Launch Event: NYC – May 15, 2023
ON_Discourse hosted their highly anticipated launch event at Fotografiska, featuring business icons, artists, and technology leaders as they debate the forces of disruption impacting the business of music. The event featured a panel Oana Ruxandra, Chief Digital Officer of Warner Music Group, Amaechi Uzoigwe, Manager of Run The Jewels, and Mauhan Zonoozy Head of Innovation at Spotify, and an intimate fireside with Questlove.
ON_Sport
ISSUE #001 – AI Goldmines and Landmines
You log into your fitness app and a chat pops up — it’s an AI workout assistant that looks and talks like your favorite NBA star. You input your training goals for this week and get back a personalized diet and training plan based on your needs.
You pop on your VR headset and fire up Madden 2028 — you scroll through a roster of thousands of hyper-realistic AI-generated players from throughout time and create your team. You head onto the field.
Later, you turn on SportsCenter and watch as Stephen A. Smith debates an AI-generated young Charles Barkley. They’re arguing over who’s wearing the sharper suit, which you can buy using your Apple Cash directly from your headset.
AI – with its seemingly endless ability to create, analyze, and mimic – is transforming industries at a breakneck pace. Athletes are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this tech to reimagine sports branding.
Athletes, bound by the constraints of time and resources, now have the potential to leverage their likeness and scale their brands in innovative ways to engage fans.
AI also poses considerable risk. It’s uncharted territory with pitfalls that range from unauthorized deepfakes to AI-generated communication that fans find inauthentic.
This new age might be a goldmine for athletes, but they’ll have to avoid the landmines first.
ON_Entertainment
ISSUE #002 – Good Artists Copy, Great AIs Steal
Our August 9 event set the stage for a lively, engaging debate over a private dinner and drinks in the Hamptons with Premier Members and specially invited guests in the entertainment, media, and tech industries.
ON Fashion:
ISSUE #003 – Ownership Has Fallen Out of Fashion
The relationship between fashion and technology has always been a curious one. Early hesitations from high-end fashion brands about embracing online storefronts, the influential role of social media, and the rush to hop onto trending bandwagons like NFTs and the metaverse highlight the dynamics of their interaction. Yet, technology has also paved the way for market expansions, ushering in the era of direct-to-consumer (D2C) models and influencer-driven retail.
A rapidly evolving landscape is the secondary market. Changing consumer behaviors challenge traditional ownership ideals. Technology is swiftly introducing new authentication methods, from innovative material designs to more advanced techniques. Legacy platforms such as eBay are vying for dominance in this secondary market alongside newer disruptors like TheRealReal.
Brands grapple with their place in this secondary market. Some, like Patagonia, Levis, and DOEN, are reclaiming, authenticating, and reselling products. Others destroy surplus inventory to artificially create scarcity and elevate value. Strategies are emerging that leverage the secondary market’s appeal to boost primary sales, as seen with Nike and Supreme. Legal battles ensue over intellectual property rights, such as the StockX vs. Nike case. Innovative startups, like One of None, are reimagining ownership concepts, while established ventures, like Rent-The-Runway, question the notion of ownership altogether. Not to mention, social media platforms are enabling individuals to bypass traditional avenues, building personal followings to directly sell secondary products.
ON Sport:
ISSUE #004 – The Fan Experience
ON_Sport is diving into the last stronghold of the rapidly changing world of professional sports — the fan experience. Unlike other media verticals, the fan experience has been largely insulated against disruption; live sports has been one of the last bastions of linear broadcast media, a vast and mature market where regional relationships drive market activity and predictable consumer behaviors.
This stability is facing a triple-threat of unstoppable disruption: the unbundling of ESPN, the rise of online gambling/fantasy, and the memification of highlights. These forces are resetting fan expectations for how they consume the game, what matters most to their experience, and where business opportunities lie in an uncertain future.
The intergenerational transfer of fanatical devotion of a local team is going to fundamentally change in a new media and digital landscape, but the love of the game will remain. How will that love be witnessed, monetized, and mediated in an uncertain future?