🥊 Can Stallone beat Hollywood?

Plus: Amazon’s ad business, weekend reads, scheduling tips, and more. [View Online]( [The Hustle] Canada’s Candy Funhouse is offering $78k and an “extensive” dental plan for a chief candy officer. There is one stipulation — candidates must be five or older. In today’s email: - Title fight: Stallone vs. Hollywood. - Chart: Amazon’s growing ad biz. - Weekend reads for your Sunday Pizza Beer. - Around the web: How to have fewer meetings, an impressive metal mashup, the history of a viral oops, and more neat internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s quick podcast]( to hear Mark, Zack, and Juliet discuss Cracker Barrel backlash, DoorDash’s big quarter, and the mess that is creative rights in Hollywood, from Rocky to Top Gun. The big idea [Rocky]( Sylvester Stallone picks the ultimate fight Think Apollo Creed is a tough opponent? Try duking it out with the heavyweights of corporate Hollywood. In [a since-deleted Instagram post]( lamenting the announcement of [a new spinoff]( in the Rocky film franchise, Sylvester Stallone said, “I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites.” This may sound like your average tiff between a superrich person and a ridiculously rich consortium of people, but it’s more than that. According to entertainment industry website [Puck](, this is “estate planning, Hollywood-style.” Sly’s big problem… … is that he has no control or financial stake in the Rocky franchise. Among the owners of Rocky are Amazon (of course), which [purchased]( MGM last year, and 91-year-old producer Irwin Winkler. - Winkler bought Rocky off Stallone when he [had $100 to his name]( and was as down on his luck as the young fighter from Philly. The deal wasn’t unusual. Writers sell rights to studios and producers all the time. That’s how movies get made. Plus, Stallone has earned absurd amounts of back-end off Rocky films, the latest of which made $200m+ in box office, not to mention a 2016 Oscar nomination (even though Michael B. Jordan was far more deserving of a statue). But Rocky won’t pay him forever When Stallone reaches the giant boxing ring in the sky, he won’t be able to star in any more movies. If he were a rightsholder, as he once [told]( Variety, his kids could earn annuities from the franchise. So, how is this going to play out? We’re not sure. Sorry to leave you on a [Cliffhanger](. [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=Sylvester+Stallone+picks+the+ultimate+fight%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F08052022-Rocky%3Futm_campaign%3DRocky%26utm_content%3D08052022-Rocky%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 After the bell: Warner Bros. Discovery [reported]( 92.1m total subscribers across HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ — a gain of 1.7m subs since Q1. The company wouldn’t reveal numbers for each service. Sentenced: WNBA star Brittney Griner was [found guilty]( of drug possession and smuggling, and sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. President Biden promptly criticized the verdict and called for her release. Good news for homebuyers? US mortgage rates fell to [4.9%](, the lowest rate since April. Bye: Jeff Bezos’ 417-foot megayacht was [towed]( back to a Rotterdam shipyard after city officials decided that, no, they won’t dismantle a historic bridge to accommodate its enormous size. Cryptoccino: Starbucks [enters the metaverse]( next month with coffee-themed NFTs. Owners will get various perks, perhaps linked to Starbucks’ existing loyalty program. SoundCloud will lay off [~20%]( of its workforce, citing a changing company and a challenging economic environment. It last reduced its workforce by 40% in 2017. Ask The Hustle: How do you balance a budding business with a full-time job and family? Find tips on [capitalizing your time]( and prioritizing goals on The Hustle blog. Chart [YoY growth rates for top ad platforms in Q2]( Selina Lee Amazon’s ad biz is growing faster than its rivals If you’ve ever shopped for literally anything on Amazon, it’s no surprise that it has a robust digital ad business catering to brands that want to promote products on its website and app. What is surprising is that Amazon’s digital ad revenue grew 18% YoY to $8.76B in Q2 — more than analysts expected and outpacing Google and Facebook. In fact, Facebook’s revenue shrank for the first time ever by 1.5%. Why? - Unlike the social media companies, Amazon isn’t affected by Apple’s [privacy update](, which lets iOS users opt out of targeted ad tracking. - People on Amazon are already there to shop. Insider Intelligence analyst Andrew Lipsman [told]( CNBC that Amazon is more likely to offer an ROI, key for brands worried about a recession. - For brands, Amazon ads are [68% cheaper]( than Google’s and 44% cheaper than Facebook’s when comparing average cost-per-click. Fun fact: Amazon also has a [virtual product placement tool](, meaning it can insert brands into its TV shows and movies in postproduction. [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=Amazon%E2%80%99s+ad+biz+is+growing+faster+than+its+rivals%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F08052022-Amazon-ad-business%3Futm_campaign%3DRocky%26utm_content%3D08052022-Amazon-ad-business%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]( Recs [Weekend Reads] Welcome to Weekend Reads… … Recs to pair with your Friday prune juice (for the OGs), Saturday lemonade, or Sunday [Pizza Beer](. ICYMI - We dove into a little-known provision in a 100-year-old contract that’s helped people [mint millions]( off royalties from the mouthwash Listerine. - Chicken sandwich prices are up, but so is demand — and chickens are printing that [cock-a-doodle-dough](. - As startups disrupt industries, it’s increasingly important to inject that entrepreneurial spirit into your company. The Hustle blog wrote about the benefits of [entrepreneur in residence]( programs. Spot the fake - Elon Musk’s fourth-grade teacher is reportedly [auctioning off]( a drawing of a spaceship that little Musk drew back in the day… - … Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg’s camp counselor is [auctioning off]( Zuck’s personal baseball card from when the CEO was eight years old. - Pearson, everyone’s favorite textbook publisher, sees NFTs and the blockchain [in its future](. - Someone on Airbnb [listed]( an “1830s slave cabin” for rent in Mississippi with a 4.97-star rating and 68 reviews. TRENDS The $20m that lives in your inbox You can build an eight-figure business. How? Start a newsletter. In our [Trends report](, we break down the entire industry. What you need to know: - Big newsletters do $20m-$30m in revenue - They can have up to a ~90% pretax margin - A small team can make $500k+ per employee Why that matters: - Anyone can start and grow a newsletter (yes, even you) - There are proven formulas newsletters use to grow that you can follow - You can start a newsletter and make your first sale in a weekend What you should do: - Sign up for Trends to access the full report - Pick your newsletter niche - Get started and watch it grow [Try Trends for a buck! →]( AROUND THE WEB ⚰️ On this day: In 1926, Harry Houdini survived [91 minutes]( in a coffin submerged at the bottom of a hotel pool. 🎸Wow: Listen to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (in the spotlight thanks to “Stranger Things”) in [50 different musical styles](. 🏀 That’s interesting: [Unraveling]( the history of a viral internet clip of an unfortunate basketball throw. 😭 How to: Is your schedule so jammed with meetings that you can hardly get anything done? Here’s how to [reclaim your time](. 🐿️ Aww: And now, [petting]( a tiny squirrel. Shower Thoughts - “You never see your driving skills with your own eyes.” [SOURCE SOURCE]( - “There is no actual donkey in the Donkey Kong game.” [SOURCE SOURCE]( - “People laugh about how cats love boxes, but if there was suddenly a box bigger than you in your living room, you’d probably go in it too.” [SOURCE SOURCE]( - “Vinegar: At some point someone either started cleaning with food or eating cleaner.” [SOURCE SOURCE]( - “James Webb telescope is the most expensive wallpaper generator in the world.” [SOURCE SOURCE](  [via Reddit]( 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. [all prizes]( 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? 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