It’s been 22 years since Bill Gates famously framed online marketing in royal terms with three words of wisdom: content is king. The 2010’s clarified this further, with the kings and, more frequently, the queens of content coalescing around one medium in particular: video. But the landscape of the last couple years has proven even more specific. Video alone no longer leads. “Short form video” is the new telephone call. We operate in bursts now, and people use short form …

Dear SXSW, I used to love you. You were the ultimate annual jam session, the bridge between music and tech, and the epicenter of innovation. It was so pure, so limitless. I would whisper sweet nothings into your warm Austin nights and watch magical dreams come to life. Twitter launched with you. So did Foursquare. There was nothing quite like your buzz. Be it a band on the rise or a massive artist looking for intimate eyes, everyone wanted a …

It was interesting to read about the evolution of the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in the Sunday Styles this weekend. Already the Oscars’ most daunting door to beat down, the event is now more exclusive than ever, only there’s a workaround: access granted through brands. Marriott was a headline sponsor this year and allowed two “civilians” who secured invitations in an online auction, bidding with customer-loyalty points from Marriott, to enter the star-studded bash. Talk about rewards. The VF party …

This weekend I had the privilege of seeing Gary Clark Jr. perform on SNL, one of the most coveted milestones for a musician. The SNL stage is not only historically iconic, it also feels more relevant than it’s been in a decade. I first met Gary when he signed to Warner Brothers in 2013. Even though he is a low key guy, his vibe was contagious! I could immediately tell I liked him as a person, but it wasn’t until …

Last night we partied on Mulholland Drive for Khalid’s 21st birthday, and we did it in 21st century fashion. The Nue family provided an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the bash for our client, Live.me, and their global audience of 20 million active users. The self-described “best social platform for creating and viewing live videos” requires only one cell phone (that’s all we had last night!) to broadcast this unique kind of content. No surprise that one of the hottest young …

The largest growth opportunity in my world right now is the Cannabiz, so much so that I’m willing to bet on New York and New Jersey being recreationally legal in 2019. My gut tells me that by 2021, the whole country will follow suit. The word is “revolution.” It’s like watching prohibition get rewritten for the digital age. This won’t only upend how we’ve seen the world for the last century, it will entirely overturn the commercial landscape and present …

I’m taking the newsletter in a different direction this week. Typically I focus on what’s happening with Nue but there’s something I’ve been grappling with lately and I want to start a dialogue about it. I love Colin Kaepernick and have even had the privilege of working out next to him regularly at the gym. The day after Super Bowl LII, I almost asked him to spot me on the bench but I’m so in awe of what he’s done …

  All signs point to this being a great era for the music business. More music is being created and consumed than ever before. More artists are touring and the live business as a whole is very healthy. Just look at the biggest player, Live Nation, and their continual growth.The streaming business, although beginning to flatline a bit, has overcome its biggest issue: the perception that music is undervalued or even “free” due to rampant piracy. Now, people are willing …

I love the optimism at the top of the year. It lasts through January and even into Spring. I probably say this every 365 days, but I’m as excited and passionate about the music business as I’ve ever been. Growth is inevitable as artists take greater control of their careers and brands continue to crack the code that a dynamic connection to music creates. Who needs Facebook ads in 2019? We’re after meaningful partnerships done right. When the inbox notifications …

What December lacks in nice weather and sunlight, it makes up for in reflection. Ripping out that twelfth calendar page always brings a boost of optimism and an eye-opening outlook, what I call “New Year’s magic.” When you do the internal work leading up to the ball drop — the introspection and internalizing, the goal setting and deal plotting — this is both downtime and go time. Even the holidaze have us #nevernotworking. For some, the 2018 clock is still …

As the year comes to a close, year-end recaps are everywhere you look. With so much content about so much content, how do you know what to pay attention to? One of the top curators of our generation, Tuma Basa, Rap Caviar’s own and now Youtube Music’s finest answers that question with new thinking, using a concept he coined called “Curativity.” With virtually unlimited access to information and assets, choice can be stifling. People need reliable, trustworthy sources more than ever. …

As the year wraps up, it’s exciting to peruse various trend reports and year-end outlook posts. They give you an understanding of what thought leaders and institutions think is slated to make the biggest impact in 2019. We combine this data and discussion with our own research to arrive at a fully formulated idea of what Nue thinks is next. One thing that is becoming surprisingly relevant in our future-focused world is nostalgia. That’s why when UTA’s Larry Vincent asked …

We like to think of ourselves as cultural anthropologists: always in the mix, digging deep for what’s relevant now, and scouring the landscape for what’s next. One of the pluses of Nue’s agency model is that we get to shape shift depending on our clients’ needs and where we see the market heading. The more touchpoints we uncover, the more we connect across various cultural verticals. One of the purest joys is finding new talent and shining a light on …