🍋 TikTok Tunes

Together With

 "Knowing when you have an edge is very difficult, but in my experience it is the critical factor that allows us to stand out in the ultra competitive world of institutional money management." — Brian Bares

Good Morning! Hope you enjoyed an extra day off yesterday. Amazon is planning a lot of days off for employees, as it's closing dozens of US warehouses in October, amid slowing sales growth. On the bright side, gas prices are expected to continue to fall, potentially below the $3 a gallon mark in some states. That should help consumers, as the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is now at levels usually seen during much worse economic environments. In the UK, people may be feeling some closure, after a long drawn-out election has finally resulted in Liz Truss replacing Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

As promised, you can find the full Short Squeez recommended book list here.

Miss your second monitor on while traveling? Check out ViewSonic's portable monitors.

1. Story of the Day: TikTok Tunes

TikTok trends have taken over our lives, from the clothes we wear to the recipes we cook. One of the biggest influences TikTok influencers have is on the music we listen to. If a song catches the ear of a group of kids that can choreograph a weirdly expressive dance to it, then an unknown artist can rise to stardom almost overnight.

Take the example of "Supalonely" by Benee. When the song first came out, Zoi Lerma worked at a bagel shop and choreographed a dance to the tune. That dance routine went viral, and the video has since gotten 45 million views on TikTok. She's now an influencer, and Benee is a superstar, who performed at Bonnaroo and received a nomination for new artist of 2020 at the People’s Choice Awards.

TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. In May, the company filed a trademark application for "TikTok Music," a service that would allow users to play, share, purchase, and download music. This expands on TikTok's roots with Musical.ly, a startup that ByteDance acquired which let users make videos with other people's music. ByteDance merged TikTok and Musical.ly to create the gamechanger we know today.

It really is a gamechanger, with ripple effects making waves for everyone in the industry. In 2021, Spotify had to pay out over $7 billion in royalties, a lot of which were for songs that came to fame off TikTok. Older songs can become popular again, with Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" getting back onto the charts after that one dude drank cranberry juice and skateboarded with the song in the background.

Big Sean, whose song "Down" topped the charts in 2009, is trying to take advantage of the new medium. Sean said, "I'm reaching a brand-new fan base. I've been doing music for 20 years, so some of them were just kids when my music came out and they're starting to discover my back catalog through this."

Short Squeez Takeaway: I love discovering new music, and a lot of times the best way to do that is through non-music services. Like when a random YouTube video explaining "What is Blockchain" has a fire soundtrack in the background. I don't have a TikTok, but if it'll introduce me to good tunes, maybe I, and a bunch of other atypical millennial users, will get one.

2. Markets Rundown

Markets were closed yesterday for Labor Day, while crypto managed to snag some gainz.

Private Dealmaking

  • Planted, a vegan meat manufacturer, raised $72 million

  • Solid, a fintech and SaaS payment platform, raised $63 million

  • OneSignal, a mobile app notification platform, raised $50 million

  • Everphone, a startup that allows users to rent smartphones and laptops, raised $32 million

  • 98point6, a virtual medical communications platform, raised $20 million

  • Falkon, an AI sales analytics platform, raised $16 million

3. Top Reads

  • Economists divided on risk of U.S. recession (CNBC)

  • Euro slides below 99 cents, two-decade low (Fox)

  • CVS to buy home health giant Signify Health for about $8 billion (CNBC)

  • Europe heading for recession as cost of living deepens (Reuters)

  • Stocks are stormy heading into September (CNBC)

  • Why millennial and Gen-Z investors have an edge (YF)

  • NY corporate bond distress index improved in August (Reuters)

  • Banks, bankers, and ESG demands (Fox)

  • How Tommy Bahama spreads its brand without making anything (CNN)

A Message From ViewSonic: Portable Monitors for Productivity on the Go

Gone are the days of working from the office all the time. Working from home or on the road is where it's at. The worst part about working on the road? That tiny tiny laptop screen… It doesn’t have to be that way though. ViewSonic is changing the game with their portable monitors.

The monitors look beautiful and are lightweight af. With a weight of less than 2 lbs. and a thickness of just .6 in., these ultra-slim portable monitors can be effortlessly stowed into backpacks, purses, and even laptop cases. 

Simply plug in a single USB Type-C cable that transfers power, audio, and video, and watch your productivity take off with a second screen.

I myself use one of these and highly recommend.

Use code OWS for 15% off ViewSonic portable monitors in the US & Canada.  

4. Book of the Day: Slouching Towards Utopia

Before 1870, humanity lived in dire poverty, with a slow crawl of invention offset by a growing population. Then came a great shift: invention sprinted forward, doubling our technological capabilities each generation and utterly transforming the economy again and again. 

Our ancestors would have presumed we would have used such powers to build utopia. But it was not so. When 1870–2010 ended, the world instead saw global warming; economic depression, uncertainty, and inequality; and broad rejection of the status quo. 

Economist Brad DeLong's Slouching Towards Utopia tells the story of how this unprecedented explosion of material wealth  occurred, how it transformed the globe, and why it failed to deliver us to utopia. Of remarkable breadth and ambition, it reveals the last century to have been less  a march of progress than a slouch in the right direction.

“We live in a (relatively) free and prosperous country and, compared to the past, a relatively free and prosperous world.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

A Message from Selzy

If you’re looking for the easiest way to start selling with emails, try Selzy – an email marketing service that suits any business goal.

Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3: create your first campaign in just 15 minutes! The best part? Enjoy 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone even on the Free plan.

Grab a special offer: a lifetime deal for just $49! Get lifetime access to all the core features: automation, segmentation, unlimited emails, and 24/7 support – for a price of 10 lattes. No extra payments needed, no commissions or hidden fees. 

6. Daily Visual: Small Investors are Snapping Up Out-Of-State Properties

Source: WSJ

7. Daily Acumen: Discipline

“If small changes create big results, then why is success so elusive?

The answer boils down to a single word: discipline. Not many people have consistent discipline when times are good. Even fewer in times of stress.

Anyone can do something once. Not everyone can do it consistently. Eating healthy for a meal is common. Eating healthy all week is not. Working out occasionally is common. Working out a few times a week is not. Going to bed on time is easy. Doing it for a week is not.

Positioning yourself for future success is simple but not easy. The hardest part is the discipline required to do otherwise ordinary things for an extraordinarily long period of time, even when the results are barely noticeable.

When people say you need to love the process, this is what they mean. Can you do it when it’s hard? Can you do it when other people stop? Can you work on something long enough to let it compound? Can you do it when the results aren’t visible?

Putting yourself in a position for success is simple. Doing it day in and day out is hard.

Extraordinary results come from ordinary people with uncommon discipline.”

8. Crypto Corner

  • Will Ethereum Merge put end to BTC, crown new crypto king?

  • Graph: crypto crunch hasn’t dented interest

  • Growing influence of crypto in politics raises concerns

  • Layoffs continue, but experts and crypto funding paint optimistic future

  • Where will Defi be after crypto winter ends?

9. Memes of the Day

 

 

*****

What'd you think of today's email?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

*****

Want to reach an audience of 150,000+ business leaders, young professionals, and policy influencers? Advertise in Short Squeez.  

Join the conversation

or to participate.