The Best One Yet - 🤘 “Better have RiRi’s Money — TikTok’s Music Purge. Apple’s headset debut. Wilson’s

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Drake. All their music is off TikTok today because of a dispute with Universal — So we’re going to explain the “Great TikTok Purge” with Rihanna’s lyrics… because this deal comes down to pennies.Apple’s biggest product launch since the iPhone happens today: The $3,500 Vision Pro headsets — When it comes to new innovations, the first version is the worst version.And Amer Sports is the first big IPO of the year: It’s the sports company behind ArcTeryx, Wilson, and Salomon gear — But the business is running a race with weights on its ankles.$AS $UMG $AAPLSubscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. February 2nd in today's pod. It is the best one yet. It is a T-boy, Jack. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, checking the calendar.

Is it Groundhog Day right now, man? Did the Groundhog see a chatel this morning? He saw six more weeks of stock market gains. Jack, first story for today's show. What do we got, man? For our first story, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande. All their songs are officially off TikTok. Because Universal Music is on a TikTok strike, so your feed is silent.

For our second story, it's Apple's new VR headset. It goes on sale today. But yetis, this is guaranteed to be the worst Apple headset you will ever wear. And that's actually a good thing. We'll explain. Third story, what do we got? And our third and final story. The company that makes your Wilson Tennis racket, your ski parka, and your hiking boots just IPO.

Amher Sports, it is the first ever Pure Play Gear. stock. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of three stories to finish the week. That is how you're going to the weekend, Jack. What a mix of stories, man. We've told you many times we're in the experience economy. Yetis, you're not spending money on things. You're spending money on experiences. So last year, Nick invented a new type of experience, and it's happening again tonight. It's the second annual reverse surprise party. The reverse surprise party. It's a completely new type of party.

The reverse surprise party. It's an entirely new business model for celebrating. The reverse surprise party is a surprise party, but in reverse. Here's how it goes down. First, I sent out an invite to my birthday party. I got that invitation in my mailbox. And it said on that invite, the date of the party. I got the date. It's tonight. And it said on that invite, the attire for that party.

Dumping formal, apparently. It's a little mystery. It's going to be fun. But here's the catch besties. This invite did not say the location of that party. That's right. The location is a mystery. All that it said on the invite is that we're meeting tonight at my apartment at 7 p.m. That's all you know. And then we're taking a limo apparently to a surprise location to actually celebrate Nick's birthday. If so fact, what we're saying is the birthday boy isn't getting surprised.

No, Nick's not surprised. It's the guests who get the surprise. All of our friends, they know what to wear and when the party is. But their destination is a mystery. So everyone's meeting at my apartment at 7 p.m. and then no one knows what's happening. The only certainty is that there will be birthday cake because Nick loves birthday cake.

I can guarantee there are three cakes already selected celebration style. The reverse birthday party. Nick invented it last year. And honestly, it's taken off in the last year, Jack. Yeties are doing reverse surprise birthdays. Besties are doing reverse surprise parties. Your sister's doing a reverse surprise party. The best party she invited someone who said,

that's actually my birthday, but I'm going to cancel my plans because this sounds cooler. Everyone showing up at her place Taking a limo to a surprise location They could be going to Cirque de Soleil Or it could be going to Burger King All you know is the date and the dress code That's it The rest of the party is a surprise

And that is the reverse surprise party Patent pending at the U.S. trademark office Jack, you better wear dumpling formal Yetis, let's hit our three stories In reverse Fifteen 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. 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. Start the show. For our first story, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande all just got taken off TikTok.

It's the great TikTok music purge, and it all comes down to pennies. And we're going to explain it all using Rihanna's own lyrics. But Besties, at midnight Pacific time on February 1st, the great TikTok music purge commenced. I mean, Jack, I remember where I was. You remember where you were all going to remember where we were. TikTok no longer had permission to use millions of the most popular hit songs on their app. I was having an oatmeal breakfast, a cold oatmeal breakfast, and I noticed I couldn't hear anything, Jack. Besties, any musician repped by Universal Music Group was banned from being used on TikTok.

Yeah, it is if you want to use music from Taylor Swift or from Drake or from Beasley, on TikTok right now, you can't. Or if you posted something two years ago and you added Rick Ross's hustling as the music in the background, that video is now muted. Okay, if I went back to that video of you dancing your butt off to Rick Ross's hustling, what am I gonna see, Jack? You're just gonna see a video of me pumping my fists and shaking my butt in silence. Because there is no big pop music on TikTok right now.

