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☆ A fake AI-generated Travis Scott album was taken off YouTube as the fight against AI music continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI Hub is a Discord server housing over 36,000 members making AI music. Members from the group created "UTOP-AI," an AI album featuring the voices of Travis Scott and other artists. "I ain't talking Uber, come take a trip into my mind," croons Travis Scott on a song called "Winter Snow." Warner Music Group and representatives for Travis Scott did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. The alarm bells sounding off in response to AI music have already been rung by the power players in the industry.

☆ Meek Mill: Rapper vows to 'spread the word' against antisemitism after Auschwitz visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Dana Bash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

One of the most famous marchers was Meek Mill, a 35-year-old African American rapper from Philadelphia without any prior connection to the atrocities that happened there. But at a time of rising antisemitism in the US, his presence spoke volumes, and that was the point. Mill is a friend of New England Patriots owner and philanthropist Robert Kraft, whose Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is in the midst of a $25 million national campaign, #StandUpToJewishHate. When Meek was incarcerated, Kraft visited him in prison, and the two stayed in touch and have remained friends. “But I think it’s also important for me to support Robert, all my Jewish friends, everyone that always supported me.

☆ This reseller's side hustle started as a way to get his family out of debt. Now he's made over $1.4 million on StockX by working around 10 hours a month.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ray Cao began reselling sneakers and apparel at 17 to help get his family out of debt. As a teen, Cao's parents racked up gambling debt and invested in penny stocks that backfired, he told Insider. "What got me into reselling was just being desperate to improve the financial situation for my family," Cao said. Ray CaoReselling on StockX costs more but saves timeA turning point for Cao's business came when StockX asked for a meeting a few years ago. "It's true that you don't make the best money on StockX," Cao said, referring to fees the marketplace charges for orchestrating a sale.

☆ The viral new ‘Drake’ and ‘Weeknd’ song is not what it seems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —One of the buzziest songs recently circulating on TikTok and climbing the Spotify charts featured the familiar voices of best-selling artists Drake and the Weeknd. But there’s a twist: Drake and the Weeknd appear to have had nothing to do with it. The viral track, “Heart on my Sleeve,” comes from an anonymous TikTok user named Ghostwriter977, who claims to have used artificial intelligence to generate the voices of Drake and the Weeknd for the track. The original TikTok video has seemingly been taken down, and the song has since been removed from streaming services including YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify. Taryn Southern’s debut song “Break Free,” which was composed and produced with AI, hit the Top 100 radio charts back in 2018, and VAVA, an AI music artist (i.e.

☆ Parler Set to Be Shut Down Temporarily by New Owner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Parler, founded in 2018 and pitched as an alternative to Twitter, has grown in popularity among conservatives. Parler , a social network that was popularized by supporters of former President Donald Trump, has been sold to a buyer that plans to temporarily shut it down. Parent company Parlement Technologies Inc. said Friday it has agreed to sell Parler to digital media company Starboard , months after an acquisition agreement with rapper Kanye West fell apart. The platform will go offline while Starboard, which recently changed its name from Olympic Media, develops a plan to eventually relaunch a revamped version of the site.

☆ Conglomerate Starboard buys Parler, to shut down social media app temporarily
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Digital media conglomerate Starboard said on Friday it has bought Parler for an undisclosed sum and will temporarily shut down the social media app popular with U.S. conservatives to give itself time to roll out a revamped version of the platform. Starboard, formerly Olympic Media, founded in 2018 houses conservative-leaning platforms American Wire and BizPac Review. The Arlington, Virginia-based conglomerate did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details on terms of the deal. Parler is one of several social media platforms, from among Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that have positioned themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc prior to its $44 billion acquisition by billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. "No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more," Starboard added.

☆ Elon Musk says he gets 'swarmed' at parties by people wanting to discuss work, and struggles to trust people, reporter who secured rare interview says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk gave an unexpected interview to the BBC late Tuesday. According to James Clayton, the reporter who spoke to Musk, the billionaire opened up about his personal life. Musk said he's often "swarmed" by people at parties wanting to discuss work, Clayton wrote. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Musk spoke with BBC correspondent James Clayton about his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October and the six months that have followed including the layoffs.

☆ Elon Musk says he wouldn't sell Twitter for the amount he paid unless a buyer would 'rigorously pursue the truth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk says he wouldn't sell Twitter unless a buyer was committed to pursuing the truth. In an interview with BBC News, Musk originally said he wouldn't sell the company for $44 billion. He later clarified, saying he would sell to someone who would "rigorously pursue the truth." Even if Musk was willing to sell the platform, Twitter may not still be worth the billions he paid for it. Representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

☆ Jordan's 'Last Dance' sneakers sell for record $2.2 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - A pair of signed, game-worn Michael Jordan sneakers from the 1998 NBA Finals fetched a record $2.2 million on Tuesday, making them the most valuable sneakers ever sold, auction house Sotheby's said. He went on to win his sixth and final NBA Championship and was named the Finals MVP. Sotheby's said Jordan gifted the sneakers to a Jazz ball boy after the game as thanks for finding a lost jacket. They were the final pair of Breds that Jordan wore in a game. The previous record for a pair of sneakers was held by a pair of Kanye West's Nike Air Yeezy 1s, which Sotheby's sold for $1.8 million in 2021.

