The Best One Yet - 🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, January 27th. And today's pot is the best one yet. This one, it's a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But Jack, how is the hot tub?

Starting point is 00:00:15 I can tell you've been spending a lot of time in there over the last 48 hours. Sure, I told you, we had a mad day on Saturday. A mortgage appreciation day. You're not allowed to do any house chores or any work on your house. Just enjoy the house like it's a vacation house. Well, your hands are still. pruny. I can see him from here, Jack. In the meantime, three stories for today's show. What do we

Starting point is 00:00:35 got on the pod, man? For our first story, the maker of Ozempic just unveiled an even more powerful weight loss drug. If you shop online too much or scroll Instagram too much, the new cure may be Ozempic. For our second story, it's KidsBop. They've been making kids' versions of adult music for 25 years, Cardi B for babies. Kids Bop. Their real innovation? It's the re-creator. economy. And our third and final story. One week into the Trump presidency, CNN is overhauling its entire business. We're going to tell you why CNN is having plastic media surgery. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, fantastic mix of story. There's no better mix. I love the mix check. To quote Beyonce, all the single ladies, all the single ladies. Because guess who's

Starting point is 00:01:24 driving the housing market right now, yeties? That's kind of a leading question. Single ladies. According to Southern Bees International, the biggest new buyers of luxury real estate are single women. Jack, to quote Diana Ross, it's my house and I live here. According to the data, women were the sole owners of 20% of American homes in 2024. That is twice the percentage from just 30 years ago. And those solo ladies that are owning homes are also the fastest growing segment of luxury real estate. A villa in Italia owned by a single lady. The mansion of Majorca, unmarried woman.

Starting point is 00:02:01 Jack's ski chalet just outside of Chamonie. It's owned by Shilat. And yeah, she's single. But here's the fascinating twist yetis. It is single ladies on both sides of the age spectrum that are snapping up all this real estate. That's right. It's both boomers and millennials. Because on the one hand, older women are living longer than their husbands, so they're buying a new home.

Starting point is 00:02:21 But on the other hand, young working women are putting off marriage and treating themselves to a brand new home instead. And this combination has driven an understanding. unprecedented pop in the housing market. We call it the single lady home search. It's all proof that you don't need a man. You just need a mortgage. And again, Jack, just to quote Beyonce, I got a gloss on my lips and a man on my hips. Sorry, I don't have another day on a Ross quote. But I got a condo and combo. Let's in our three stories, baby. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick. That I don't even think they need to practice.

Starting point is 00:03:01 50% that's a fat tip. Tea boy city on your at list. If you know, you know because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, the maker of Ozempic and Wagovi just revealed a new drug that is better than both. But there's also a game-changing side effect to this drug. You ready for this?

Starting point is 00:03:39 you won't just eat less, you will sin less too. Take Ozempic, scroll less TikTok, we'll explain. Seriously. Yet is Europe's most valuable company. It's not LVMH luxury anymore. It's now Novo Nordisk. Because Novo Nordisk created the weight loss drugs, Ozempic and Wagovi, which are beloved by celebrities and taken by millions and millions of Americans.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Yes, they are. But the trial results for their new drug, Amy Cretan, um, Jack, what were the numbers? Novo Nordist just published the results on Friday, and they got near-perfect scores in their early randomized trials. Novo Nordisk paid 125 overweight obese people to take one shot per week for 36 weeks. Those that took this experimental new weight loss drug lost 22% of their body weight in the 36-week trial. That's more than a fifth of your body weight.

Starting point is 00:04:35 22% check. Jack, that's like a less. And those who didn't take the drug, those who took the placebo, they actually gained a little bit of weight. In fact, the average person who took this new trial drug weighed 204 pounds. Which means the average person who took this new drug lost 45 pounds in just 36 weeks. Again, it's like cutting off your leg just by taking a drug. What a wildly successful weight loss trial this was. Now, Yeties, Jack and I got more curious about this. And basically, if Ozzy,

Starting point is 00:05:08 Dempick was a breakthrough analogous to the nuclear bomb? Then this Amicretan result we just saw might be the hydrogen bomb. Now, larger later stage trials are needed before Amicretan can get approval and eventually come to the market. But if it does, it could accelerate the adoption of these weight loss drugs. It could make these weight loss drugs like the new Tylenol. Basically, your buddies could be popping these things. Everyone at the brunch table is taking them.

