners, and develop a credit product, according to an official release.