Lee Zeidman

I am deeply honored to be nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal Leadership Award. This recognition not only highlights my commitment to excellence and innovation in our industry, but also reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team. It is a privilege to stand among such distinguished professionals, and I am inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of leadership and success. #leadership #LeadershipAward #arykasandybots #panthertrailfilms #losangelesbusinessjournal

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The future of live music is in good hands.

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The OpEd piece by Bill Miller (President, American Gaming Association) asking for federal action against illegal online gambling operators in the Pittsburgh-Tribune is spot on (see link). It's time for "the Feds" (Department of Justice and FBI) to take comprehensive action to block / disable illegal gambling sites that US players are accessing. The Feds were super effective at dismantling the illegal online prescription drug business in the 1990's. They can do the same for illegal online gambling sites and apps and help our industry protect players in the United States of America. https://lnkd.in/gb8mm7gp

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Stay tuned

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KWP #TrendWatch - The coming #LBXCollective #SoundOff #28 podcast will cover the history of and the resurgence of the #arcade gun game - along with other trends shaping the sector.

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TikTok ban is jet fuel for $4B Triller / AGBA reverse merger. But this is financial engineering to salvage 2 struggling companies. Retail investors, be wary! Let’s break it down… TARGET: Triller • “AI-powered” music-focused social video platform • Founded 2015 by Bobby Sarnevesht and Ryan Kavanagh • Owns Bare Knuckle league, Amplify.ai, Julius, Thuzio, FITE • Raised $218M+ and TBD debt • Biz model = rev share, ticket sales / PPV / subs / merch, advertising, platform fees • Rapid US and int'l growth via TikTok bans (e.g. India) • 200 est employees PERFORMANCE • 2.2M creators, 450M+ user accounts • 2023 revenue of $45M, down from $54M in 2022 • Q3 YTD showed $104M loss, $378M in debt / liabilities vs $6M current assets • $1M cash & equivalents CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY • 2022 Sony sued for unauthorized music use • 2023 UMG sued for same reason  • Owes music rightsholders $23.6M in unpaid fees • 2022 called off $5B reverse merger with video ad platform SeaChange • 2022 missed M&A payment to Verzuz owners • Filed for NASDAQ IPO in Aug 2023 and Jan 2024 • Reputation for inflating users and usage TARGET: AGBA • Tech-driven wealth mgmt and financial services • 4 biz lines: Platform, Distribution, Healthcare, Fintech  • Founded 1993 by TBD • Focuses on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area • Biz model: interest income, commissions, asset mgmt fees • Publicly listed on NASDAQ, holding co registered in BVI, operates in HK  PERFORMANCE • Stock fell 80% 4Q 2022, has traded < $1 since July • $140M market cap, $19M of cash ($17M is restricted), $18M debt • 400k individual and corp customers • 2023 revenue of $54M, up 74% YoY, but a loss of $43M • 176 est employees DEAL DETAILS • All stock deal, AGBA acquiring Triller in reverse merger • New combined AGBA will be 80% owned by current Triller stockholders and RSU holders • Current AGBA shareholders will own 20% of new combined co • Expected May close VALUATION • Triller at $3.2B and AGBA at $800M, for $4B total • …BUT seeking alpha estimates as of 4.23 AM stock price, Triller’s real valuation is $1.3B •….and based on TikTok share repurchase valuation of 17x revenue, implies $765M Triller valuation • As of 4.23 AM stock trading at $2.40, up 500% from $0.40 the day pre announcement DEAL RATIONALE / SYNERGY • Leverage Triller’s large social audience to drive traffic to AGBA’s financial services and create more engagement via live events, webinars, etc  • Create personalized AGBA financial services via Triller user analytics and insights • But IMO here’s the real angle… • “access public capital markets and secure the liquidity needed for rapid growth” – aka a cash grab from retail investors • Triller is being aggressive when competitor TikTok faces US regulatory challenges (senate vote is today, Tuesday!) More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter! --- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for #media #agency #creatoreconomy. DMs are open.

