#since physical sales have been declining for years

[emeryleewho]

I keep seeing posts talking about the WGA/Sag-Aftra strike, which yes, good, but in all this "support writers" sentiment I'm seeing no one talk about book writers, which I think is something people should know more about right now.

We are at an all-time high for book bans, namely targeting queer & PoC-authored books. This means that a lot of schools and libraries are no longer stocking diverse YA books, and if you're not in publishing, you may not realize this but school & libraries are by far one of the biggest markets for diverse YA books.

This means that in 2023, YA book sales are down. This is also in part because Barnes & Noble (the largest physical book retailer in the U.S.) is no longer really stocking YA hardcovers. This means that marginalized authors and debut authors are struggling to sell books.

But it's a LOT worse than that. In the past couple of years, marginalized authors are *really* struggling to get new book deals. Most books are acquired by a publisher about 2 years before they release to the public, so this isn't all that noticeable yet, but a LOT of marginalized authors I've spoken to (myself included) have been unable to sell a new YA book since 2020. So while I had a book out last year, even if I sell one right now, you won't see it until 2025-2026. That's three to four years without a new release or the income I get from publishing those books.

On top of that, Big 5 publishers have started closing imprints (namely their diverse imprints) and have started telling their marginalized YA authors to just go. I've had multiple authors tell me their publisher basically said, "eh, we don't care to put in the work for you anymore. You can just go somewhere else". Of the authors who *are* getting offered new contracts, we're being offered pay far below the cost of living and we're being handed contracts that split our payments 4 or 5 ways and require we sign over our work to be used to train AI so they can replace us a few years down the road.

Authors are freelancers who own our IPs, which means we can't unionize the way Hollywood writers can, and despite authors showing up in droves to support HarperCollins employees when they went on strike for fair wages, we're being hung out to dry when it comes to our own rights.

If you enjoy diverse books, especially diverse YA, please understand that many of the authors you loved over the past 3-5 years are being forced out of the industry. We're being exploited, and we have no way to defend ourselves. Our books sales are drying up thanks to anti-queer legislation, our rights are being eaten up by AI, and our publishers are degrading us while profiting of us and refusing to share those profits with us.

Within the publishing industry, we've all been watching this decline happen over the last decade, but outside of it, I know most people have no idea what's going on so please spread the word. And if you care about diverse books especially in YA, please support marginalized authors in any way you can. The industry needs to be reminded that it needs us before we're all eliminated from it.

#Books #diverse books #author #publishing #sag aftra #writers strike #writers #labor rights #workers rights #wga strike

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - January 15, 2024

🎊 - As we embark on another journey around the sun, I am thrilled to bring you the first newsletter of the year, packed with inspiring, informative, and sometimes downright amusing stories.

1. Marijuana meets criteria for reclassification as lower-risk drug

Marijuana has a lower potential for abuse than other drugs that are subjected to the same restrictions, with scientific support for its use as a medical treatment, researchers from the US Food and Drug Administration say in documents supporting its reclassification as a Schedule III substance.

2. South Korea passes law banning dog meat trade

The slaughter and sale of dogs for their meat is to become illegal in South Korea after MPs backed a new law. The legislation, set to come into force by 2027, aims to end the centuries-old practice of humans eating dog meat.

3. After 20 years in a tiny cage, these 'broken bears' are finally feeling the grass beneath their paws

These bears, termed "broken bears" due to physical and psychological trauma from years of abuse, are treated at the Tam Dao rescue center with individually tailored diets, physiotherapy, and medical care. The bear bile trade, which involves extracting bile for traditional Asian medicine, has been illegal in Vietnam since 2005, but a black market still exists.

4. France just got its first openly gay prime minister.

Gabriel Attal is France’s youngest-ever prime minister at age 34 and the first who is openly gay.

5. Australian ‘builders without borders’ repairing war-torn homes and schools in Ukraine

Manfred Hin, a 66-year-old builder from Townsville, Australia, spent most of 2023 volunteering in Ukraine to rebuild homes and schools damaged by Russian attacks. Having contributed to over 50 house and a dozen school renovations, he worked with Ukrainian charity Brave to Rebuild, mentoring young volunteers and sourcing three tonnes of donated tools.

Inspired by Hin's story, Tasmanian carpenter Hamish Stirling also joined the efforts, learning Ukrainian, traveling to Europe, and volunteering for three months to help rebuild homes.

6. The age-standardized death rate from cancer has declined by 15% since 1990

The age-standardized death rate from cancer declined by 15%

Cancer kills mostly older people – as the death rate by age shows, of those who are 70 years and older, 1% die from cancer every year. For people who are younger than 50, the cancer death rate is more than 40-times lower (more detail here).

7. Germany Reached 55% Renewable Energy in 2023

In 2023, 55 percent of Germany’s power came from renewables — an increase of 6.6 percent, according to energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur, reported Reuters. Europe’s biggest national economy has a goal of 80 percent green energy by 2030.

---

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

#best news of last week

[mdhwrites]

Ten Years of Writing

February 2014, I made my fimfiction account. At the end of that month, I published my first fanfic. It has been ten years since that fateful decision that feels like it changed so much for me. I kind of want to go back through my memories, just talk about some of the highlights (going to save that for a different blog frankly. It is ten years of material and almost three hundred stories combined, potentially that many with the very few I've deleted over the years) and what that's meant to me but I know a lot of people might ask: What do you have to show for it?

Well, skill wise, I would probably argue that writing is the only trained skill I have and I am IMMENSELY proud of how far I came, especially while knowing that I haven't really had the same support to grow as for the past half decade that I did before then.

