Over the past few days, we’ve explored the cyclical dominance of nostalgic hits, scrutinized the peaks and pitfalls of Taylor Swift’s illustrious yet controversial career, and delved into the power struggles over master recordings. Each narrative underscores the immense influence of stardom and its complex interplay with the music industry’s mechanics. Music, inherently a personal form of art and enjoyment, has no right or wrong when it comes to individual taste. However, an unbiased approach is crucial when studying the music industry. As we conclude this series, we focus on the curse of popularity—how Taylor Swift’s omnipresence might have unintentionally reshaped the entertainment landscape, revealing the double-edged sword of excessive public attention. ...

The Tug-of-War Over Master Recordings - Taylor Swift’s battle over her early music illuminates the complex dynamics of the music industry Taylor Swift’s recent outcry over the control of her early masters highlights a lesser-known, yet crucial aspect of the music business: the power dynamics between artists and record labels. In the history of the music business, many artists have not had control over their own careers. What has recently made the topic into major news is that Taylor Swift has discussed her torrid experience in the industry. The pop star has a long record of challenging the powers that be, and while her latest battle is unlikely to end in victory, she has shone a light on one of the less understood aspects of how artists and record labels interact. ...

How streaming killed the Christmas charts - Mariah Carey’s seasonal ubiquity illustrates the new economics of music: Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You is often quipped to be her pension fund—and rightly so: In 2017 Mariah Carey crept in at number nine with her massive 23-year-old hit, “All I Want for Christmas is You”. Since then the oldies have shuffled relentlessly forward (see chart). Last Christmas half of America’s top ten songs were more than half a century old. Indeed Ms Carey, then aged 51, was one of the younger artists: two of her fellow chart toppers were drawing a pension; three had joined the heavenly chorus. ...

Has Taylor Swift peaked? - The musician is at the height of her commercial, but not her creative, power Taylor Swift’s immense popularity has brought her as much scrutiny as acclaim. The recent release of her album The Tortured Poets Department left many feeling underwhelmed. She reigns in commercial success, but creatively? Taylor swift has a strong claim to being the most popular entertainer of the 21st century—and perhaps of all time. Five of the ten most popular albums in America in 2023 were hers, according to Luminate, an analytics firm. Ms Swift’s albums have now cumulatively racked up 384 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard chart, beating a record previously held by the Beatles. She is halfway through the most lucrative concert tour ever. A film version of it grossed over $260m at the box office last year. ...

In the simplified Chinese internet community that consisted of social platforms and general E-commerce platforms, Little Red Book (Xiao Hong Shu) stands out as the Chinese Instagram. The app, which is based on the popular book of the same name, focuses on user-generated content, mostly in the area of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Little Red Book app’s target demographic is mostly urban women aged 18 to 35 years old. The app started as a product review platform, where users were looking for luxury fashion and beauty products from overseas as well share their latest shopping tips with others on board. ...

Consider a decision problem where you have a collection of $\mathcal L$ papers to read before your next week’s meeting with your advisor. For each paper $l \in \mathcal L$, you can estimate its relevance and quality, represented as a potential intellectual reward $r_i$, modeled by a probability distribution $F_i(\cdot)$. $r_i$’s value is only learnt and acquired after you thoroughly read through the paper. Additionally, each paper comes with an uncertain reading time $t_i$, modeled by another distribution $G_i(\cdot)$. Notably, you have the flexibility to start reading a paper, pause and switch to another, and return to it later, adapting your reading strategy as needed. ...

Christie’s latest story Everything you need to know about Impressionism: how a group of rebel artists ‘freed painting’ offered a thorough, concise and informative introduction of the origin of impressionism. Coincidentally, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, the upcoming 20th Century Evening Sale (16, May 2024) features the presentation of Monet’s seminal painting, Moulin de Limetz, from The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Heirs of Ethel B. Atha, accompanied by a few other exquisite examples by the artists who paved the way for the birth of 20th Century Art. ...

Three days following Taylor Swift’s release of her 31-track new album The Tortured Poets Department / The Anthology, Pitchfork released their reviews that rated 6.6 / 6 for the first and second half of the album, respectively. I believe writing the Pitchfork review of a Taylor Swift album should earn you the medal of freedom for your courage. –– Louie @DJLouieXIV, X Swifties quickly flooded the comment section under Pitchfork’s twitter post–speaking any slightest negativity unanonymously against the most passionate and gigantic fan base on earth requires extra courage and care. When there isn’t a ground truth but exists multiple conflicting believes, how influencial voices speak become a tricky issue. ...

Professor YaXiang Yuan recently graced SUFE with a compelling talk on Big Data & Optimization, masterfully engaging a diverse audience—from MBA students and enthusiastic undergrads to school leaders. He skillfully navigated the complexities of optimization theory, balancing depth with accessibility, transforming a regular Saturday into an enlightening experience. He began by highlighting key disciplines essential for shaping students into effective professionals: Statistics Computation Optimization Approximation Theory Discrete Mathematics Combinatorial Graph Theory Differential Equations Computational Geometry and more Using real-life examples, Yuan showcased how cutting-edge optimization theories enhance the modeling and solving of complex problems. Professor Yuan infused the session with his unique charm, paying homage to his deep roots in optimization theory while ensuring the talk remained approachable for all attendees. ...

My advisor was somehow less enthusiastic in information design as compared to other general algorithm game theory topics–despite my several failed attempts to lure him into doing some related projects. But his major concern is solid, that information design demands overly strong assumptions–the existence of a common prior, commitment of the signal sender, inference ability of the signal receiver–all poses challenges for direct applications that justify the existing theory. The real world should be something in between the perfectly rational Bayesian persuasion and the noisy cheap talks. ...