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Stocks ticked up yesterday after AstraZeneca and Oxford said their Covid-19 vaccine was up to 90% effective. Cases are still surging, and LA county just shut down all outdoor dining.
What's next, FleetTok?... Last week, Twitter copied Snap's Stories feature with Fleets (only four years after Facebook copied it). ICYMI: Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube also have Stories. And of course, Facebook/Insta also copied Snap's AR Filters (avocado crown FTW). Now, Snap is doing some copy-catting of its own with its new "Spotlight" tab.
Not so Renegade, Renegade... Copying popular features is standard MO for social apps. And Facebook has been aggressively pushing vertical videos on its Tok-competitor "Reels." But Snap is doing Three Vs a bit differently:
This is new (complicated) territory for Snap... Before, users could only see snaps posted by friends or by publishers in the Discover tab — there was no "going viral on Snap." But with all the scrutiny around viral misinformation and hate speech on Facebook and Twitter, Snap is moving into moderation-heavy (and risky) territory. That's probably why it isn't allowing comments on Spotlight videos.
'Twas the Lizzo IPO... Warner Music went public back in June as the first pure-play music stock of the record label "three-oply": Warner Music, Universal Music, and Sony Music (say "music" again). Warner signs artists, then markets and monetizes their tunes. Stars include: Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, and Cardi B.
When Bruno's on pandemic vacay... He's not dropping that 24K Magic. Before going public, Warner noted that the "absence of superstar releases" was one of the biggest risks to its biz. Its roster is stocked with Led Zeppelin and Madonna tunes, but the big money comes from new albums. Fresh hits from artists like Dua Lipa made up for the silence from stars like Bruno Mars.
Warner reflects the winners/losers of the pandemic... The Spotify streaming side of Warner's biz is thriving, just like Spotify — the live touring side of the business is hurting, just like Live Nation. Warner's partnerships with pandemic thrivers like Facebook, TikTok, and Snap are growing sales even faster than subscription streaming. Warner also hinted it's exploring new opportunities with pandemic winners like Twitch (live-streamed concerts) and Peloton (licensing).
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Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Snap, Uber, Amazon, and Warner Music
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