I have genuinely moved people and for some even convinced them to seek help they may not have otherwise by sharing my experiences in a more palatable format than simply writing them in a blog would. I have a lot of reasons for why I never will take down Crises Girlfriends from Ao3 and the comments are a big part of that. It's a reminder of the power of writing and creation, something that's easy to lose sight of amongst popularity and hopes of financial success.

On that front though? Amazon lets me check lifetime sales now and I've sold 793 books. It's not even just because of friends buying a glut of material because while I may have 19 books out, Sarafune Monster Preserve Vol. 1, my second ever book, written when I was barely 21, holds over two hundred of those copies. Daughters of Dusk Vol. 1 has half those numbers, though funny enough it does have have more reviews. Frankly, for an independent author who has always struggled to find his audience, those numbers make me genuinely very happy. Also, number five is Ruff Secrets at 33 copies, nineteen of which are physical which I DID NOT REALIZE and honestly makes me realize that that book has done better than I thought it did. Crises Girlfriends is admittedly the lowest one sales wise at 4 copies in almost a year of being out. That's just how it goes sometimes.

Buuuut even for the books without a bunch of sales, I can hold my head high because Ruff Secrets is also literally the only book of mine with a below 4 star rating, at least of the ones with ratings which is the majority of them. That's a feather I can pin in my cap. A testament that even back when I was twenty and published my first work, Diane and Kat: The Bound Bands, I was right to have the confidence I did as a storyteller. To believe my work was commercial quality.

I also still have people in my life I'd never want to be without because of my writing. Heck, I don't know where I'd be without one of them as I lived on their couch for almost two years while dealing with my declining health. Others have helped give me guidance while even more have made sure I never believe I'm alone and I've even been able to help them back. As one friend would say: I was once their Luna and changed what was supposed to be a suicide note into a story that made a lot of people on Fim open up with personifications of their own troubles. I don't know if I'd have found communities where I would make those sorts of connections if not for my writing.

It also still gives me what feels like a purpose to be here. A thing that is mine that I can comfort myself with, even while dealing with my broken brain. While I may be desperate for validation and want success, neither would stop me from continuing to write. My brain is too jumbled a mess of ideas for me to ever stop and it keeps those ideas locked down pretty tightly. Like hey, you know how I mentioned two series at the beginning? Yeah, well, I can still tell you my plans for them and could pick them back up someday. It's been four years since the last Daughters of Dusk book came out but I still want to eventually return to it since it only had two more books before it was done. I don't want to leave it permanently unresolved, even if I've never quite gotten the energy to finish it.

Which does bring me to being honest and admitting that the past ten years haven't all been positive. I've had to fight a growing resentment towards others success as my own jealousy festered. I've had to deal with crushing failure after crushing failure (my fifth best book of 19 makes up for a thirtieth of my sales. I have had a LOT of very quiet launch weeks) and the toll that's taken on me isn't unreasonable. I've multiple times had my brain break on the idea of publicly posting anything, leading to one offs being published and me being a wreck for the rest of the day as my brain begs for it to go as well as it perceives it should.

And yet I've still never stopped. Nor do I ever plan to. It may be a year and a half since my last finished project but I know I'll get through this. I mean, there has been a year during this where I literally wrote like two chapters the entire year. This past year and a half still say probably a couple novellas worth of words out of me, just never to one thing. I could still go back to plenty of those works and continue them. There's at least one I would really like to just because I commissioned the art for it way before I was done writing it which was admittedly a bit of a lesson.

I hope to keep learning, keep getting better and try to share some of the insights I've learned with all of you. So here is to ten years and to many more decades to come hopefully. See you next tale.

#anniversary #Ten Years #Writing #Reminiscing

[prince-liest]

Hello! Since I’m binge reading all of your Genshin fanfics I wanted to ask how would you describe your experience contributing to zines? I’m considering it and wanted to ask someone who’s done this before. Is the process fun? Stressful? Both? I’d assume writing with a deadline is not easy! When did you first start? Don’t spare details please, tell me everything about your experience! I have minimal knowledge on the topic

Hey, there! I'm glad you're enjoying my Genshin works!! And of course, I've been in about three fucktillion zines by now so I'd be happy to talk about what it's like! Long post under the cut:

Not all zines are the same but most of them follow approximately the same outline of expectations for you as a contributor, which is:

After you've applied and been accepted, you're sent an acceptance email with a link to the zine server.

You join the server, and after a few days for everyone to trickle in, the mods will post a spreadsheet or a google form where you can submit 2-3 pitches, aka. ideas of what you think you could write for the zine, which should be reasonably different from one another. The reason for having 2-3 is so that not everyone ends up writing the same thing. I prefer when zines give spreadsheets rather than google forms so that I can see what other writers are pitching and make sure I'm not submitting something samey. There will likely be guidelines for what you can pitch (limitations on characters, ships, rating, etc).

(Optional) Some zines do author/artist collabs, and this is usually the time period during which folks figure out if they'd like to collab, and if so, with whom.

After a week or so, you are told which of your pitches you will be writing for the zine.

Creation period! Now you write a fic based on your pitch, usually 2-3k words in length depending on the zine. There's usually 3-4 check-ins scattered throughout the several month period that you get to write during, when the mods basically want to see how far you've gotten to make sure you're making progress. Sometimes you have the option of asking for feedback, but often the writing mod isn't going to be doing that until your final piece is submitted.

At the end of the creation period, you submit your final piece, usually with some formatting stuff like "highlight every time you use italics so the formatting mod can see it." The writing mod will beta it, toss it back to you so you can accept edits, and then that will be the final version in the zine. Voila!

