Cancel Culture

Good morning! Inside Out 2 just scored the biggest opening weekend of 2024 so far, taking $155M at home and $295M globally… heartening to see the Pixar heads getting out in the wake of our piece on the studio’s decline [last month](. Today we're exploring: - DANGER: The Surgeon General’s social media warning. - Cancel culture: American streamers are unsubscribing. - Photo-shopped: Adobe reported a great quarter... after a week of controversy. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you! TOGETHER WITH [Sponsor Logo](   Doctor’s orders Just over a year ago, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recommended that legislators, parents, and tech companies take steps to make social media safer for children in light of the youth mental health crisis. Now, he’s ringing the alarm bell even louder with a [new piece]( in the New York Times today where he suggests implementing a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms. The label, akin to those that adorn the packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products in the US, could show up on apps like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, warning parents and adolescent users of the [potential damage]( that such platforms can wreak on young peoples’ mental health. And, in case you needed any reminding, young people are spending a lot of time on those apps — the most [recent poll from Gallup]( found that US teens are, on average, spending almost 5 hours a day on social media, with teen girls racking up some 5.3 hours of scrolling, swiping, and tapping per day. Dr. Murthy was keen to note that this proposition alone wouldn’t be enough to make socials a safer place for young Americans, pointing to his recommendations from [last May](, such as developing age-appropriate health and safety standards; increasing funding on research into the dangers of social media; and tracking the amount of time young people are spending online, as potential companions for the proposed label. [Read this on the web instead](   Churn baby churn A record number of Americans were hitting the “cancel” buttons — or going through the often more convoluted channels to do so — on their streaming service subscriptions in the first quarter of 2024, according to new [Antenna data](, with a whopping 50.4M streaming service cancellations in the first 3 months of the year. Interestingly, Antenna’s latest State of Subscriptions Report also found that the majority (56%) of new subscriptions came via ad-supported tiers. This suggests that the streaming industry’s decision to interrupt your binging with intermittent commercial breaks at a cheaper price point might be paying off, as viewers [continue to warm]( to the idea of Netflix and co. looking a little more like traditional TV. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what’s behind the rapid rise of streaming cancellations, the 50.4M figure is up more than 80% from the same period 2 years ago, the proliferation of streamers that content-hungry consumers can pick from, pick up, and put down again, is pretty fundamental. Antenna tracks 9 big name “premium streamers” such as Netflix, Apple TV+, and Disney+, as well as a staggering 32 more niche “specialty” offerings, like Hallmark Movies Now or horror specialists Shudder — that’s a lot of libraries for US viewers to devour then ditch. [Read this on the web instead](   [Sponsored by 10 East](app.10east.co?utm_source=Chartr&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_content=Jun) app.10east.co?utm_source=Chartr&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_content=Jun Please see the risk disclosures for important information.* Where sophisticated investors can access private markets For individual investors, sourcing and vetting high-quality, sub-scale private market opportunities poses challenges — information asymmetry, adverse selection, insufficient resources, etc. [Enter 10 East](. 10 East, led by Michael Leffell, is a platform where qualified investors can invest in vetted private credit, real estate, niche venture/private equity, and other one-off investments that aren’t typically available through traditional channels. [10 East principals]( have a 12+ year track record of strong performance across 355+ transactions. And the best part? 10 East offers the flexibility to invest on a deal-by-deal basis, while co-investing alongside industry veterans who have skin-in-the-game. Founders, executives, and portfolio managers from leading firms are diversifying their personal wealth with 10 East. [Join 10 East with complimentary access here*](app.10east.co?utm_source=Chartr&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_content=Jun)   On Friday, shares in Adobe rose more than 15%, after the company reported record quarterly sales of $5.3B and raised its annual revenue [forecast](. The design software giant appears to be reaping the rewards from its generative AI tool Firefly, with net-new annualized recurring revenue for its Digital Media division coming in $50M ahead of analyst forecasts. That came after a tough week for the company’s PR team, who found themselves fighting a backlash against its updated terms and conditions — yes, thankfully there are some people who read them cover to cover — after users criticized language which seemed to suggest that Adobe could use customers’ work to train generative AI models. Trust fall From a financial perspective, Adobe has done a phenomenal job of pivoting away from its old perpetual license model, where customers would buy once and own for a lifetime, to a monthly subscription model in which the product, and the terms of use that govern the product, are always changing. Indeed, over the past 10 years, subscription revenue has grown 16x, driving much of the company’s growth and turning it into a $200B+ giant… albeit [one that isn’t universally trusted](, per viral posts on X. To clear up any confusion, Adobe says it will roll out a new [t]([erms of use agreement tomorrow](, which will clarify that users own their work and that the company doesn’t train generative AI on customer content. Zoom out: In a year marked by a record number of global elections, generative AI is taking off and users are asking simple questions like “how do I know what’s real?” and “how do I know my likeness or content isn’t being used by AI?” Companies don’t always have the answers. [Read this on the web instead](   More Data - We used to not have $3 trillion companies, now we [have 3](. - Billie Eilish becomes the youngest artist to reach 100 million monthly Spotify [listeners](. - Adidas is investigating [allegations of fraud in China](. Shares in the company are down 3% at the time of writing. - Standing at a towering 3 feet and 2 inches, a 3-year-old Great Dane from Iowa has officially been crowned the world's tallest [living dog](. Investor access to private markets is widening. That makes it harder to know where to invest your time — but [10 East principals]( have skin-in-the-game and a 12+ year track record of performance across 355+ transactions. [Join 10 East with complimentary access here](. Ad   Hi-Viz - Golf is hard... and the [US Open is really hard](. Off the charts: Okay, we have a tough one for you this Monday morning: What is this chart showing? A) Wages vs. inflation B) Union membership vs. strike action C) Unemployment vs. job openings D) Google searches for “online yoga” vs. “bars near me” [Answer here.](   Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi, I like the newsletters, but I had a thought for you...) or want to [sponsor this newsletter](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=I’m interested in advertising with Sherwood Media)?   Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. 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