Key Takeaways Generative AI has already been used to create “deepfake” songs. These songs have been convincing or satisfying enough to gather millions of streams and views on platforms like Spotify and TikTok. The music industry is trying to contain the fallout, but digital media platforms are reluctant partners and AI is raising novel legal questions. It’s unclear how this affects the asset class in the long term, but it is a risk. Table Of Contents Generative AI Deepfakes What Should The Music Industry Do About AI? How Does AI Affect The Future Of Music? Conclusion Frequently Asked ..read more

One of the often-touted values of farmland as an investment is that it provides a hedge against inflation. This is, in theory, due to the fact that the value of farmland rises during periods of elevated inflation. Thus, an investment portfolio that includes farmland would see better performance and less volatility when inflation rises than one without it. So, is it true? In short, it seems to check out. However, more recent history suggests the benefits may be somewhat overstated. Table Of Contents What Is “Inflation”? Why We Care About Core CPI What Is Core CPI Anyway? So, Is Farmland An I ..read more

The title “Star Wars” flashes across the screen, while the iconic crawl scrolls across your screen. In your ears you hear that familiar, and exhilarating… silence!? Not quite the same, is it? The Time To Fight Is Now Welcome to Music Wars. On many levels, nothing here is new, though the battlegrounds have changed considerably over the past few years. Universal Music Group (UMG) recently took what may be seen as a dramatic step by many. They pulled their songs from TikTok. Drake, Taylor Swift, the Weekend, and more are now unavailable on the platform. As Billboard reports, t ..read more

Here is one of the first platforms I ever wrote about, so I have followed it closely for the past 1.5 years. Here’s my view into what happened. Table Of Contents Building Here Problems With Here's Real Estate Platform 1. Low Offering Success Rate 2. Unique No More 3. A Tenuous Business Model Property Management Fee – Execution Issues Sourcing Fee – Overreliance Conclusion – Outgunned & Outmaneuvered 4. Poor Expense Management What About The Wefunder Funds? Conclusion – The End Of Here Building Here Here Investments Inc. incorporated on February 22, 2021. One year later, in Feb ..read more

EquityMultiple provides a simple platform for accredited individuals to invest in commercial real estate for as little as $5000, with a range of products serving several different investment objectives. We have a comprehensive walkthrough for you below, if you’d like to learn more. Table Of Contents What Is EquityMultiple? Investment Opportunities at EquityMultiple Investor Suitability for EquityMultiple Understanding Fees on EquityMultiple Potential Returns & Liquidity with EquityMultiple Navigating the EquityMultiple Platform Concluding Thoughts on EquityMultiple FAQ About EquityMult ..read more

Originally sent to newsletter subscribers on January 8th. Does a population boom automatically translate into skyrocketing real estate prices? In our first data-oriented newsletter post, we’ll take a closer look. All the data used in this analysis are from the US Census Bureau and Zillow covering the period of 2000-2023. Population Hot Spots A heat map of population growth by US state, as the percentage increase from 2000 to 2023. Population has changed a lot over the past 23 years, but the effects are far from uniform. The Northeast and Rust Belt states generally saw anemic growth ..read more

There are a variety of important terms for understanding alternative investments. You can find more information about some of the most important ones here. Table Of Contents A B C D F G K L M N P R S V A Accredited Investor An investor or entity that meets certain criteria defined by the SEC. These are generally based on income, assets, or knowledge. Accredited investors have greater access to alternative investments. Read More After Repair Value (ARV) After Repair Value (ARV) is a term used in private credit opportunities for real estate. These are loans for “fix and flip” proje ..read more

Originally sent to newsletter subscribers on December 11th. In Comes Generative AI The emergence of ChatGPT just over a year ago has kicked off a tsunami of generative AI content that no one was really quite prepared for. Like other creative mediums, music has not been spared. In April, a new single from Drake and The Weekend began trending. It reached 600K streams on Spotify, 15M views on TikTok, and nearly 300K views on YouTube before being removed. You see, that single wasn’t actually from either artist. It was created by “Ghostwriter ..read more

Originally sent to newsletter subscribers on November 27th. The 60/40 Portfolio’s Horrible, No-Good Year What does a safe, well-balanced portfolio look like? One of the most common pieces of “general wisdom” has been a 60% allocation to stocks and a 40% allocation to bonds. The thinking behind this is that the majority allocation to stocks still allows for strong appreciation over time. The volatility and risk of the stock market is then offset by a minority, but still heavy, allocation to bonds. For the recent past, this seems to have per ..read more

Originally sent to newsletter subscribers on November 13th. Five years ago, Wall Street and the traditional investment community got into music royalties in a big way. The Rise Of Hipgnosis Songs Fund The Hipgnosis Songs Fund was founded as an investment vehicle for music rights on the public markets (it’s listed on the London Stock Exchange). The fund used public markets to raise money, which it then used to purchase music rights. In exchange for investing into the fund, investors hoped to receive regular dividend payments that could grow over time and be uncorrelated to most risk a ..read more