The gig is up, Yeehaw Agenda and the numbers on cord cutting
The News Fix
California lawmakers passed a bill this week that would reclassify independent contractors as employees, forcing companies to provide benefits like health insurance. Companies like Uber and Lyft fought hard to prevent the bill, AB 5, from passing: lobbying for exemptions, authoring op-eds, circulating petitions and at some point drafting their own friendlier version of the bill.
But now some Silicon Valley companies are homing in on a new argument: AB 5 doesn’t apply to them. Drivers don’t qualify as employees, a lawyer for Uber told reporters this week, because the work they do is “outside the usual course of Uber’s business.” The company says its actual business is “serving as a technology platform for several different types of digital marketplaces” —contrary to what Uber’s riders might think.
So, wait, what is Uber? Expect to see that question play out over the next several months.
Smart in a Shot
It was an all-out hootenanny this week on some of the runways at New York Fashion Week, as designers like LaQuan Smith drew inspiration from what he and other artists and cultural critics are calling the rise of the “Yeehaw Agenda.” Smith’s line featured cowboy boots, glitzed-up 10-gallon hats, cow-print chaps, big belt buckles and a T-shirt printed with the words “LaQuan Smith Hoedown.”
In the past year, high-profile rappers Lil Nas X and Post Malone — even DJ Diplo — have sported tailored “Rhinestone Cowboy” getups on awards show red carpets. Known as Nudie suits, after their original designer Nudie Cohn, the colorful, sparkling outfits were worn first by Roy Rogers and Hank Williams Sr., then later by artists like Elton John and Jerry Garcia.
Naturally, the trend is finding its way onto retailers’ racks this season. Several fall fashion guides have called out the “urban cowgirl” style, with Etsy noting that searches on its site for “cowboy hats” were up 30% this summer compared to the same time last year.
Photo credit: Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images
The Numbers
Apple this week announced the launch date and monthly rate for its new streaming service, becoming the latest in an increasingly crowded field. And while the ranks of cord cutters is on the rise, so is the bill for the growing number of streaming services they’re adding to their queues.
$70
That’s roughly how much a household would pay each month for a common combination of services that includes Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now, Apple TV+ and bundles from Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ and CBS All Access/Showtime. And that doesn’t even include things like NBCUniversal’s new offering, BET+, which launches next week for $9.99 a month, or major sports sites like MLB.tv.
$86
That’s how much Comcast subscribers pay each month, on average, for the cable provider’s video services. Sure, it’s more expensive than streaming a la carte — for now.
$8.99
The monthly fee Molly Wood discovered she’s paying to stream content from Starz after a free trial period ran out. Compared to a $12.99 Disney+ subscription — which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — $8.99 could seem like a lot to pay for one channel. “We really have not internalized how much streaming pricing is going to have to change when Disney+ launches,” Molly mused on Twitter. “Like, sorry, Starz, that's gonna have to be two bucks. Tops.”
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What's a college degree worth?
This week’s podcast guest Emily Bazelon recommends Paul Tough’s new book, “The Years That Matter Most,” which explores whether a college education is still a good bet.
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Planning for a new wave of urbanization
Listener Diane H. recommends this article about Paul Romer, a former World Bank economist — and Nobel Prize winner — who went to Burning Man and had a revelation about city planning. The speed with which Burners set up their temporary city in the desert, he says, could be a template for the next century of urban development.
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Your dirty outfit
Make Me Smart newsletter writer Erica Phillips (that’s me!) recommends this piece in Vogue about the environmental impact of fashion shows. Turns out the apparel industry is one of the world’s most polluting — from manufacturing to distribution, and yes, even the runway.