Everything after that is just you waiting for preorders and production. Other stuff that will probably happen at some point includes submitting a snippet for the graphics mod to make a little preview graphic of your piece, and reblogging/retweeting zine stuff during preorders to promote sales.

To answer your more specific questions:

I started in late 2020 when I applied to a Hawks-centric My Hero Academia zine at the same time that I was invited to a My Hero Academia and Harry Potter crossover zine, both of which were an amazing experience. I find that the deadline is really not a source of stress, because you get several months to write 2-3k words and each check-in is only asking for a little bit of progress. My first check-in, for example, is pretty much always just the outline. That said, I'm not really applying to zines anymore (unless something exactly up the alley of my current hyperfixation pops up, which at the time of writing would be a Hazbin Hotel or radiostatic zine, haha) for a few different reasons.

Firstly, I've legitimately been in four dozen zines. I've scratched the itch, haha.

Secondly, particularly in the Genshin Impact space, the zine craze caught on so aggressively that the average quality of zine mod teams declined pretty sharply. There are a number of zine mods that I really trust, and I've been in some phenomenally run zines, but I'm also just kind of tired of the physical production period of a zine taking a year or longer when I know it can be done in like three months. Not to mention the number of times people in the zine space have straight up absconded with money.

Thirdly and most importantly, the actual part of zine writing that I don't enjoy very much anymore is the limitations put on my writing. It's an inherent and understandable part of the process that a fic has to be within a specific word count and topic, but I also have just hit the point where I personally want to write whatever the hell I want without coming up with three separate fic concepts and hoping that the one I actually feel passionate about is chosen - not to mention I've actually ducked out of zines before when the mods were so nitpicky about what they wanted me to write that it felt less like I was a guest writer invited to create something of my own, and more like they were looking for a cheap way to basically custom commission writing from me. And I've also noticed that the pickier the mods are about my writing, the less I end up liking what I create. There's actually three zine fics, now, that I'm never going to publish because I just don't think they turned out very good, and they are all from zines where I felt my writing got micromanaged.

All of that said, I'm basically highlighting the small number of things I disliked out of, again, four dozen zines, so I really encourage you to go for it! A well-run zine is a blast to be a part of, and my favorites have always been ones where it is clearly a labor of love and genuine interest.

Here are some tips when choosing a zine to apply to:

Look at the mods and their pages, and look for mods that have completed zines in the past, but aren't currently part of 4+ incomplete projects. For mods, you want experience, but you don't want someone who's just jumping into every single project they see.

Every P4P zine I've been a part of has been fucking amazing so far. These only get made in certain fandoms, though (mostly danmei). I'm sure they're not all perfect (there's one I know that's a little sketchy), but I think the lack of promise of profit attracts people genuinely invested in the project itself rather than money or clout or whatever.

Pick a zine that you know you will enjoy writing about the subject of. Don't apply to something because you like the character it's about, but you don't actually really know what you'd write for it.

Make sure they have a reasonably large number of followers on Twitter and appealing graphics. This speaks to a couple of things: 1) how well the zine is likely to sell and 2) how well the social media and other mods actually know what they're doing in terms of promo. If a zine has less than several hundred followers and they want to put out a physical copy, I would personally hesitate, because there's a good chance they won't break even on sales. Especially in the Genshin Impact fandom specifically.

Hopefully that was helpful! If you have any more specific questions, feel free to throw them my way.

#ask #personal #Anonymous #zines #my writing

[harrison-abbott]

A Post-Internet World

I was watching The X-Files earlier. Season 1, which aired in 1993. It’s a fun show; and as a 90s boy (me being born in 1992), it took me back to that hazy world, where the music was different, the haircuts different, even the colour of the streets seemingly different.

The characters step into phone booths to make calls. They still have those televisions which are massive black boxes which flash with those black & white dots when not hooked on to a channel. They still read broadsheet newspapers. I’ll admit a nostalgia for the 1990s and TV shows from that pre-Sopranos age.

But it got me thinking about the main thing missing from the daily lives of people back then.

The internet. They don’t use the internet; it’s just not there … Which is surreal when you compare it to 2023, when all of us are constantly wired to the internet.

So it got me thinking about just how much the world wide web has altered the planet, since the era I mentioned above, when I was a child.

1993 is a convenient year, because this is when the first proper web browser was released to the public. Amazon and eBay were invented in 1995, and Google in 1998. Wikipedia was born in 2001. In 1993, 1% of information fed through global telecommunications networks was performed via the internet. In 2023, it is 100%.

What about TV shows? Well – you remember Blockbuster, right? The video store. That’s what you’d do on a Friday night, go and rent a VHS out to watch the X-Files. Well, Blockbuster declined heavily after the explosion of the internet, and closed its last store in Alaska in 2018.

The internet also killed Toys R Us, RadioShack, Virgin Megastores (in terms of high street shops, in the West), the Discovery Channel Store, Borders book shop, Hastings Entertainment, Dixons entertainment, Woolworths, Sears (which was once the world’s largest retailer) and GameStop, to name a few.

Furthermore, there are whole industries which have had to adapt to the WWW. Pre-internet, and up until the new millennium, almost all books were sold in bookstores, as physical copies. Today, 80% of books are sold online. Specific types of books are no longer bought on demand; such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, travel guides or maps – all of which are easier to access online.

Landlines … for your phone in your house. In the 1990s 9 in 10 of households used their landline phone as a main way of communication. Today it’s 9 in 10 with cellphones.

