👾 FB’s metaverse results

Just preordered Adele on vinyl… From new album launches to pod subscriptions, Spotify wants to be the hub for creators. It unveiled two creator tools last week, partnering with Shopify to let musicians add merch to their profiles and announcing plans to expand video podcasting. The deets:

• Virtual merch table: Spotify integrated with Shopify to let artists promote and sell merch in the app, like this $30 tie-dye Remi Wolf hat.
• Watchable pods: Spotify plans to expand the in-app video podcasts it tested last summer to give creators more ways to reach fans and earn subscription $$. Fans can already watch Joe Rogan’s pod.

There’s an app for that... Spotify gives artists ways to profit from their music. But there’s no central hub for creators to monetize their entire brand: Many artists use Shopify to sell merch, Substack to launch newsletters, and Patreon to fundraise. So Spotify is investing in new features to be a one-stop-shop where artists drop new music, sell merch, and engage with fans.

• Plugged in: Last year Spotify gave creators tools to raise money through Cash App, GoFundMe, and PayPal, and host virtual events on Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Paywalled: In April, Spotify launched a paid subscription where participating creators received 100% of revenue for the next two years.
• Fans First: In June, Spotify relaunched a Substack-style email tool that lets artists promote offers like concert presales.

Ask app not to track? Facebook missed quarterly sales expectations as ad-revenue growth slowed big-time from the previous quarter (33% growth vs. 56%). FB blamed Apple’s iOS update, which lets users opt out of ad tracking — and warned it could continue hurting sales. BTW: Snap blamed its earnings miss on the iOS change too. (Twitter didn’t feel a hit.) But the real highlight of FB’s results was the metaverse.

BRB, I’m inside the internet… FB is doubling down on its vision of an immersive digital future. FB wants to be a metaverse company — not a social company (it’s even planning a meta-focused name change). Instead of engaging with just a screen, the metaverse is an internet you can be inside of. Think: going to a VR concert with friends' avatars, shopping at VR stores, working in a virtual office, and even owning VR real estate. Facebook’s meta moves:

• In 2014, FB bought VR headset company Oculus, which will be a key entry point into its metaverse. Think: Facebook Horizon, a recently launched VR gaming world.
• In August, Facebook launched a Sims-like VR office, which can be accessed free... with a $300 pair of Oculus Quest 2 headsets.
• In September, Facebook unveiled its first AR smart glasses, designed by Ray-Ban.
• Now, FB will start reporting financial results from Facebook Reality Labs, which houses its VR and AR products.

• Kids: An FDA advisory panel recommended low-dose Pfizer shots for kids between ages 5 and 11. The jabs are set to start as soon as next week pending final approval.
• Search: Google posted its third straight quarter of record profit after beating ad-sales expectations. FYI: It sells more e-ads than any other company.
• Deflect: YouTube, Snap, and TikTok representatives testified before Congress, making the case that they care more about safety than Facebook.
• Sneeze: Shares of Mucinex-maker Reckitt Benckiser jumped 6% after the drugmaker said the return of cold and flu season boosted sales.
• Office: As the hybrid/remote work life continues, Microsoft beat quarterly earnings expectations on soaring demand for its cloud services.
• IOU: Modern Land defaulted on a $250M bond payment, becoming the latest of several Chinese real-estate giants to default on debts (cough, Evergrande).

• Earnings expected from: Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Spotify, Boeing, GlaxoSmithKline, GM, Twilio, Ford, eBay, and Kraft Heinz

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: GM, Google, Spotify, Snap, Shopify, and Amazon

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