☆ A pair of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan just sold for $2.2 million, setting a new world record for the most expensive shoes ever purchased
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sneakers worn by Jordan in the 1998 NBA Finals just sold for $2.2 million. The sale set a new world record, topping the $1.8 million paid for a pair of Kanye West's sneakers. On Tuesday, Sotheby's announced the $2.2 million sale of Air Jordan 13 sneakers worn by Jordan during the 1998 NBA Finals. "That sneaker set the market for the sneaker industry. Rares CEO Sapp, who also played in the NFL, added Jordan sneakers tap into a bigger story that continues to resonate across playgrounds and pick-up basketball courts.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene warns Trump against hiring far-right activist Laura Loomer, calling her 'mentally unstable and a documented liar'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Georgia Republican warned Trump not to hire Laura Loomer to work on his 2024 campaign. Greene and far-right activist Loomer once publicly praised one another, but they are now feuding. The New York Times reported that Trump wanted to hire Loomer, but sources said the plan was scrapped. Greene took to Twitter on Friday to say Loomer is "mentally unstable and a documented liar" who "can not be trusted." Loomer responded with multiple tweets attacking Greene, calling her a liar and describing her behavior as "not very "Christian."

☆ Michael Jordan sneakers, Kobe Bryant gear lead blockbuster Sotheby's auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Jordans 1998 NBA Finals Air Jordan XIIIs sneakers are displayed during a press preview in New York on April 6, 2023 at Sothebys for the upcoming auction Victoriam, a special two-part curated collection of sports artifacts. Michael Jordan's shoes from Game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals could be yours — if you have a couple million dollars to spare. Sotheby's is hosting a two-part auction of game-worn sports memorabilia, with Jordan's signed sneakers serving as the cornerstone for an stacked lineup of rare items. The game-worn Air Jordans are estimated to sell for somewhere between $2 million to $4 million. When Kanye West's Air Yeezy samples sold for $1.8 million in a private sale in 2021, they were estimated to be the most expensive sneakers sold to date.

☆ The world's richest 25 people lost $200 billion last year—Jeff Bezos' net worth fell the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The richest 25 people in the world lost a collective $200 billion in net worth in 2022, according to Forbes' 2023 World Billionaires List released this week. While 254 people lost their billionaire status last year, the remaining 2,640 billionaires lost a combined $500 billion. That title goes to Jeff Bezos, whose net worth dropped $57 billion due to a 38% drop in Amazon's stock price as of March 10. 1 spot after adding $53 billion to his net worth in 2022, launching him to the top of the richest list for the first time. Here are the 10 richest people in the world as of March 2023, according to Forbes.

☆ Kanye West and Sam Bankman-Fried lose billionaire titles on Forbes' annual rich list
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, have dropped off Forbes' billionaire list. Bankman-Fried's net worth tumbled from $24 billion in 2022 to less than $10 million, per Forbes. Bankman-Fried's net worth tumbled from $24 billion in 2022 to less than $10 million, according to Forbes wealth reporter Richard J. Chang. Bernard Arnault and his family topped the list with a net worth of $211 billion, according to Forbes. Forbes estimated the billionaire had around $39 billion knocked off his total net worth last year.

☆ Elon Musk loses his position atop Forbes’ annual billionaires list
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Musk, whose position wobbled on the Forbes’ “Real-Time Billionaires” list, which is updated daily, for the past several months. Forbes explained that Musk’s wealth had fallen because his $44 billion Twitter purchase, funded by Tesla shares, scared investors and sent Tesla stock sinking sharply last year. Tesla gained much of those losses back this year but is still significantly lower than before Musk bought Twitter. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lost the most amount of money of any billionaire on the list ($57 billion), knocking him down from second position to third. Forbes said that the total number of billionaires on this year’s list fell to 2,640 (down from 2,668), marking the second-straight year of decline.

☆ The UFC-WWE deal could be the boost the M&A market needs to get back into gear
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America were among the banks advising on the deal. Earlier this year, some pegged the merger market getting back into the swing of things by mid-year. When you think about it, the WWE-UFC deal might be the best way to get the market going again. Fight for media rights: Both UFC and WWE have streaming deals with ESPN and NBCUniversal's Peacock, respectively. The crypto community is now pitching itself as playing a key role in AI development thanks to its decentralized nature.

