🎶 YouTube’s AI singalong

…and real-estate broker fees could get disrupted   The AIdol? (Medios y Media/Getty Images)   [Sponsored by]( Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 32,936 (-0.58%) S&P 500 4,217 (-0.17%) Nasdaq 13,018 (+0.27%) Bitcoin $31,654 (+5.50%) Dow Jones 32,936 (-0.58%) S&P 500 4,217 (-0.17%) Nasdaq 13,018 (+0.27%) Bitcoin $31,654 (+5.50%) Hey Snackers, SharkNinja claims its nonstick pan is heated to 30,000 degrees F during manufacturing, which a false-advertising [lawsuit]( points out is 3X the temp of the sun’s surface. In case you need to fry eggs while fending off lightsabers… The Dow ticked down after the 10-year Treasury yield briefly popped to 2007 levels, before retreating. Chevron stock fell after it announced plans to buy energy rival Hess for $53B. Microsoft and Alphabet kick off Big Tech earnings today. Pitchy YouTube reportedly wants record labels to let it use famous voices for AI-generated music “Baby Shark” sung by Hozier?… [YouTube]( is hoping to strike a chord with the music industry via a [new AI tool]( that would allow users to have their favorite artists sing any song — even made-up ones (Billie AI-lish, anyone?) — Bloomberg reports. YT is apparently trying to sign licensing deals with major labels like Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Meanwhile, unlicensed genAI content is spreading faster than a Doja Cat song on TikTok. - Existential: In April, a viral AI-generated song mimicking Drake and The Weeknd was pulled from streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. The track, “Heart on My Sleeve,” was submitted to this year’s Grammys. - Collab: YouTube recently rolled out an AI initiative with UMG that established a set of AI music rules. A group of UMG artists say they’re going to experiment with YT’s music tools and give feedback. Change of tune… Decades ago, industry execs resisted the transition from CDs to digital and paid the price, losing billions to piracy sites like LimeWire before streaming emerged. Now it's trying to avoid the same fate with AI. Last week, UMG sued OpenAI rival Anthropic over copyright infringement, alleging it illegally trained its chatbot on protected works including Katy Perry’s “Roar.” Last month, Spotify boss Daniel Ek said the company wouldn’t ban all AI content, but would pull songs that impersonate artists without their permission. THE TAKEAWAY No one wants to be the guinea pig… Music execs are said to be having problems finding top artists who want to license their voices to YouTube’s AI tool (though Grimes has welcomed the tech). After metaverse concerts and song NFTs failed to become the future of music, artists are hesitant to be a test subject for AI. Also: Hollywood writers and actors have warned how companies could use AI to erase jobs and replicate works in perpetuity. Sponsored by CBOE Wait, index options are cash settled? Imagine you had to buy 100 shares of a $100 stock. You’d be shelling out $10,000. That’s a lot of cash! Not the case with index options. [Cboe® has more info](. Unlike stock or ETF options, index options are cash settled with no delivery of shares. At expiration, cash is credited or debited to your trading account. It’s one less thing to worry about. [Where can you learn about the fast track to cash settlement? Cboe has all the information]( about potential index option benefits. [Fuel up your knowledge about cash settled index options]( Broke Lawsuits could disrupt laws around US broker fees, revamping how Americans buy houses Escrow-no… The first of two class-action lawsuits targeting US realtors' dominance over broker fees [got underway]( in Missouri yesterday. They represent a group of 260K+ Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas home sellers versus the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which backs the US housing market’s system for brokers sharing commissions. Typically, sellers must pay 5 to 6% of their home sales to fees split between buying and selling agents. Critics say it’s a conflict of interest because it gives buying agents little reason to negotiate lower prices. - Missouri says: The system is a “collusion” forcing people to pay billions worth of unnecessary fees. With the median new-home price at $416K, agent fees can top $20K/sale. Now Missouri sellers are seeking $4B in damages. - NAR says: It’s trying to prevent a “Wild West” of decentralized property listings. The outcome of the trial (and a similar one set to start in Illinois next year) could be pivotal in reshaping homebuying. “Selling Sunset”-level tension…NAR's broker-fee system has long been criticized for driving up home prices and prioritizing agent listing prices, since higher sales mean more $$. With no legal cap, brokers can even raise fees when demand is high. Last year, the average US broker fee was about 5%, but in countries including Australia and the UK it stayed around 2%. Some companies are fed up: this month online brokerage [Redfin]( left NAR, which requires a buyer’s agent fee on each listing. THE TAKEAWAY Old foundations may need new structures… The lawsuits come as Americans face the least affordable housing market in nearly 40 years. The suits could help decide whether the Justice Department pursues an antitrust case against the NAR. Untying agent fees would be seismic — lowering commissions by as much as $30B/year. DEFI(NE) Heard on the Block: “spot bitcoin ETF” 🛟 When you wanna go swimming, but aren’t ready for the deep end… A spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) would track the price of BTC, letting crypto-cautious investors get exposure to the OG crypto’s price moves without actually owning it (picture: no concerns of lost wallets or hacked funds). Bitcoin [passed $30K]( this week as investors eyed what analysts say is the increasing likelihood that the SEC will approve the US’s first spot bitcoin ETF by January. What else we're Snackin' - [Gas]( Chevron agreed to buy rival Hess Corp. for $53B, the second oil mega-merger this month after Exxon’s $60B deal for Pioneer Natural Resources. Consolidation is intensifying as profit-flush energy cos buy to grow. - [Brake]( The UAW expanded its strike of the Big 3 carmakers to a Stellantis plant that makes Ram pickups. The union’s president warned of more work stoppages until a deal is reached. - [Bite]( Apple reportedly plans to spend $1B/year to AI-ify its products (think: less Siri saying "I didn't get that"). The biz is playing catch-up as rivals like Microsoft rapidly jam AI into their apps. - [Reverse]( The % of US car owners falling behind on payments is near a 30-year high. Driving the ramp-up: higher new-car prices and interest rates have loaded up monthly loan costs. - [Kenough]( The Hollywood actors’ union directed members not to dress as popular characters like Barbie this Halloween. While the writers’ union reached a deal, the ongoing actors’ strike is holding up production. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day Marvel’s “Spider-Man 2” broke PlayStation’s one-day sales record, selling 2.5M copies [Read more]( Tuesday - S&P home-price index - Earnings expected from 3M, Alphabet, General Electric, Microsoft, Visa, Coca-Cola, Novartis, Snap, Spotify, and Verizon Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, Apple, Exxon, Microsoft, Snap, and Warner Music *Advertiser's disclosure: There are important risks associated with transacting in any of the Cboe Company products discussed here. Before engaging in any transactions in those products, it is important for market participants to carefully review the disclosures and disclaimers contained at [(. Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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