Starting point is 00:05:32 Although we should point out they're going to be way more expensive than Tylenol. Because yet this new drug results potentially. potentially in more weight loss, faster weight loss, fewer side effects, and some wild side effects will get to in a moment. So it's potentially a Zempic 2.0. I kind of want to say it's OZepic 3.0. Okay. Now, it was such a big breakthrough that Novo Nordisk stock jumped 10% on Friday, adding $35 billion of value to the company. Not too shabby. That's like seven lifts. But there's an even bigger impact from these GLP1 drugs that's emerging that we have been waiting to share. And it's going to affect your online shopping. So Jack, what's the takeaway for

Starting point is 00:06:13 our buddies over at OZempe? With these weight loss drugs, you don't just eat less, you sin less, too. Now, you eddies, we all know that these GLP1 drugs, they suppress the chemical in your body that makes you crave food. Everyone talks about them related to food. But it turns out, they suppress more than just your appetite for food. Yeah, new anecdotal evidence shows that these weight loss drugs actually reduce a lot of compulsive behaviors. Like drinking and smoking cigarettes and using opioids. Not just food and drugs. These weight loss drugs may also suppress your urge to gamble or even your urge to shop online for those cute tops. There's even some signs that these GLP1 drugs reduce your impulse to scroll social media. Now more trials are needed to measure the impact

Starting point is 00:07:02 on these other compulsive behaviors. But if it turns out that these weight loss drugs reduce all of your uncontrollable and often unwanted desires? I mean, Jack, there could be enormous economic impacts on our economy way beyond the food industry. OZempic could affect Amazon because people might online shop less. OZMPIC could affect Instagram because you have less of a scrolling feeling. This is a huge topic to watch in 2025. Oh, you're buying too many cute tops on TEMU? Maybe you start taking OZMPIC.

Starting point is 00:07:33 We want to see the results. Do these weight loss drugs also make you? sinless. For our second story, after 25 years, Kidsbop is still the power business in kids' music, maybe even more powerful. Because Kidsbop is the music industry's favorite training wheels. All right, Jack, childhood CDs, wanting to whip out the CD tower over there. I think we're listening to the same music from New York City with you and Rule of Vermont for me. Jack Jams, Volume 1? I had volume 1, 2, 3, and 6.

Starting point is 00:08:08 Disney show tunes, greatest hits. Four, five, and twelve. Now that's what I call music. Volume 28. Oh, so close, so close. But yet, despite all of those CDs, Yetis, the most successful kids' music business of all is Kids Bob. Kids with a Z.

Starting point is 00:08:24 Even though CDs are gone, KidsBop has never been bigger today. We got fascinated about that, so we jumped in T-Boy style. Yeti's Kids'Bopp. They've been around since 2001. Jack, how would you describe this exactly? They published sanitized, child-friendly covers

Starting point is 00:08:38 of popular pop songs. They basically childproof the kid's songs, is what we're saying. Yeah, parental advisory sticker. They basically just peel it off for you. It's off. They target anyone at four to 12 years old, basically too old for Barney,

Starting point is 00:08:52 but not quite ready for Beyonce. They'll take Blink 182's all the small things and turn it into a G-rated sing-along song for the minivan. Training wheels for T-Pain. They edit away the references to sex, drugs, rock and roll,

Starting point is 00:09:05 and they replace Cardi B with the non-eigh. year old ensemble. Hang on. They don't edit out references to rock and roll. Did you mean like violence or I'm going with violence? I was thinking violence. Volume one came out in 2001. Who's featured in that CD, Jack? Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and my favorite, smash mouth. But sung by kids. And Jack, who's in volume 50 coming out right now? Songs by Sabrina Carpenter, Chapel Rohn and Taylor Swift. But again, sung by kids. Jack, can I read you an example of this? Because like, did you listen to Kids Bob growing up? Did you hear any of this? I did not. I actually. I actually.

Starting point is 00:09:38 this is totally new to me. Let me give you a great example I found of this. Okay, lyric changes go like this. Lady Gaga sang in a song, Out in the club, Sipping on the Bub. All right. You want to hear the Kid's Bob volume 10 version? Yeah. Out in the club, eating all that grub. That is dad approved. But here's the news, Yetis. Kids Bob just released their 50th album. Yeah, it's called KidsBob volume 50. So we're jumping into the business. In 25 years, KidsBop has sold 25 million albums. How consistent is that? Very consistent, Jack.