Journalism. From 2005 to 2021, over 2200 American print newspapers closed in the US; and from 2008 to 2020, the number of American newspaper journalists were cut by half. Similarly, in the UK, around 300 newspapers died away between 2009 and 2019.

The music industry. Is an obvious one, and among those most severely struck. Whilst the net made it far easier to pirate music, platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify removed the need for illegal listeners. The industry itself was among the most profitable in the 1990s. Within the last 20 years its revenue has been reduced by 50%, when taking all sources into account. CD sales reached their peak in the year 2000 in America (a figure of around 900 million). Since then sales have dropped 95%.

And, on a grander scale, we can’t ignore how the internet has altered how we socialise. We spend more time on the internet in our daily lives that we do via communicating with other people face to face.

It’s changed the way we read, and the amount that we read. People are far more likely to skim read articles on a screen and not read beyond the initial three or four paragraphs, especially if this requires clicking ‘next page’ to read on. Writers on the internet now write shorter sentences in order to hold reader attention span.

The internet has changed crime. Through cybercrime, as people find it easier to steal money from long distance locations whilst hiding their identities. It is estimated that over $600 billion is lost (or robbed) each year via cyber criminals.

It’s changed the way people date. People who use dating apps are more likely to have sex sooner in a relationship than those who meet in the ‘traditional’ way; and are more likely to date several people at once before choosing a specific individual. Moreover, it has made people less likely to commit, because with internet dating, they have far more options.

Most of this essay has been negative. One can’t deny that the internet has many positive sides to it too. With Healthcare, for instance: as people are able to communicate with their doctors without having to physically attend a GP, thus making it faster. And in terms of education – one can basically look up any information they please at any point. Rather than having to head to a library or school.

I use the internet all the time as well. Am no different. I suppose it just felt odd, watching the X-Files earlier, as it gave me that dose of what it was like in boyhood. There was Twin Peaks, as well, and Friends, you know, all of those classic 90s shows. I used to watch them on one of those gigantic televisions, which only had four channels.

In 1993, around 15 million people used the internet. Nowadays, over 4.66 billion people are online. That’s less than 1% of the world population in 93, to around 60% of the world population now.

I miss the 1990s. It was a great decade for things like television, and film, and music. Culture in general. The irony is that I no longer own a VHS player. And I was using a streaming site to watch the X-Files earlier. I should feel lucky to have experienced that last-decade-before-the-internet. To belong to the millennials generation.

What I do still have is a retro TV (with the black & white scrambly dots), and a Nintendo 64 and Playstation, oh – and a great collection of CDs. And they’re never getting chucked out, ever. Will keep them, always.

#writeblr #essays #history of the internet #history of communications #x files #1990s tv #classic tv #blockbuster #how the internet has changed the world #history of culture #cinema #journalism #music industry

[imustbenuts]

oh since im thinking about ai right now

the hardware fueling this technology is serviced by nvidia graphic cards. lots of nvidia graphic cards. all made with rare materials mined from the earth and likely obtained with blood and cheap, massively unsafe labor, fed water and electricity just to make it work

and the CEO of nvidia just gave a speech yesterday in computex in taiwan and he sounds like he suffered a sudden onset of medical issue, just consumed edibles, had his speech fed by an ai, or had greed completely rot his brain, or any one or all of those. as seen in the first 25 seconds of this video

yes, the ceo of nvidia is grifting his own tech company.

nvidia in the past 4 years has earned massively from the sale of graphic cards to tech grifters. if you remember, there was a gpu shortage during covid due to the scalping of graphic cards despite the necessity for many creatives to have one, and this was due to nvidia selling a good chunk of it directly to crypto miners.

now they're selling most of their stock to companies looking at ai. its the same shitty song and dance but worse. creatives and artists just cant catch a fucking break

the sale of graphic cards to gamers has declined massively due to exorbitantly expensive priced cards, and due to how the chips have been hitting a massive wall physically and so cannot be improved as much as the years go by.

and they're excited by this short term windfall and letting greed consume them. meanwhile their newest graphic card (rtx 4060 ti) is at best a redundant, expensive, and unnecessary product

remember nvidia's contribution to this ai bullshit

#ai art #Youtube

[prfm-multiverse]

How many sales do you think PLASMA is able to make? I could think of 100k copies.

I have no idea. But i would be surprised if it reaches 100k+ copies. It's been four years since Future Pop, Perfume isn't a trendy act anymore and physical sales are declining from year to year. Promotion will be a key factor. But there prob won't be a popular tie in to a movie or dorama anymore until then. Nothing announced at least.

I can imagine 70 - 80k? Everything above would be fine for them. Amuse doesn't seem to be afraid anymore the #1 album weekly streak will break. It will happen anyway someday. Because they are competing against Twice's next jp album in the same week. Could have just chosen another week.

#2022 #messages #prfm #perfume #plasma

[ailtrahq]