Because Rick Ross's record label isn't cool with TikTok right now. Jack and I were thinking about this story and we're trying to come up with the best way to explain this strange TikTok situation to you. Turns out this TikTok and music industry drama can be explained by Rihanna's discography. First, don't stop the music. That's a Ree-R-R-R-Song, but that's what happened. The music stopped on February 1st. Which leads to our second R-R-R-Song,

Bitch Better Have My Money. Because the music label wants more money from TikTok. That's the dispute. Best is Universal is one of the three big record labels that control and own most of the music. that we all listen to. And when you watch a video on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, the record label makes money if one of their songs is played in the background of that video.

But yet is Universal says that TikTok is being, as Rihanna would put it, a rude boy. Because TikTok is only offering a fraction of the rate that other social media's are paying for their music. So until TikTok and Universal Music reach an agreement, we will not hear pop music on TikTok. Which leads to our fourth and first and final Rihanna song. Where have you been waiting for a contract? Call me rude boy. Call me rude boy.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at TikTok and Universal? This music purge comes down to pennies. Yeties, the core conflict of TikTok versus the music industry, it comes down to one thing. And that thing is pennies. Basically, TikTok is offering to pay one cent per thousand streams. But the record label wants two cents per thousand streams. Now, when you add up all the TikTok, videos that are swiped and watched, that's millions and billions of streams and a lot of money. But this conflict, this issue, the contract itself, it's actually a debate over pennies. What happens next? There's going to be no music from universal musicians until they sign a contract. Until they make peace over pennies.

For our second story, today is Apple's biggest day of the year because you can walk into an Apple store and walk out with an Apple Vision Pro. This Apple Vision Pro is guaranteed to be the worst one that you'll ever use. But that doesn't mean it's bad. No, it doesn't. Jack, I'm going to whip out a few names for you over here. Okay, here we go. Here we go. Margo Robbie, Barbara Streisand, Brad Pitt, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Yeah, they're all in the same group now because they've all been on the cover of Vendity Fair. We never thought we'd see today. But yesterday, the fan. Nancy magazine captured Tim Cook on the cover of their magazine pictured for the first time wearing his Apple Vision Pro headset. Because starting today, the Apple Vision Pro headset is on sale.

The biggest product launch for Apple since their iPhone 17 years ago. We should point out, Apple also announced quarterly earnings yesterday. Oh, no big deal. And how are the earnings, Jack? They beat expectations with a $34 billion quarterly profit. The Wallster is like, okay, that's cute with the huge profit. But can we talk about the new headset that you're selling, please? It's not virtual reality. It's not augmented reality. Apple calls it spatial computing. And this new spatial computing headset will cost you $3,500. Yes, that is literally the price of a used car.

And that's why Apple will let you test it out at the Apple Store. Jack and I should point out that the new Apple, AR, VR, VR, whatever headset is actually the most heavily reviewed tech product of the 21st century. Every techie had a YouTube video trying this thing out. There were more hot takes on this product than the core of a volcano jack. I'd say our favorite description of this thing, if a VR headset is a Schwinn bicycle, then this Apple version is a Gulfstream private jet. If you're wearing an Apple Vision Pro, you can multitask to the max. Yeah, yeah, it is the key use case of this product.

The key value proposition of this product is that it makes you a productivity powerhouse with over 600 apps at your finger. I'm sorry, your eyelids. You can watch a Zoom meeting and see the whole PowerPoint that Carol from accounting is presenting, and you can do all that while doing your dishes in your kitchen. You can watch Season 2 of the Bear and text your buddy Timmy while rowing a rowing machine the entire time. If you're cooking some risotto in the kitchen,

you can open up a cooking app, which shows you the recipe on the left side of the screen, and then you can throw a timer app up on the stove. Now, here's where things get interesting. You can move around your kitchen, like searching for the chickpeas for the recipe, but the timer app stays above the stove the entire time. That's the spatial computing part.

The space around you is the screen. Now, yeah, he's Jack and I should point out the new Apple headset. It does have some flaws. For example, it projects an image of your eyeballs to the outside world. So if I were watching Jack while he had this on, I wouldn't see his real eyes. I would see a computer version and it would make him look like Jaja Binks. Yeah, you only want to wear these things in private. It's years before it's socially acceptable to wear these outside.

