The boys are back and the buys are heating up.

Food-delivery startup Wonder purchased Tastemade, now boasting content creation to meal preparation to delivery all in one. Is more on the way? We think so.

Spotify paid $5 billion dollars to indie creators last year. Is it better to go outside the labels than sign with a big agency?

And Unilever ups their social media budget to 30 to 50 percent of total marketing budget...all for targeted local influencers. But did they forget about employees?

Marketing winners and losers include Southwest Airlines and CMO tenure.

Rants and raves include Substack and shadow AI.

This week's links:

Spotify Pays the Indies

Are Big Music Labels Valuable?

Wonder Acquires Tastemade

Unilever Doubles Down on Influencers

CMO Tenure Study

Shadow AI

Brands Are Launching Substacks

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