☆ Peace, love, and Hitler: How Lex Fridman's podcast became a safe space for the anti-woke tech elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Seemingly overnight, episodes of Fridman's podcast began racking up millions of views. YouTube/Lex FridmanIn his podcast, Fridman asks world-renowned scientists, historians, artists, and engineers a series of wide-eyed questions ("Who is God? But recently, "The Lex Fridman Podcast" has become a haven for a growing — and powerful — sector looking to dismantle years of "wokeness" and cancel culture. Twitter"The Lex Fridman Podcast" offered a rare opportunity to listen to four-hour conversations with luminaries of tech and science. Bhaskar Sunkara, the founder and publisher of the socialist magazine Jacobin who appeared on Fridman's podcast in December, praised Fridman's interviewing style.

Trademark Office to reject a Black Lives Matter application for a trademark featuring three parallel stripes. "Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's trademark application as soon as possible," the company said in a statement. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent entity in the decentralized Black Lives Matter movement, which arose a decade ago in protest against police violence against Black people. Representatives of the Black Lives Matter group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A jury in that case decided in January that Thom Browne's stripe patterns did not violate Adidas' trademark rights.

☆ Adidas drops trademark complaint against Black Lives Matter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The German sportswear company said Wednesday it was dropping its opposition to an attempt by a Black Lives Matter campaign group to trademark a logo featuring three parallel stripes. “Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. Adidas (ADDDF) filed a complaint with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Monday, arguing that the foundation’s logo was “likely to cause confusion” with its own three-stripe logo featured on its apparel. Adidas retracted its complaint over fears that it could be seen as an objection to the cause of Black Lives Matter (BLM), Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source close to the company. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the wider BLM movement.

☆ Adidas adds risk by tripping over its sneakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) is having a hard time keeping its feet out of its mouth. On Wednesday, the $28 billion sneaker maker withdrew a trademark objection to Black Lives Matter over its use of three stripes in its logo 48 hours after filing it. The timing of Adidas’s objection looks tin-eared. It could have devised a partnership arrangement with Black Lives Matter that featured both brands. Trying to pick a fight with an organisation popular with young consumers shows that Adidas’s biggest risk is its mouth.

☆ Here are 9 Twitter promises that Elon Musk has failed to deliver on as ‘chief Twit’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s record on delivering on the deluge of pledges he has made as “chief Twit” is less than ideal. Since then, Musk has made a number of wild changes and promises pertaining to Twitter. ► Maximal free speech: Musk repeatedly talked about Twitter being a home for free speech. When I reached out to Musk on Wednesday morning with questions about his failed promises, he didn’t respond. But I did receive an auto-reply poop emoji from the press@twitter.com email address, a feature Musk recently said he would implement.

☆ Adidas ends partnership with Beyonce - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Beyonce accepts the award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for "Renaissance" during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) has ended its fashion partnership with Beyoncé, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. If confirmed, it would mark a second high-profile split between Adidas and a celebrity partner, after the German sportswear giant ended its collaboration with Kanye West over his antisemitic comments. Adidas, which had signed a deal with Beyoncé in April 2019 to relaunch her brand Ivy Park, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal said sales of Ivy Park have been underperforming expectations for years.

☆ Kanye West's hateful comments about Jews may have inspired dozens of antisemitic incidents, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Anti-Defamation League counted 59 incidents in which antisemites cited the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Overall, ADL researchers found there was a 59% increase in antisemitic incidents last year. Overall, ADL researchers found there was a 36% spike in antisemitic incidents in 2022 compared to the year before, with the ADL tracking just under 3,700 cases across the country, the highest on record. "We're deeply disturbed by this dramatic and completely unacceptable surge in antisemitic incidents," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. The ADL report comes after the FBI last year said that white supremacists "pose the primary threat" of domestic terrorism.

☆ Beyoncé's time with Adidas is reportedly over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday reported that Beyoncé and Adidas are ending their partnership. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the struggles of her Ivy Park Adidas line. In 2018, Beyoncé partnered with Adidas to bring her Ivy Park line to the brand. While Beyoncé remains one of the world's most admired performers, her apparel line with Adidas hasn't lived up to expectations. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that there have been "major creative differences between Ivy Park and Adidas."

☆ Trump claims Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is backed by George Soros. Here's why that attack is an antisemitic trope.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Trump said Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is backed by the billionaire philanthropist George Soros. To be clear, there is no evidence that George Soros has donated to Bragg. "George Soros and Alvin Bragg have never met in person or spoken by telephone, email, Zoom etc.," Vachon told Insider via email. Neither George Soros nor Democracy PAC contributed to Alvin Bragg's campaign for Manhattan District Attorney." To the far right, Soros represents a member of that cabal, said Lorber, an analyst at Political Research Associates.

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