 Key takeaways GameStop (GME) appoints Ryan Cohen as new CEO after the company spent 4 months without a chief executive Cohen pledges to cut costs, stating that the current situation is “not sustainable” GME stock forms new yearly low after a 15.32% decline in the wake of the announcement Ryan Cohen takes vacant GameStop CEO position in a bid to ensure longevity GameStop (NYSE:GME) has announced that Ryan Cohen has become the new CEO of the company, replacing Matt Furlong who left the role in June. Cohen became a director on the GameStop board in 2021, later rising to the position of chairman after he had played a key role in forcing out the company’s existing executive team and board of directors. Cohen stated that “it is not sustainable for GameStop to operate a money losing business.” The new CEO has pledged to “avoid self-inflicted mistakes and stick to the basics” as “extreme frugality is required” to turn GameStop into a profitable business over time. Cohen has stated that the core goal is to ensure that GameStop remains in business for the long term. The GameStop earnings report for Q2 2023 showed an uptick in sales with $1.16 billion revenue reported. Despite outperforming Wall Street’s expectations by 5.4%, GameStop still reported a loss per share of $0.03. 3-Year GME price chart, via CoinCodex There was a quickfire selloff for GME stock following the announcement that Cohen would be appointed CEO. The 15.32% price reduction since 28th September may indicate that investors are less than convinced of Cohen’s ability to turn the company’s fortunes around. GameStop has been struggling against the growth in digital game downloads, and Cohen’s early attempts at introducing new revenue streams, including a GameStop NFT collection, have fallen flat. The traditionally brick-and-mortar company has attempted to better integrate itself with online business and eCommerce to offset the decline in demand for physical game discs, yet it has seen several of its online sales executives leave shortly after they were appointed. GME forms new yearly low after falling 15.32% in the wake of Cohen’s appointment as CEO GME stock has fallen 38.51% YoY, including a 15.32% fall in the past 5 days to take the stock to new 2023 lows. GME has now lost support at the $15.40 price level — the former yearly low — and it awaits to be seen whether there will be further downside to come. GME has been in a consistent downtrend since it formed its yearly high in May, and is now 44% down from this level. This is now the third occasion that GME has fallen below $16.22 this year, with the stock forming higher lows on each prior visit until it fell below during trading hours today. The CoinCodex price prediction algorithm signals that a bounce is likely from here. Both previous dips below $16.22 in 2023 were followed by a significant bounce from GME, posting 60% and 73% gains respectively. The algorithm expects GME to bounce 27% this time around, indicating that demand may be declining at key historical support. 1-Month price prediction for GME, via CoinCodex Bottom line: Cohen pledges to cut costs in a bid to boost profit Ryan Cohen has split opinion among GME shareholders since he was appointed as chairman of the board in June 2021. At the time, he had promised to transform the business into an eCommerce retailer so that it could stay afloat amid rising demand for digital game downloads and falling demand for physical discs. In 2022, however, the company once again pivoted back to focusing on its brick-and-mortar stores, with several digital sales executives leaving the company in succession. Cohen has now shifted focus to cutting costs instead of boosting revenues, stating that the company’s unprofitability is simply not sustainable. With another major selloff for GME in the wake of the announcement and a new yearly low being formed at the $15.39 price level, it seems as though GameStop’s struggles may continue. The CoinCodex algorithm expects a short-term bounce for the stock before it retraces back into the same demand zone.

[dailyupdatestoday]

The Rise of NFTs: Exploring the Future of Digital Art

How Non-Fungible Tokens are Revolutionizing the Art World

In recent years, there has been a significant shift in the way we perceive and value art. With the rise of digital media and the internet, traditional forms of art are no longer the only option available to artists. Enter NFTs or non-fungible tokens, a new form of digital asset that is changing the game for artists and collectors alike.

NFTs are unique digital assets that use blockchain technology to verify ownership and authenticity. They are often associated with digital art, but can also be used for music, videos, and other forms of media. By creating an NFT, an artist can sell their work as a one-of-a-kind item, which can't be duplicated or replicated.

The impact of NFTs on the art world has been significant. For artists, NFTs offer a new way to monetize their work, especially in a world where traditional forms of art sales are declining. For collectors, NFTs offer a new level of ownership and exclusivity, as they can own a piece of digital art that is one-of-a-kind.

But the rise of NFTs has not been without controversy. Some critics argue that NFTs contribute to the increasing financialization of art, where the value of a piece is determined more by its market price than its artistic merit. Others argue that the carbon footprint of NFTs and blockchain technology is a significant environmental concern.

Despite these concerns, it's clear that NFTs are here to stay. As more artists and collectors embrace this new form of digital asset, the future of art may be forever changed. Will we see a shift towards more digital forms of art in the years to come? Only time will tell.

The History of NFTs

Before we delve into the current state of NFTs and their impact on the art world, it's important to understand their history. NFTs first gained popularity in 2017, when the game CryptoKitties was released on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoKitties allowed users to collect, breed, and trade unique digital cats, each represented by an NFT.

While CryptoKitties was initially seen as a novelty, it quickly gained a large following, and some rare cats sold for tens of thousands of dollars. This success helped to bring NFTs into the mainstream, and soon artists began experimenting with them as a way to monetize their digital art.

In 2020, the NFT market exploded, with several high-profile sales making headlines. In February, the artist Beeple sold an NFT for $6.6 million, marking the first time that an NFT had sold for more than $1 million. Since then, several other artists have sold NFTs for millions of dollars, and the market shows no signs of slowing down.

The Impact of NFTs on the Art World

The impact of NFTs on the art world has been significant, with many artists seeing them as a new way to monetize their work. In the past, artists were limited to selling physical pieces of art or licensing their work for use in advertising or merchandise. NFTs offer a new way for artists to sell their work directly to collectors, without the need for intermediaries like galleries or auction houses.

For collectors, NFTs offer a new level of ownership and exclusivity. With traditional forms of art, there is always the risk of copies or forgeries, but with NFTs, each piece is unique and verified on the blockchain. This makes NFTs highly desirable for collectors who want to own a piece of art that is truly one-of-a-kind.

However,

there are also concerns about the impact of NFTs on the art world. Some critics argue that the increasing focus on market prices and financial value is detrimental to the artistic merit of a piece. They worry that artists may create work with the sole purpose of selling it as an NFT, rather than creating work for the sake of art itself.

