We’re one day away from the first US presidential debate, but there’s no debate about the growing popularity about one music genre. I discuss that and more in today’s newsletter.
MEDIA: K-Pop Goes the IPO
There’s a new set of millionaires thanks to the latest initial public offering (IPO) in the South Korean stock market, and the newly minted millionaires probably aren't who you might expect.
They are the seven members of hugely popular K-Pop band BTS following the successful IPO of their record label, Big Hit Entertainment, on Monday.
K-Pop, short for Korean pop music, has become a global phenomenon in the past decade, and the group BTS has emerged as one of the most popular groups in its genre.
For example, a BTS single racked up more than 100 million views in a 24-hour period on YouTube, the most ever in that time period on YouTube. Plus, that single made the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks — that’s the first time that’s ever happened for a K-Pop band.
Pink's Bottom LineBTS said that it will release a new album in November.
Look for songs from that album to not only generate tens of millions of views on YouTube and climb to the top of the music charts in the US, look for that album to usher in mainstream popularity of K-Pop in this country.
We’ll be seeing — and hearing — a lot more K-Pop in the United States in the next few years.
MONEY: Singles Day
Amazon said that its Prime Day sale this year will be on October 13 and 14 — the date was moved from July due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
For those of you who don’t know about Prime Day, it’s an annual sale when Amazon offers special deals and prices to its Prime members, those who pay an annual or monthly fee for quicker shipping and for access to other Amazon services like the company’s video streaming service, Prime Video.
Pink's Bottom LineAmazon reportedly took in more than $7 billion in revenue in 2019 during its Prime Day sale, which is quite an impressive haul in a slow retail month like July.
However, Prime Day actually is a lot smaller than Singles Day. Singles Day? That’s an annual sale held by China’s Alibaba every November 11th — 11/11, get it? Singles Day?
In any case, last year Singles Day sales reportedly totaled a whopping $38 billion for Alibaba.
I think both Prime Day and Singles Day this year, particularly as they’re held abut a month a part, will give us a great indication on the strength of the consumer both in the United States and in China.
SPORTS: NFC Least
In the NFL Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles tied the lowly Cincinnati Bengals 23-23, and the Eagles actually gained ground in their division, the NFC Least, I mean the NFC East.
The four teams in that division, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington and the New York Giants, have a combined record of two wins, nine losses and one tie. That’s 2-9-1 — a record, if it were for a single team, that would pretty much get any coach fired.
Pink's Bottom LineThe worst record for a team to make the playoffs in the 16-game era in the NFL is 7-9. (Note: That does not include strike-shortened seasons.)
I think that a team from the NFC East this year might actually post a record worse than 7-9, still win the division and make the playoffs.
The good news is that each team in the division plays one another twice, so at least there are chances for some wins this season. Washington’s only victory this season, for example, has come against Philadelphia.
Jeremy Pink is former CEO of private-equity backed Broadcast Sports International where he led the company to a successful sale and exit during his tenure there. He is also a former CNBC executive in New York, London and Singapore. He currently serves as an advisor to companies in media, technology, sports and financial tech.
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