Oh, and if you want to FaceTime with someone while you're wearing the new Apple headsets, it's going to be a little awkward too. Because the person on the other side can't see your face, they can see the digital version of your face Apple generates for you. And Apple isn't generating a particularly handsome version of your face. Our thought, you're going to see this first on an airplane because some dude in 17B is going to be trying about.

And he's going to be talking about it the entire time. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? Today's Apple Vision Pro is the worst one you'll ever use. Because yet is the computer your parents used, 30 years ago was the size of a bank vault. And the BlackBerry you used 20 years ago had a black and white screen. And the original iPhone you loved so much a decade ago, it's like a hammer compared to the new iPhone 15. In tech, the fast pace of innovation means that tomorrow's version will be lighter, faster, and cheaper than today's version. Especially early in a product's development, it's like Moore's

law, isn't it, Jack? Every two years, things get twice as good for half the price. And that is why one Apple analyst expects these new Vision Pro headsets to be as small as eyeglasses and cost a third as much in just a few years. Because when it comes to innovation, the first one is the worst one. But that doesn't mean it's bad.

For our third and final story, Jack, grab the ankle tape. The sports company that owns Arcterics, Wilson, and Solomon just went public with an IPO. But this stock is trying to race with weights around its ankles. Coming to the equipment room and

And we'll explain it. Yeah, it is if you have a poster on your wall of a ball player, chances are they were whacking something made by Amher Sports. Because Amher is an equipment manager's favorite stock. Yeah, Amher Sports is a company that's basically assembled the dream team of sports brands. Because they own Wilson, which makes the official football of the NFL, the official basketball, the NBA, and the official tennis ball of pro tennis. And they own Atomic, the official skis that Michaela Schiffrin wins her gold medals on.

They even own Arcterics, which makes the 16th. $1,800 parka. That's basically the dress code at the Yellowstone Club. The Arcteric's underwear is basically costing more than the skis at this point, Jack. Amher Sports, the group of outdoor and sports companies just IPOed yesterday. And this racket, smack, and bootwear and ski buckling sport company is officially public at a $6 billion valuation. It's the first big IPO of the year. Now, yet he's Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the S-1 IPO paperwork.

And we noticed that their history is wild. Amher Sports was founded in Finland, then China, now the United States. They're basically like an athlete who like was born in one country, trains in another country, and then is doing the competitions in like a whole different country. Because after World War II, Amher was founded in Finland. And they started off by selling tobacco. I'm sorry, can you repeat that one, Jack? Tobacco, because sports companies start with cigarettes.

Okay, then in the 1980s, this company decided, hey, why don't we use our cigarette profits to diversify into another industry like sports? They basically wanted to get into shape. Yeah, they went from cigars to rackets. That is literally what they did. Then in 2019, a Chinese sports company bought Ammer and introduced all those sports brands, Nick and I were just talking about, to China. Yeah, he's added it all up. And this company has pivoted its business model and its headquarters enough times to deserve an Olympic medal.

But there's a couple problems with all those pivots. First, we noticed that 20% of their sales are in China, and that's kind of a risk given the U.S. and China tension these days. Then we noticed another foul in their IPO paperwork. Jack and I control F, the IPO paperwork, and we noticed that they mentioned the word tennis 34 times and skiing 41 times. But they mentioned the word debt 74 times and interest 255 times. Yet these Amherst Sports is more focused on paying debts than playing balls. They need to pay their debts before they can play their balls.

I think I understand what you're saying, but I like what you're saying, Jack. So Jack wants the takeaway for our buddies over at Amherst. Sports. This stock is running in a race with weights around its ankles. Yeties, when Amher Sports was acquired in 2019, it wasn't a cash deal. It was a debt deal. And that debt continues to haunt Amher even after the IPO. Because Amher has $2 billion of IOUs. And because it must pay interest on all that debt, it has swung from what would have been a profit to a loss for three years in a row. Now Yeti's Amher Sports, they are bullish that pickleball can boost sales of their new Wilson rackets. And they're bullish that splurging skiers want the fanciest jackets to match their fancy