Others have raised concerns about the environmental impact of NFTs and blockchain technology. The process of creating and selling NFTs requires a significant amount of energy, which can contribute to climate change. While some argue that the benefits of NFTs outweigh the environmental costs, others believe that more sustainable alternatives should be explored.

The Future of NFTs and Digital Art

Despite these concerns, the NFT market shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it's likely that we will see even more artists and collectors embrace this new form of digital asset in the years to come.

One potential avenue for growth is the use of NFTs in gaming and virtual reality. As more people spend time in virtual worlds, there may be an increased demand for unique digital assets like NFTs. This could open up new opportunities for artists and collectors, and further cement the role of NFTs in the art world.

Another potential area of growth is the use of NFTs for social impact. Some artists have already used NFTs to raise funds for charitable causes, and this trend could continue to grow in the future. By using NFTs for social impact, artists can create art that not only has financial value but also makes a positive impact on the world.

The rise of NFTs has been a game-changer for the art world, offering a new way for artists to monetize their work and collectors to own one-of-a-kind pieces. While there are concerns about the impact of NFTs on the art world and the environment, it's clear that they are here to stay. As we continue to explore the potential of NFTs and digital art, it will be exciting to see how they shape the future of the art world.

[lottogame]

Through Lotto Game, New Yorkers can participate in draw-based New York Lottery games without having to visit a retailer.

There are now online versions of the official New York Lotto games!

Lotto is an online lottery service that allows users to play their favourite games from the convenience of their homes. Customers receive their lottery tickets electronically. Online lottery ticket sales for Powerball and Mega Millions allow lottery participants to get their tickets sent right to their device.

The CEO of Lotto Game, Tom Metzger, says that his company is "essentially the UberEats of lotteries" since we deliver tickets online as well as physically to clients. "Traditional lottery has mostly remained untouched since it was created in 1964; now we're making it far more simple and accessible to a different audience."

The New York State Lottery has granted Lotto Game a licence to sell tickets to internet customers. After their age has been confirmed, consumers may easily buy tickets. They can restrict how much they play as well.

Since your ticket cannot be lost once you have it, according to Metzger, playing on Lotto is safer than playing in a typical retailer.

"You'd be surprised at how frequently people lose their tickets—usually found in the rear pocket of their pants—in the wash. Or, worst case scenario, they may accidentally throw away a winning ticket, which happens regularly, added Metzger." Furthermore, there is no question about who owns the ticket. Before uploading a ticket to the owner's account, we watermark it with the user's name and our company logo to guarantee there is no doubt about where it was acquired or whose it is.

The accessibility of Lotto was extremely important to Metzger. The website is put up such that whichever kind of

"We aimed to create a user experience that was really frictionless. You can visit our site, buy a Powerball ticket for $2, and check out without having to download an app or pre-fund your wallet to accomplish so. According to Metzger, the user experience is so good that over 80% of our consumers come back to make more purchases.

Almost 200,000 people have used the Lotto Game in New York alone since its introduction about three months ago. Only residents of New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas may use the website, but it has aspirations to grow in the upcoming months and years.

"In 2011, the OLC legalised it at

According to Metzger, the European lottery system has included online lottery purchases for around 20 years. Similar to how it's done in Europe, Lotto.com wants to cooperate with retail sales to increase all lottery sales rather than trying to replace them. "In the UK, internet sales were introduced, and they have since grown to account for 43% of all sales without causing any decline in brick-and-mortar stores. We don't actually compete with retail," said Metzger.

The business aspires to be one that uses the money it raises through the New York Lottery system to carry out worthwhile endeavours.

"The Lottery generated 8 billion in sales last year and gave back 3.6 billion in educational money."

Even though Lotto Game only provides draw-based games at the moment, there may be room to expand the selection to include scratch-off games as well. However, the company is currently aiming to increase the number of people who have never played the lottery to do so in a method that is more convenient for them.

The lottery has to advance along with other digitally-based activities. Instead of expecting the player to come to you, we must bring it to them, said Metzger. We built our platform to be so adaptable because of this, so.

Visit lotto Game for further details.

Website: https://www.jiliwin.com

[twototwotoo]

Research: ALBUM and SINGLE covers and other forms of musical media

Album art is unique in the idea that it needs minor to no changes when moved into other musical mediums, unlike other forms of media like games. Vinyl album and Single sleeves and even CD and phone displays all adhere to the same sizes, the same ration all the way up and down. This means that a publisher who prints the product can make one one design and copy and paste it onto another product saving time and resources. 

Most digital covers can fit a 3000x3000px measured square, as all album art, except a few outsiders, is square in nature, but it can easily be changed to any equal variable of height and length as the product can be downsized to a smaller size later on, and by working on a larger canvas you are able to include more details even if they could become blurred when made to fit. Other measurements are 8x8, 4.7x4.7In, 10x10, 12x12 and even 4000x4000px, anything is allowed if it is to a 1:1 ratio In real life though, the standard size of a vinyl cover ranges around 12.375x12.375 inches. In my project I have worked on a 3000x3000px canvas that can be fitted into this size, but I picked this size as their art is not going to be printed due to their garageband nature.

As you may be aware, Vinyls are now a form of collectable media, they are rarely kept for the sole reason of playing music due to the decline of physical media that is being seen in nearly all forms of art as we move towards a far more technologically advanced future. Vinyl was overcome by the CD, as much smaller, one could say, compact disc, that could hold tenfold what any vinyl could keep, and to boot they were cheaper to produce, took less space and were portable ulike a record player. The writing was on the wall at that point, and this was a Huge blow to vinyl sales, and eventually the were basically put out of production around 1989 when they were no longer mass produced, being overtook by CD around 1988, only a year prior. But even now, CD’s have also suffered a similar fate to their bigger brothers as streaming music became the next big thing with their digital predecessor, the MP3 players, being released during 2001.