Starting point is 00:10:11 And according to Forbes, Kids Pop is now 23% of the entire kids' music category. They have 24 Billboard Top 10 albums, which is more than Taylor Swift, almost as many as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Again, if you're playing a kid's song to your child, one out of four of those songs is probably a KidsBop song. Basically, what Miss Rachel is on YouTube and Bluey is on TV. I like where you're going. Kids bop has become from music. Nailed it. Oh, and they've expanded their revenue streams because they now do a live tour every year and collabs with Chuckie Cheese and Lego.

Starting point is 00:10:43 The funniest part that Nick and I found is that the founders are not typical entrepreneurs and they don't even do music. How did they even figure this out exactly, Jack? Two dads with law degrees basically had expertise in structuring licensing deals that wouldn't violate copyright law, but still be pop songs that, you know, everybody knows. And the business inside here is kind of that both the kids and the parents are the customers. Because like if you're a parent, you're probably listening with your kids and you control the dials. You don't want something you don't like. Baby Shark. No, you don't. So the music is stuff that parents recognize, but kids also can enjoy. No offense to Rafi, but.

Starting point is 00:11:23 So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at KidsBob? Never underestimate the re-creator economy. Yeties, that's actually a takeaway Jack and I crafted four years ago back in 2021 when Mr. Beast published a viral video. Here's the video's title, $456,000 squid game in real life. That video has almost a billion views right now. Yeah, it got a billion views because there's huge business in recreating something that already exists. Mr. Beast recreated the game in Squid Game in real life. And that's what Kidsbop is doing too, and it works. The artists they're covering, they're not just on board. They're enthusiastically on board to be covered. Because Chapel Rhone gets licensing revenue every time an album is sold. Plus, future fans who listen to the KidsBop version of her tracks as they were kids. It's a gateway product. So creating something based off an original idea. Yeah, that is one way you can do things. It's tough, but you can definitely do that. The other way is to recreate something. Never underestimate the recreater economy.

Starting point is 00:12:27 Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, CNN is making the biggest business makeover in its 45-year history. There's been no Trump news bump for CNN, so they're going back to their roots. But yet it is, if you think that there is just way too much news noise in the world right now, we know how you can blame. Ted Turner, he's the billionaire who launched CNN in 1980, cable news network. This was the beginning of the cable industry, and this CNN was the first ever 24-hour news channel. Which is kind of strange, because at 2 a.m., what is the news to report? Well, Jack, one second. Breaking news.

Starting point is 00:13:13 Man who's reported missing has been found. He was fishing. He was just fishing. Thank you, CNN for that breaking news. Yet he's CNN. They had a good run. For 45 years, cable news on TV, it was a great business. it was a profit puppy. Over 100 million American households were paying $100 month for cable,

Starting point is 00:13:33 and about five bucks of that cable bill went to CNN's pockets. But you know the story about cord cutting? Cable, it's been dying. However, there is one new twist that you should know about. Unlike in Trump's first term, Trump's second term has not resulted in a ratings bump for the cable news channels. That's right. Despite a thousand, I think, executive orders last week, CNN is not getting more coverage as they expected they would. In fact, CNN just had its worst ratings week in two years. It's well behind MSNBC and Fox News right now. So the new CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson, isn't doing a makeover of the channel. He's doing a full-on surgery of the channel. He just announced last week 200 layoffs to the CNN TV division, but at the same time, he's hiring 200 new people for the digital team.

Starting point is 00:14:25 That's right, Eddie. He's not just put in cousin. medics on CNN. He's full-on rearranging the company. And CNN is actually inspired by a business model we've covered many times before. Where have we seen this, Jack? The New York Times. That's right. They fund their news journalism with other stuff. Because yeties, the New York Times has defied the rest of the newspaper industry by developing a thriving games app, a thriving cooking app. They even have a shopping review business, wirecutter. That is doing its best in years. That's why me and all my friends have the same spatula because we all just got what wirecutter told us to get. Well, it's working for the New York Times business. Basically everything we just described, the lifestyle things from the New York Times,

Starting point is 00:15:07 subsidize their news division. And now CNN is going to launch something similar. There's a new CNN health and lifestyle business coming soon. And funny thing, Yeties, it's actually perfect that Mark Thompson, the new CEO of CNN, is borrowing a strategy from the New York Times. Because he used to be the CEO of the New York Times. Yeah, he literally is using the same spreadsheets. But as CNN tries to launch CNN Plus again, we're looking at Ted Turner. Again. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the new CNN? Markets are not the Marines.

