SIY: steal it yourself

Hobby Lobby just came out with a new tutorial. [The Hustle]( Fri, Jul 7 Hobby Lobby’s hobby: smuggling artifacts Turns out, there’s a pretty strict return policy on pillaged artifacts. A New York district court has [ordered]( arts and crafts chain, Hobby Lobby, to hand over thousands of rare antiquities it purchased from a questionable dealer in Iraq back in 2010. Uhhhhhhhhhh… what? How the hell did a place that sells scrapbooks and throw pillows get embroiled in such a scheme? Well, for one, Hobby Lobby’s president, Steve Green, is a strange man fervent artifact collector. In fact, one might say he has an obsession: to-date, he’s spent more than $500m building a 430k square-foot [bible museum]( which includes -- among other things -- Elvis Presley’s personal copy. Back in 2010, our boy Green took a little trek to the UAE to secretly meet with an antiquities “consultant.” While there, he was “informally” presented with [5,548 artifacts]( -- ya know, just casually -- including ancient tablets worthy of an Indiana Jones reprise. Apparently he liked what he saw Green had Hobby Lobby wire him $1.6m to pay for the goods, then stuffed everything into boxes labeled “Tiles (Sample)” and shipped them back to the States. But, Hobby Lobby was caught -- last week the company was hit with a $3m fine, and ordered to forfeit all of the artifacts. This isn’t their first time in the courtroom In 2012, the company sued the United States for requiring all employers to cover emergency contraceptives, on the grounds that it interfered with their Christian beliefs. The case went to the [Supreme Court]( where it was ruled in the company’s favor. And HL’s latest transgression has a larger implication: ISIS routinely loots and sells artifacts in the region, which has caused some to point out that Hobby Lobby — the morally righteous, Christian-owned arts and crafts store — could’ve [funded terrorism]( with their purchase. C’mon, Hobby Lobby: “Thou shalt not steal.” [Literally set in stone]( Can tech save the electric guitar? Once on the b-day wish list of every baby boomer, the electric guitar is a vestige of what it once was. The acid-tripping guitar gods of yesteryear have been usurped by the molly-rolling EDM DJs of present day -- and this new generation of beat-thumpers isn’t interested in buying the ol’ six string. But one guitar company thinks it has a solution: an app. Rock in peace, guitars In the last decade, electric guitar sales have slipped from [1.5m to 1m]( units per year, and the 2 largest guitar makers in the world (Gibson and Fender) are both in debt, along with the largest guitar retail chain (Guitar Center). Fender did a little research into why this was happening and found that beginners bought 45% of the guitars sold annually -- and that an astonishing [90% of them quit]( within a year. Look kids: guitars are cool! The company’s effort to get the youngins’ back into guitars? A $20/month app called [Fender Play]( which offers a slew of video tutorials that teach customers how to play popular songs from artists like the Foo Fighters and Coldplay. Utilizing a “[micro-learning]( strategy, Fender Play breaks songs down into digestible little nuggets -- because apparently, kids today learn the same way that squirrels eat. It’s a clever little effort to salvage tanking sales numbers, but if people aren’t motivated to learn on their own, forcing an app down their throats isn’t likely to change that. [Freeeebird!]( Can’t put the cork back in this one… Yesterday, multiple publications including [Forbes]( Quartz, and Recode reported that Amazon was diving deeper into the wine business, partnering with King Estate Winery in Oregon to create “NEXT” wine -- “the first wine ever developed [from conception]( to release with Amazon Wine.” “Strike that, reverse it.” -- Amazon Hours later, [Recode reported]( that the company had reneged on its statement, claiming that King Estate’s press release was incorrect, and that Amazon had “no hand in the development of the wine.” Instead, the internet goliath claims they are simply a retail channel for the new brand, which will sell bottles at $20-40 a pop through Amazon Wine. What’s the real story here? It’s not totally clear, but the conflicting reports present a couple of possibilities: 1. King Estate got overexcited and exaggerated Amazon’s involvement in the winemaking process. 2. Amazon really did have a hand in NEXT’s development, but they’re trying to keep it under wraps. Either way, their interest in the industry makes a lot of sense. As [beer sales stagnate]( wine consumption continues to grow (largely thanks to millennials, who are gulping down a whopping [42% of all wine]( in the States). And, although NEXT is currently only offered online, there is speculation that Amazon could begin stocking bottles in existing Whole Foods stores. [Poppin’ bottles]( Hot n’ trashy On-demand garbage pickup service [Recycle Track Systems]( (RTS) just raised an $11.7m Series A to help the truckless among us get rid of old box springs. In an attempt to snag a piece of the [$55B waste industry]( (which, until now has been largely untouched by tech), their app leverages fleets of independent haulers to let users schedule pick-ups. It’s like Uber...for trash. Classic. Wait… isn’t this what we pay taxes for? Yeah, but our dollars only go so far. Most municipal trash services don’t pick up overflow, or materials that don’t fit in a trash can, like broken furniture. So, companies doing regular remodeling (like WeWork, Whole Foods, and SoulCycle) have found RTS’s service to be particularly valuable. Traditional trash-takers also don’t show you where your garbage goes, which, for sustainability-focused organizations that actually take the time to separate out their recyclables and food waste, is a big deal. And they’re not content to play alongside the big garbage guys RTS’ CEO Gregory Lettieri is convinced they can unseat the reigning champs, Waste Management and Republic Services. Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones going dumpster diving: Atlanta-base Rubicon Global is also trying to turn trash into treasure, and they have 6 years and [$145m in funding]( over RTS to help them do it. [Garbage pail bros]( friday shower thoughts - Cardboard boxes are pretty flimsy until you try to stuff them into the trash can. - Self driving cars should be able to connect with smart-watches, so that when the owner has a heart attack, the car can drive him to hospital. - A lot of my "favorite foods" are just vessels for butter-- potatoes, popcorn, toast... I think my real favorite food is just butter. - I'm so conditioned to not use Fire Exits, I'm not sure I'd think to use one during an actual fire. - Identical twins only have to apply for one gym membership. - via [Reddit]( This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by How we get our sales team pumped up Our sales team’s goals are aggressive -- we’re talking “let’s change the face of media” aggressive. Our guys are always up for the challenge, but aside from banging a giant gong, sometimes you gotta do a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ to keep those cold calls going. So what’s our secret? [Soothe]( massages at work We reward them with massages, right in the office -- because having to book an appointment across town sounds like more of a chore than an incentive (here’s Adam getting his). Our head of sales picked up this trick when Soothe first launched, and since then it’s become an [industry hit](. Think about it: if you busted your butt all month, wouldn’t you want a well-deserved [relax sesh]( A way to ease the tension from grinding at your desk all day? Stop giving out gold stars, and upgrade your company tool box. Sign up with [this form]( and receive $100 off your first in-office massage. [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [EVENTS]( Lindsey Quinn WRITER Kamran Rosen WRITER Nicole Anne Dime OUR CHIEF NEGOTIATOR John "More of a Michael's guy" Havel BACKSEAT EDITOR You opted in by signing up, attending an event, or through divine intervention. 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