Welcomingly, Vinyls had made a resurgence in recent years, with people becoming sentimental with the past and trying to retrieve what they sold off. Not only are vinyls being sold again, with some stores opening specifically top sell them and other having them in stock, such as His Masters Voice and record stands down back alley streets, but new vinyls are also getting printed, and not only be larger companies but also by indie labels due to the profitability. Records are being reprinted while others are being printed for the first time, like Jamiroquai’s discography that came out after the first vinyl release of his most influential album, Travelling Without Moving, for its 25th anniversary in 2021, a personal favorite of mine. 

This uprising began all the way back in 2007 and has been steadily increasing ever since, just this year, Taylor Swift's most recent album, Midnight, had reached over one million presses on vinyl in the U.S, outpacing it’s CD brethren in sales. In the UK, it was determined that at a time ¼ albums brought where in the vinyl format, an oddly frightening scale.

It is clear to see that the vinyl has returned to a nice position of relevance, while the format is not the best way to indulge in the music it plays, its size allowing for a nice sized art piece, it slight, homely imperfections, and the bonuses that are usually found with them make them a great buy for nostalgia and to support artists work, what with streaming has become a cause of concern for smaller indie artists that could have been harmed in the transition.

[oconnorassociate]

Houston Property Taxes

Houston property taxes are based on the market value of property as of January 1 of each year.  The above graph documents what annual property taxes would be based on the average / median Houston home price for December 2020 to October 2022.

HOUSTON PROPERTY TAX / HOME PRICE TAKEAWAYS

Houston property taxes for average priced home were on a trajectory for huge increases from December 2020 through June 2022.

The trendline for Houston property taxes peaked in June 2022 and have been on a downtrend since.

Houston 2023 property taxes for houses are likely to be similar to 2022 tax year based on current trends in Houston home sales.

The average / median home price estimated for January 2023 will be similar to the price in January 2022.

HOUSTON HOME PRICE TAKEAWAYS

Houston home prices were rocketing upward at 2% per month during 2021 and the first 5 months of 2022.

Houston home prices peaked in May 2022 and have been declining at 2% per month through October.

MONTHS OF INVENTORY

HOUSTON HOME PRICE INVENTORY FOR SALE SUMMARY

Houston has had one of the tightest home markets with only 1.4 months of inventory for 2021 and the first 5 months of 2022.

The inventory of Houston homes for sale has increased to about 2.8 months but is still only one third of the level considered balanced, where neither the buyer nor seller has an advantage.

Home owners are less likely to list homes to sell due to higher mortgage rates than most are paying. Houston home owners are also trying to process the whipsaw changes in the housing market.

IMPACT OF NATIONAL TRENDS ON HOUSTON PROPERTY TAXES AND HOME PRICES

National Property Tax Outlook

Property taxes for houses likely peaked in mid-2022. In most major metropolitan areas, year-end 2022 home prices will be similar to home prices at the end of 2021. Since property taxes are based on the January 1 value in most states, property taxes will likely be essentially flat in 2023. It is not clear if appraisal districts will increase values despite the flat trend for home values.

Housing Super-Market Caused by COVID is Over

         When COVID hit in March 2020, houses prices plummeted for a month or so and then recovered. The desire to gain physical proximity from neighbors drove many households from huge cities to smaller cities. Mega-markets such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York saw a substantial outmigration during the early phase of COVID. Both the level of contagion and morbidity were not well-understood for 18 to 24 months. Households fled to small cities. They fled from high density multifamily to single family.

The inventory of homes for sale is measured in months of inventory. Given the current month’s pace of home sales, how long would it take to sell all homes? The national trends for inventory of homes for sales have whipsawed from 3.0 in December 2019 to 1.9 in December 2020 and back up to 3.1 in October 2022. A balanced market is considered 6 months of inventory; double the current level.

National home sales in October 2022 are down 28.4% from October 2021. However, let’s be clear. The housing market is still strong. Demand to buy houses is strong but many buyers have been priced out of the market by a combination of high home prices and much higher interest rates

Higher Interest Rates are Dominating Disruption in Housing Boom

Mortgage rates for owner occupied homes were just under 3% in early 2022. They are currently in the range of 6.5 to 7%; double the level just 11 months ago. The cost of owning a house is much higher than it was in early 2020 due to: 1) higher home prices, 2) higher interest rates and 3) higher property taxes (driven by higher home values). The median price of a home in the U.S. was about $275,000 in early 2020 versus $379,000 in October 2022 (National Association of Realtors). Home prices are up about 38%; interest rates are up about 100%. The portion of households who can afford a median priced home has fallen by about 40 to 45% since early 2020. Many of these households want to purchase a home. Their income is just not sufficient to buy a home that meets their minimum requirements. Housing affordability is at an all time low.

Factors Supporting Prices in Housing Market

While the level of housing affordability has plummeted, the housing market is still tight.

The inventory of home for sale, at 3.1 months, is only half of what is considered a balance market (6 months).

The supply of homes for sale is being artificially limited by home owners who would like to sell and buy another home. However, with an interest rate of around 3%, they simply could not afford a mortgage for a new home at 6.5 to 7.0%.

The inventory of new homes for sale is relatively high compared to the pace of purchases. However, home builders are racing to reduce both their inventory and new homes under construction. Some home builders are discounting by 20% for bulk sales to investors.

Home purchases by investors are off 30%. Investors are impacted by high interest rates, higher home prices and higher property taxes.