ski boots in Aspen. But why is this company lost money each the last three years? It's because of debt. This new stock is running a race with weights around its ankles. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? TikTok lost the rights to play music from universal artists, and Rihanna's lyrics explain the whole thing. The great TikTok music purge. It all comes down to pennies. For our second story, it's Apple's Vision Pro headset. It's finally available for sale today. But remember, Yetis, with big innovations, the first version is the worst version. And our third and final story is Amher Sports. This company is an equipment manager's dream and it just IPOed onto the stock market. But all

that debt, it's like running in a race with ankle weights. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, we got more big tech earnings out there. Amazon, its stock hit a record high on huge earnings growth, 14% sales growth. While META just announced they're paying their first dividend, and they also hit an all-time high stock price. And second, Ferrari, it's stock jump 10%. On word, the race car driver Louis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes to race for Ferrari. If Lewis Hamilton wins more F1 races in the future,

it'll be with the Italian Stallions. And finally, the Grammy Awards are this Sunday, and they'll be hosted by Trevor Nowa. It's actually the fourth time that Trevor Noah is going to host the Grandi And he's only 39 years old. It's one of those guys who makes your resume feel really self-conscious. Yeah, you do not want to look at his LinkedIn. It's going to hurt.

Now time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Stephen Hammond from lovely Kirkland, Washington, home of Costco. On a recent podcast, you mentioned Achilles, who, in Greek myth, was the greatest warrior of Agamemnon's army. His heel was said to be his only weakness. But do you know why that is? Well, according to myth, Thetus, mother of Achilles, was the mother of Achilles, was the greatest. was told her child would die at a young age. To save him, she took Achilles to the river sticks,

the waters of which were said to be able to change the very nature of life and death. She risked dipping Achilles into the water knowing it might make him immortal. The only place on Achilles' body that was not touched by the water was his heel that she held him by, so it was the only part of his body that was not impervious to damage. And that's when they invented the expression, you missed this body. Honestly, Achilles needs a little ankle tape from my buddies over at Amher's Sports Jack. If only Achilles' mom had tongs, there'd be no issue here. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week.

And remember, if you're heading to a reverse surprise party this weekend, you're going to have a good time. Do you shout surprised when you arrive at the location? Yeah, as they arrive, I shout surprise. And then they're surprised. Get some every time. Oh, and one more thing, Basties. Check out your email inbox tomorrow morning.

We're going to sneak something special in there for you. If you know, you know. Nick and I, we'll see a little. Monday. Celebrate the wins. Can't wait. And before we go, a congratulations to Yeti Jane Lee, who's been listening to this pod for four years and just quit her corporate job becoming self-employed in San Francisco. Good luck on the self-employment. You got this, Jane. And congratulations to Amir Bafrui, who's now one of only 185 lawyers in Texas to get certified in residential real estate law. And congratulations to Tyler Hale and Amanda Morgan, who just got engaged in Fort

Myers, Florida. And Andrew Scarborough just became a dad in Tampa. Congratulations to the new baby girl, Val. And a big shout out to the homies who are having an epic reunion weekend with the boys in Maastricht, the Netherlands. And Mindy Schaefer from New Jersey just got a new job as a project manager. And congratulations to the Upper East Side's finest Katie Martel, who's celebrating a birthday with a reverse surprise party. Have a blast this weekend. Everyone is going to be surprised. And happy birthday to Jen Lou, who's celebrating. with a chocolate tort cake in San Francisco. And Taylor Keller is celebrating a birthday

with a round of putt putt in Arvada, Colorado. Happy birthday to Allison in Denver, Colorado. And a happy birthday to Adam Seifert, who's celebrating down in Dallas. Happy birthday to Romaine Lee, who's celebrating away from the spreadsheets in Allen, Texas. And a happy 29th birthday to Aaron Manda, who's celebrating in Philadelphia with a cookie cake.

Maybe a cookie crisp cake. And finally, it's date night. And Pookie is looking absolutely fire. tonight. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. Like an ankle, wait.

It drags you down. I think that's clear. I didn't think the clarification was needed it either. But I didn't want to call it out on the show. I think that could go on the show too. No, I do. I really do. Jake's like, hey, hey you, you want to be on the show?

You can come to the show. There's a pigeon here. Let's bring him on the show. Dude, it was basically an outtick. And like that stuff is golf. It was an intake. It was an intake. It was an intake.

It was an intake. It's an intake.