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“And we are live”…is what our daughter Lauren Ellis, Showrunner for Bloomberg Originals The Circuit with Emily Chang-Season 2 said as they launched today Wed, April 17 3pm. Bloomberg Originals #1 show The Circuit with Emily Chang first episode season 2 features Jamie Dimon,CEO JPMorgan Chase & Co. Learn about Jamie’s thoughts on AI, Bitcoin, Family, the Ecomony, our future and more. Tap the photo below to watch this amazing episode! Yes, when Jamie Dimon talks, the world listens. Lessons for all business owners from Jamie: 1) To scale your business, find your adjancenies. 2) Tech is good, how are you using it to work smarter not harder? 3) Protect your company with a Fortress Balance Sheet. 4) Who are your key relationships and don’t be complacent. 5) What is your process for decision making, how are you prepared for change? 6) You can have it all..just not all at once—how are you taking care of your mind, body, soul? The Circuit is on Bloomberg TV, YouTube, DirectTV and more! Congratulations Lauren—Season 1 and 2 as Showrunner! 🎉 P.S. Quick definition Showrumner is the person who has overall creative authority and management responsibility for a television series.

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Two very important observations about Sony here: 1️⃣ The fact that Sony bided its time through the streaming wars has been extensively covered in the trades. They resisted the urge to sink millions of 💲to create their own platform and instead purely profited off their catalog by dealing it to the content hungry +’s of the world. This stacked cash in their cabinets and also let them observe audience behavior without risk. Now Sony is flush and informed. 2️⃣ The Alamo acquisition shines a light on a very interesting division of Sony called Sony Pictures EXPERIENCES. If you go through the trouble of building a division with that title and you combine the details of point 1, I’d say Sony believes there is value to be mined in traditional and event theatrical. Sony, with its methodical approach, will certainly have massive sway over the future of exhibition. This is 💯% exciting news. Great to see one of the studios go another way and be diligent. I believe we will see a lot of leadership from Sony in the upcoming years. #alamo #sony #filmindustry #movies

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What happens in Michigan if FanDuel's parent company Flutter Entertainment Plc purchases PENN Entertainment, Inc's online properties? The numbers are staggering. A PlayMichigan.com analysis found that, based on 2024 revenue figures alone, Flutter taking control of PENN's Hollywood online casino and ESPN BET sportsbook would mean Flutter would control 29% of Michigan's lucrative online casino market and a whopping 46% of the online sports betting market. That would make Flutter far and away the #1 online casino and sports betting operator in Michigan. Corey Sharp with the story. #gambling #gamblingindustry #michigan #fanduel #flutter #pennentertainment #igaming #igamingindustry #revenue #sportsbetting #sportsbettingindustry #sportsbooks

Live Nation break up with Ticketmaster could be the first step towards more innovation in the ticketing industry 🔖 The U.S. Department of Justice filed a competition lawsuit against entertainment giant Live Nation, alleging that the company holds a "monopoly" over the U.S. entertainment market. The lawsuit reportedly focuses on Ticketmaster's practice of using exclusive ticketing contracts with venues, which critics argue stifles competition, limits customer choice, and drives up prices. This comes along with the new legislation in the US, UK, and Australia requiring event ticket sellers to display the total ticket price upfront, including all fees. This may compel ticketing companies to lower some of their fees to remain competitive, eventually resulting in revenue losses. In response, these companies will need to explore new ways to differentiate themselves and secure new deals. One strategy is to offer promoters and clients resale platforms, allowing them to control both primary and secondary markets and capture extra revenue that currently goes to unauthorized resellers. However, in light of the recent case, implementing this approach may prove challenging. Controlling both markets can lead to unethical practices, such as placing a percentage of tickets directly on the secondary market to capitalize on higher earnings. This may raise red flags to regulators who might try to stop such behavior. This could open the door for 3rd party white-label resale platforms who could cover the functionality for the ticketing companies while seamlessly integrating. However, to really fully stop illegal reselling, providers would need to use technology that substitutes classic tokens which can be easily exchanged. Biometrics could give a helping hand. The vision would be to link 1 face with exactly 1 ticket, disabling bots and companies like Viagogo from buying thousands of tickets. Having this would bring the added value and necessary differentiation for the ticketing firms. What about the collaborative outcome? ✅Fans would benefit from fair market prices ✅More genuine transactions would occur on the primary ticket market ✅Fans would have the flexibility to free their tickets ✅Every transaction would be under the control of the ticketing company, reducing fraud ✅Ticketing firms would bring promoters more revenues, making the company a valuable partner So the main idea is for ticketing firms to implement technologies that will make them stand out and deliver unprecedented value to its customers that leads to higher profits. And collaboration with white-label resale platform providers that use biometrics could be that necessary step. #FaceTicket #Reselling #Ticketing #RevenueOptimization