There is pent-up demand to buy houses. Assuming interest rates decline over the next 2 to 4 years, many households will enter the market and purchase homes.

The labor market has remained strong despite diligent efforts by the Federal Reserve to induce slack into the economy.

Factors Negatively Impacting Home Prices

Interest rates are likely to remain high for at least 12 to 24 months, and perhaps much longer. The components of cost for a home owner are primarily:

Interest

Principal or repayment of loan

Property taxes

Casualty insurance

Maintenance

The is a possibility of a recession in 2023. Most economics forecasters expect a recession will be necessary to reduce inflation to a level satisfactory to the Federal Reserve.

The rate of homes put under contract and not closing has risen sharply due to higher interest rates and tightening underwriting.

Is a Housing Crash Imminent?

No, a housing crash is not at all likely.

It is likely that housing prices will soften during the period of lower affordability.

The housing crash in 2008 was largely driven by poorly conceived and fraudulent loan underwriting. Lenders have exercised discipline in underwriting loans during this cycle.

The inventory of homes for sale would likely have to exceed 6 months for a strong down-sraft in housing prices. It is not likely the inventory of homes for sale will fall that much in the short term.

Housing Market Conclusions

The boom in higher home prices is over and will not return soon. Much lower interest rates are needed for robust increases in home prices. The pent-up demand for housing will act as a brake on reductions in home prices. Most reductions in home prices are likely during the next 12 to 24 months while the Federal Reserve battles inflation.

#houstonproperty tax #Homeowners #property tax

[petnews2day]

China's home loans poised to pick up after targeted easing measures

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/pet-industry-news/pet-financial-news/chinas-home-loans-poised-to-pick-up-after-targeted-easing-measures/

China's home loans poised to pick up after targeted easing measures

China’s latest measures to help homebuyers will spur mortgage demand while ringfencing banks from the default risk of builders.

Growth in home loans, which account for about one-fifth of total bank loans in China, is set to rebound after a slowdown in recent months. The government has eased mortgage costs through cuts of interest rates, relaxed some rules on ownership of multiple properties and urged banks to lend more to homebuyers.

The rebound will likely be modest and offer a limited boost to overall lending. Many homebuyers may still stay on the sidelines as their confidence hinges on the financial health of the builders, which has yet to recover, analysts said.

“Policy easing so far has been concentrating on the demand side and little has been done about the over supervision on the supply side,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Esther Liu.

Recent measures aimed at reviving housing loan demand while keeping a tight grip on developers’ leverage highlight the delicate balancing act Beijing has faced since the downturn in the property sector last year.

A recovery in home sales is critical for restoring cash flow for developers. The government has so far not eased funding access for developers because that could increase credit risk for the financial system and undo previous efforts to unwind excessive borrowings of the property sector.

A liquidity crunch continues to weigh on the property sector, after some of the nation’s largest developers, such as China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings Ltd., missed coupon payments on their bonds as recently as May. The sector faces falling sales, limited access to loan and bond markets as well as government restrictions on using proceeds deposited in their escrow accounts from home presales.

About 40% of Chinese developers were in “financial trouble” as of end-2021, according to a June 1 report by Ratings. The nonperforming loan ratio of the property sector was estimated at 6.0% as of end-2021, Ratings said. It was higher than the overall nonperforming loan ratios of between 0.56% and 3.63% of Chinese banks for the same period, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Modest recovery

The central bank cut two key interest rates on mortgages in the space of a week in May. After lowering the mortgage rate for first-time homebuyers, the People’s Bank of China slashed the benchmark five-year loan prime rate for the second time this year by 15 basis points to an all-time low of 4.45%. Local authorities in major cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou also lifted in mid-May some restrictions on owning more than one residential property per household to encourage home purchases.

The rate cuts offer room for banks to further cut the mortgage loan rate after the significant decline in household loans, a May 15 research note by Credit Suisse said. They also show “senior regulators’ increasingly supportive stance on end-user housing demand amid the overwhelmingly lackluster sentiment in the physical market”.

Home prices started falling sharply in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Bank for International Settlements. In April, both property sales by value and by square feet in 70 Chinese cities fell a little over 40% from a year ago, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

The pace of housing loan growth slowed to 7.7% in April from 8.9% in March, according to a May 20 research note from J.P. Morgan. A rate cut may marginally improve loan growth, the note said.

Residential and commercial property loans at major Chinese banks have grown slowly, mirroring the nation’s slowing overall loan growth amid an economic slowdown. The proportion of mortgages to total loans also declined marginally in end-2021 from end-2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Ringfencing elevated risk

Demand for home loans will not grow stronger unless consumers regain confidence that developers will not default on their projects, analysts said.

”Policymakers are willing to tolerate a certain degree of defaults, in either the bond market or in wealth management products, as long as developers hold on to the three red lines,” said Daisy Li, a Hong Kong-based China fund manager at EFG Asset Management.

The regulators have placed strict limits on how much a developer can borrow if it breaches any of the three “red lines”. The red lines refer to three key conditions developers need to adhere to: maintaining a liability-to-asset ratio below 70%, net gearing of at least 100% and cash-to-short-term-debt ratio of at least 100%.

Banks’ exposure to developers remains limited due to these restrictions. “No more than 10 privately owned developers [out of hundreds], other than state-owned, are on banks’ trust list,” said Eric Wang, Shanghai-based banking analyst at CMB International Capital Corp. Ltd.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. did not respond to queries from Market Intelligence.

As of June 1, US$1 was equivalent to 6.69 Chinese yuan.

#Pet Financial News