💬 Sticker millionaires

PLUS: How Google and Facebook rigged the ad market. January 18, 2022 [The Hustle] Being a founder isn’t always glamorous — the pressure of running a business can take its toll on your mental health. If you’ve experienced this, we want to hear your story: Tell us more in this [short survey](. Today’s rundown: - Sticker gold mine: How artists are making millions on stickers. - Netflix and bill: What’s the deal with Netflix’s new prices? - Jedi Blue: How Google and Facebook rigged the ad market. - Around the web: DIY karaoke, an index of brand colors, and more wild internet finds. Let’s do it. The big idea [digital sticker]( Artists are making millions creating digital stickers When you hear the word “sticker,” you might think of the gold stars that kindergarten teachers use to reward kids for a job well done. On Line, which is the most popular messaging app in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand, stickers are the basis for a thriving [creator economy](, per Rest of World. What kind of stickers are we talking about? Line is primarily used for messaging, and stickers are manga-style cartoons that offer users a way to express their personalities. With a wider cast of characters than emojis, stickers give users a more dynamic and specific [form of shorthand]( that taps into cultural trends. Line launched in 2011 with its own stickers, but the sticker economy took off in 2014 when the company opened up its marketplace to creators. Business is booming In 2020 alone, Line pulled in $200m in sticker revenue, with 4m designers creating stickers on the platform. The economics break down like so: - Stickers typically come in packs of 40 that cost $1 to $5 - Apple or Android take a 30% fee on the purchase - The remaining 70% is split 50/50 between Line and the creator Like any marketplace, Line’s sticker economy follows a power law — with the top 10 sticker creators making an average of $10m in total lifetime sales. As sticker revenue has grown… … the marketplace has become more saturated. Artists say the most popular characters are set in place, which makes it harder to break through. For its part, Line has played both sides — hyping the sticker opportunity for creators, while admitting that helping new creators is one of its biggest challenges. At this point, any new designer that can break through with a popular sticker truly deserves a gold star. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Artists+are+making+millions+creating+digital+stickers%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01182022-digital-stickers%3Futm_campaign%3Ddigital%2Bstickers%26utm_content%3D01182022-digital-stickers%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS The Wal-verse: New trademarks [suggest]( Walmart is planning to embrace Web3 — including possibly developing its own cryptocurrency and NFTs. Cracking down: Activision Blizzard has [fired or pushed out]( 36+ employees since July following reports of sexual harrassment and other misconduct. Un-banned: Amazon [backed off]( its Visa ban in the UK, and is in talks with the company on how to allow customers to use its cards for purchases in the country. Price hike: Inside reports [found]( Peloton is planning to ask customers to pay additional delivery and setup fees — $250 for its bike and $350 for its treadmill — citing inflation and supply chain issues. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( Priceonomics [Netflix prices]( A bigger bill for Netflix and chill Netflix is [raising]( prices by a couple bucks for US and Canadian customers (again). On a micro level, that might not sound like a lot. But big picture, it is. - US consumers are increasingly dropping dimes on streaming, now spending [$55]( per month, on average, with 4.5 subscriptions. - For Netflix, with [~75m]( US customers, $1.50 more per month equates to $1.35B in new annual revenue — without actually adding any new value for customers. It’s a great business model: more money, same work. But Netflix is also fighting against higher production costs. Last year, the California Film Commission found covid protocols added [5%]( to the cost of film and TV production budgets. This raises the question: For any streaming service, at what point do people ask, “Is this worth it?” And to that, we say — remember the days when you paid $1.29 per song on iTunes? [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=A+bigger+bill+for+Netflix+and+chill%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01182022-Netflix-price%3Futm_campaign%3Ddigital%2Bstickers%26utm_content%3D01182022-Netflix-price%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Jedi Blue [Facebook and Google apps]( (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) How Facebook and Google rigged ad markets Google and Facebook are dominant in digital ads. The internet giants — officially (but annoyingly) called Alphabet and Meta — receive 52%+ of digital ad spend, per [eMarketer](. As if this duopoly position isn’t enough, court documents from a recent lawsuit show that the firms rigged ad markets. What happened? In December 2020, 14 state attorneys general sued Alphabet for “anticompetitive conduct” that took place in 2018. According to [Marketwatch](, the scheme was called Jedi Blue and involved Google giving Facebook a boost by providing: - A “Google-managed” system to bid on and manage ads - Preferential rates on ads - The 1st “dibs” on prime ad placements These details were previously known, but new unredacted evidence made a big reveal: The CEOs of both companies knew Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai broke the 1st rule of collusion: Don’t leave a paper trail! Why would Google help Facebook out? The social network planned to expand into header bidding, a type of programmatic advertising that threatened Google’s ad exchange. So, Google made “overtures” to keep Facebook at bay. The states are actually suing Google for a number of ad-rigging schemes. If regulators win one (or more) cases, the duopoly may be just a bit less dominant. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=How+Facebook+and+Google+rigged+ad+markets%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01182022-Facebook-Google-ads%3Futm_campaign%3Ddigital%2Bstickers%26utm_content%3D01182022-Facebook-Google-ads%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDS 10+ New Year market predictions, by Trends The Hustle staff made some bold predictions for 2022. As is tradition. [11 red-hot takes]( from some of our finest: - Trung (Twitter Clown): 50% of Americans will interact with crypto. Shook. - Ethan (Trends Surfer): Vinyls, books, and mail are up. Next is xxxxxxxxx. - Steph (Trends OG): Location. Based. Salaries. Take it to the bank (don’t). - Sara (Daily Scribe): The mental health movement’s next step: xxxxxxxxxx. - Sam (Founder Dude): BuzzFeed stock will tank. So will xxx, xxxx, xxxxxxx. Whoops — we’re on a word count. What you think this is? [The Trends article]( fills in the blanks and rolls out all 11 predictions. Join our vibrant community for access to 17k+ global professionals and the content arsenal that just keeps getting better. [Try Trends for $1 →]( AROUND THE WEB 🕵️ On this day: In 1985, the Coen brothers [released]( their 1st film, the neo-noir Blood Simple. 🕺 Useful: If you’ve ever wanted to make your own karaoke track, [this website]( lets you remove specific instruments or vocals from songs. The 1st 10 minutes are free. 🎨 Cure boredom: Browse this giant list of [brand colors](, including Facebook’s blue and Airbnb’s specific shade of pink. 🍳 Wait, what: Drivers in Tennessee were [surprised]( to see a 14.3k-pound cast iron skillet on the highway. The pan was headed to the forthcoming [Lodge Cast Iron Museum](. ✍️ How to: Google Keep doesn’t get as much credit as Google Docs, so here are [7 tips]( to get the most from this note-taking app. 🥰 Aww: And now, a prairie dog says [hello](. Meme of the day [bumper stickers meme] The back of the car = the real sticker economy. (Source: [Memebase]() SHARE THE HUSTLE Hey. Stop keeping us a secret. Refer just 3 people and we’ll start to send some goodies as a thank you. [My First Million ebook]( Spread the news. Help us grow 🌱 [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Jennifer “brb making some stickers” Wang. 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