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In today’s issue we discuss Disney invests in Fortnite, Bluesky opens out of private beta, Adam Neumann wants to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy, Usher won’t get paid for his Halftime show, and the Chiefs & 49ers are staying far away from the Las Vegas Strip before the Super Bowl. 

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Apple Entering The AI Market Is Going To Be A Game Changer!

Business

This is the moment I've been waiting for since I first read Neil Stephenson's "Snow Crash" as a teenager. 

Disney has announced that they have purchased a $1.5 billion dollar equity stake in Epic Games, maker of Fortnite.

The news was shared during Disney’s Q1 earnings call, when they announced they would be building this immersive experience with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.

No need to worry about this new platform replacing the existing Fortnite. That’s not the case at all.

Together with Epic Games, Disney will be “developing a new expansive, open, persistent, and social universe that will "interoperate" with Fortnite and let fans "play, watch, shop, and engage" with their favorite characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.” according to an article on IGN.

According to a statement by Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, “Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe.”

“This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”

When Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder of Epic Games was asked for comment he said “Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio. Now we’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.”

No details about the timeline for the development and launch of this project, but we’re obviously talking about a multi-year endeavor the scale of which we’ve never seen before.

“This new experience will most likely work in a similar fashion to LEGO Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival, in that they exist within Fortnite but are separate games that you launch from the game itself.” according to IGN.

As a huge fan all-things Disney, and noob player of Fortnite, I couldn’t be more excited about this news!

Disney Buys $1.5 Billion Stake in Epic Games to Create 'Expansive' Universe Within Fortnite

Tech

It’s official: Bluesky is open for anyone to join.

For those that don’t know, Bluesky was founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and it has been in private Beta since it launched back in October of 2021.

Everything about Bluesky is unique.

The company describes its services as a microblogging social platform, and it looks and feels like a much better version of Twitter (if you ask me).

And Bluesky isn’t your typical company, in fact it’s actually a unique legal entity called a public benefit corporation, which is “a corporation created to generate social and public good, and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner.” according to the Cornell Law School.

Then there’s their executive team. Jay Graber is the company's CEO, with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and XMPP creator Jeremie Miller both sitting on the board of directors. It’s a little odd if you ask me, because Jack Dorsey actually started Bluesky while he was still working at Twitter, he self funded the company, and he even convinced Twitter to invest it, which is ironic because Bluesky is now competing against Elon Musk who bought Twitter with Jack Dorsey’s blessing. #complicated

I’ve been a member of Bluesky since I received an invite on December 1, 2023. I post our e-Newsletter, YouTube Videos, and Podcasts under the profile irlMediaNEWS, and would encourage anyone reaching this newsletter to sign up for Bluesky and follow us.

Bluesky is now open for anyone to join

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Entertainment

Name for me one event that people fight over performing at, but they don’t even get paid.

If you said the Super Bowl, you’re either a genius or you’ve heard the nearly non-stop reporting that Usher won’t be paid for this year’s Super Bowl and he’s not the only one. No performers at the Super Bowl ever get paid….well….there is a small exception to that rule.

You see, all artists are paid on a “union scale,” which is just a fraction of the six or seven-figure profit they usually make, and a minimum wage is guaranteed by a union contract in accordance with the SAG-AFTRA's most recent contract. That means that Usher will earn only $1,000 for the day.

So why do artists even want to perform at the Super Bowl if they don’t get paid?

In a word: Publicity

Following a Super Bowl performance artists usually see a huge spike in their streaming and music sales. Following this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show by Usher he’ll be embarking on his  24-city ‘Past Present Future’ tour to promote his upcoming album “Coming Home”

In an interview with Variety Usher said “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before. Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I’ll see you real soon.”

While artists don’t get paid to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, their dancers do get paid if they are members of SAG-AFTRA, and the artists themselves usually pay out of their own pockets for the rest of their team and any extra expenses in order to bring their vision to life so they can perform at their best for what is usually the pinnacle of their career performing at the Super Bowl.

No, Usher Won't Get Paid for the Super Bowl Halftime Show — Here's Why

Real Estate

Of all the White Knights out there to potentially save WeWork I did not have WeWork’s co-founder Adam Neumann on my bingo card.

That’s exactly who has popped up and is trying to put together a deal that would allow his new company, called Flow Global, to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy. To finance a deal he’s partnering with Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point.

So far, things aren’t off to a good start.

According to Adam Neumann’s lawyer Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, WeWork hasn’t been very responsive to their inquiries, saying “We write to express our dismay with WeWork’s lack of engagement even to provide information to my clients in what is intended to be a value-maximizing transaction for all stakeholders.”

It seems WeWork is more focused on trying to address their current issues instead of looking for someone to acquire them.

According to a statement by WeWork, they routinely receive "expressions of interest and review them to align with the best interests of the company."

They go on to say "We continue to believe that the work we are currently doing - addressing our unsustainable rent expenses and restructuring our business - will ensure WeWork is best positioned as an independent, valuable, financially strong and sustainable company long into the future." according to the statement.

Now an an attorney for WeWork is saying the company may need to take out a new bankruptcy loan to help it get through this rough patch until they are able to successfully renegotiate their rent obligations in order to put the company on a better financial footing.

To show you how bad things have gotten for WeWork, when they were filing for bankruptcy they had debts of $2.9 billion as of June 2023, and more than $13 billion in long-term leases” against $844 million in revenue for their June 2023 quarter with a loss of $397 million.

At the height of their fame WeWork had raised roughly $7 billion dollars in funding, and almost went public at a valuation of $47 billion dollars. Then things fell apart, and their IPO was scuttled. WeWork eventually did go public via a SPAC merger with a sketchy sounding company BowX at a valuation of only $9 billion dollars.

It’ll be interesting to see how WeWork’s bankruptcy story turns out, but if history is any indicator I’m guessing there’ll be more twists and turns now that Adam Neumann has gotten involved.​​

WeWork founder Adam Neumann trying to buy back company

Sports

Super Bowl 58 is almost upon us, and both the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are in Las Vegas preparing for the big game, but they’re not staying anywhere near the iconic Las Vegas Strip.

The NFL is all about security for the big game, and that means both teams will be staying 25 miles each of The Strip, with the Chiefs staying at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa,  while the 49ers will be over at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa.

During a press conference NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked if the Super Bowl would ever be streamed exclusively on a screaming service in the future, to which he categorically ruled that or and made clear that the NFL has no plans for a streaming-only Super Bowl while he is still the commissioner. This comes after NFL’s first-ever Peacock-exclusive playoff game during the wild-card round this season, which ruffled the feathers of many fans who either missed the game or had to shell out $5.99 to be able to sign up for Peacock just to watch the game.

And did you know that the winning team in the Super Bowl earns a bonus of $157,000, while players on the losing team earn $82,000 (not bad for losing). Plus, the winning team gets a Super Bowl Ring made of solid gold and encrusted with diamonds, and usually includes the team’s name, logo, the phrase "World Champions" and the Super Bowl number indicated in Roman numerals. They can even get the ring customized with the their name and uniform number.

That doesn’t sound cheap, so how much do these rings usually go for you might be wondering?

The final price of a Super Bowl ring usually comes in between $30,000-$50,000 per ring!

Just about everything about the Super Bowl sounds super expensive!

Super Bowl 58: Why the Chiefs and 49ers are staying in Lake Las Vegas, not on The Strip

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So much news, so little time. Until tomorrow we’re signing out.

— Chris