Starting point is 00:15:41 They will leave a man behind. Oh, yeah, they will. Yeties, when Ted Turner launched CNN 45 years ago, he had this really good quote about the industry. He said, give people news when and where they want it. In 1980, TV is where people wanted news, and they wanted it 24-7. So that's what CNN did. But in 2025, people want their news at a different time and in a different place. New York Times realized this two decades ago. They did. So they made the shift from print to digital and from just news to lifestyle, too. And honestly, you can see it in the New York Times stock price.

Starting point is 00:16:15 Now CNN is finally making the change. They're finally remembering their founders quote, give people the news when and where they want it. Because the Marines, yeah, they leave no man But if you don't adapt, the markets, they will gladly leave you behind. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Novo Nordisk just released early trial results of what we're calling OZemPEC 2.0. But the bigger deal, what is it, Jack? It looks like their weight loss drugs don't just make you eat less. They make you sin less, too.

Starting point is 00:16:51 If your credit card bill is too big, your doctor may prescribe OZMPIC. Yeah, your financial advisor might, actually. For our second story, kids' bop has been selling hit albums for 25 years of child-friendly pop covers. Never underestimate the recreator economy. And our third and final story, CNN is performing surgery on itself. And it'll have what New York Times is having. Because the Marines, yeah, they leave no man behind. But markets, they'll gladly leave you behind.

Starting point is 00:17:20 But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Puma, the sports apparel brand has a profit. problem. Stock of Puma, it dropped 20% last week like I pulled a hammy. Blame it on the new CEO. He tried to take Puma up market and make it fancy, but Pum's customers kind of pissed about it. Good point of comparison, Puma's rival Adidas, their stock is up 50% in the last year. Fun fact, Puma and Adidas were founded by brothers who became rivals and their headquarters are in the same city on opposite sides of the river. But that's a story

Starting point is 00:17:52 for another pie. Second, home sales just fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years. Get this, only 4 million homes were sold last year. Back in 2021, 6 million were sold. It's the lowest level since 1996. Blame it on stubbornly high interest rates and stubbornly high record home prices. If you're a millennial trying to buy your first home, this sucks. And finally, would you pay $3,000 for a used iPhone just because it has TikTok? I might. Because here's the situation. Google and Apple have both banned TikTok from their app stores. but if you have it on your phone already, you can still keep using it.

Starting point is 00:18:32 Yeah, so yet he's Jack deleted the app to see what would happen. And now I can't get it back because it's not available on the App Store. Apparently a bunch of people did this and now they will spend $3,000 for a used iPhone just because it has TikTok already. Without TikTok on my phone,

Starting point is 00:18:47 my productivity has soared. Sword. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Rocket Entrepreneur, Ricardo Dina over in San Francisco. We recently did a story on the size of the U.S. retail return industry. Basically, how many Christmas and Hanukkah gifts did you send back? Well, get this.

Starting point is 00:19:10 The total value of returned goods in America is larger than the GDP of all but 19 countries. America returned $890 billion worth of goods last year. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context on that? So we returned more dollar amount of stuff than the entire economic output of all but 19 countries. Wrap it up. Yeties, you look fantastic to kick off the week. And if you know a single lady who just bought a penthouse, tell her H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. Because we just did an intro about her whole situation.

Starting point is 00:19:48 She's probably doing pretty well right now. So H-Y-H-T-B-O-I, have you heard the best one yet? That's how we grow this show every day. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. If you know, you know. And before we go, a happy birthday to Mark Massier and Wayne Gretzky, up in Canada, who are celebrating with some Stanley Mugs.

Starting point is 00:20:12 An happy birthday to Casey Haley in Knoxville, Tennessee. And Austin Jacobs turned 31 in San Jose, California, but partying in Tahoe, not too shabby. Well-played, Austin. That's where I had my honeymoon, Austin. Good choice. The water's clearer than ever. And David C in Fremont, California, just achieved their goal of 150 words per minute. Reading, writing, speaking, we don't know, but we like it.

Starting point is 00:20:34 And congratulations to Blaine Davis Johnson, who's got a new job in Kansas City, Missouri. Oh, yeah, over at crude, new wine bar, and he's got PTO and a 401K, not too shabby. Benefits. Job for benefits. Not too shabby. And besties, if you want a shout-out on this show or you got a buddy who deserves a shout-out, fill out the form. We got a link in our episode description.

Starting point is 00:20:54 This is Jack. I own stock in Amazon and Disney, and Nick and I both on stock in Spotify.

The Best One Yet - 🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.

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