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I’m excited to announce Sandbox VR is now available for franchising across the United States. Historically, franchise business in the standalone entertainment space hasn’t been as compelling due to low revenue and limited market validation. I believe we’ve changed that. Today, over 100,000 guests visit us monthly. We operate 32 standalone locations across the US, where an average location generates over $1.9M revenue annually. And because we sell bytes not atoms, our unit profit is on par with if not stronger than some of the most established franchise brands. But what’s really exciting is the impact technology innovation has on our product and unit economics. When we integrated wifi streaming two years ago, customer reviews and same-store sales shot up.  With computer vision + genAI on the horizon, there’s so much more to look forward to. Combined with our exclusive content pipeline and Netflix collaboration, we cannot be more excited about the future. If you’d like to join us on this journey as a franchise operator, drop a visit on our website to learn more. https://lnkd.in/gZXe5kaB

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Stock in parent company AMC Entertainment Holdings, led by CEO Adam Aron, rose by $1.01, or 23 percent, to $5.34, in pre-market trading as the company continued to benefit from epic trading of GameStop shares. That followed meme stock investor Keith Gill apparently revealing a bullish position in GameStop in addition to an options bet. Shares in AMC rose in the wake of Gill’s posts around GameStop, allowing the cinema giant to use its meme stock mania to potentially raise fresh cash. The latest speculative buying of AMC shares follows Gill resurfacing online after a three-year absence and rekindling interest in the cinema chain’s shares.

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Range Media Partners just raised big $$ from Liberty Global, Wildcat Capital Management. It's an M&A warchest so they don’t fall behind their peers.  Let’s break it down… BACKGROUND ON RANGE • Mgmt and prod co founded in 2020 by Peter Micelli and other top agents from CAA / WME / UTA • Goal = extend beyond trad film / TV representation • Has expanded into music, sports, gaming, digital, music pub M&A + CAP MARKETS HISTORY • Merged with film / TV prod co Automatik in Jan 2023 • Bought upstart athlete mgmt co Stoked Management Group in Sep 2023 • Existing investors incl Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures and A+E Networks (also has prod deal) NEW INVESTMENT • Last week closed significant minority investment by John Malone’s Liberty Global, TPG founder’s Wildcat Capital, and family entertainment co Playground Productions • Former CAA film finance exec Rick Hess, and The Forest Road Company were also involved (either as investors or advisors, can’t tell exactly from press release) • Use of Funds: M&A, scale in US, int’l growth, add more talent rep and prod services What you need to know about this deal 👇... It's not surprising when you consider all the other fundraising and M&A amongst Range’s peers in talent representation.  The influx of capital and high dealmaking volume is driven by a belief that outsized returns will go to rep firms who are fastest to scale, in a winner-take-most market. Because scale makes it easier to sign more talent clients, work with the largest brand marketers, hire the best talent agents and managers, package up the largest Hollywood projects, and launch the most exciting new talent-led ventures. Particularly in a world where scaled access to audience (which talent and influencers bring in a post ATT world) is the top driver in capturing share of high-growth IM spend, which is est at $7B in 2024, up 15% YoY. So it’s a race to the top. And that race is being fueled by large M&A war chests from big investor backers… Companies to watch here are: - Crestview-backed Gersh (just bought A3’s digital team) - Coral Tree-backed Loaded (just bought GG Talent) - Providence-backed Wasserman (13 deals in 2 years) - TCG-backed Night (just bought LFM and Roost Podcast Network) - The big 3: CAA, UTA, Endeavor And after last week, I expect Range Media to ramp up its acquisition activity. Particularly in athlete and digital-native representation. Curious to see what they do next with the $$. Will definitely add them to our buyers list as we bring more deals to market. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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UTA just promoted 24 new partners. What's driving this? Promotions can be part of a retention strategy as competition for talent, and their reps, heats up. Particularly when new firms like Range Media Partners, which was the result top agent defections from the Big 3 Hollywood agencies in 2020, are growing fast and raising growth capital (see my analysis 👇). Some questions worth asking... - How is the agency's employee retention rate trending? - How does the % of promotions compare to prior years? - What agency depts are seeing more promotions? e.g. fast-growing areas like digital? - What are the benefits of being a partner? - What type of commitment is required from partners, if any? - How does all this compare to peer agencies? Many talent reps are thinking through decisions about staying VS leaving at bigger co's, starting their own firms, staying independent, and more. This is important info to track. For both those starting out their agency careers, and more seasoned agency execs thinking about their next career step. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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