đď¸ âInside StubHubâ â The Ticket IPO. Napsterâs $200M comeback. 23&Meâs DNA drama.
Mar 26, 2025
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StubHub is navigating IPO waters while battling scalpers and a shifting ticket market. Meanwhile, Napster has made a surprising resurgence, reminding us of the nostalgic tunes of yesteryear. 23andMe faces uncertainty with its bankruptcy, leaving millions with questions about their genetic data. The hosts also highlight how Gen Z is reshaping ticket sales and touch on unique personal anecdotes. With a mix of market analyses and cultural insights, this discussion is lively and engaging.
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Quick takeaways
StubHub's impending IPO highlights the company's reliance on scalpers and the risks posed by evolving ticketing practices from primary vendors.
The acquisition of Napster for $207 million illustrates the significance of brand recognition in driving consumer engagement within the digital marketplace.
Deep dives
StubHub's IPO and the Scalping Dilemma
StubHub is preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with a potential valuation of $16 billion, fueled by a surge in Gen Z spending on concert tickets, which has reportedly tripled over the past three decades. Despite this exciting prospect, StubHub faces significant risks from ticket scalpers who use bots to secure tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices. The company's profitability depends on the secondary ticketing market, which is increasingly threatened as primary ticket vendors like Ticketmaster implement dynamic pricing to decrease arbitrage opportunities for scalpers. If scalpers were to disappear, StubHub's business model, which relies heavily on fees collected from ticket resales, would be dramatically impacted.
The Downfall of 23andMe
23andMe has filed for bankruptcy after experiencing a sharp decline from its once-prominent status, where it garnered attention for its innovative ancestry testing parties. The company's failure to turn a profit after going public, combined with a lack of follow-up services that users would purchase, has resulted in a dramatic 99.8% drop in stock value. Furthermore, a data breach left 7 million customers' personal information compromised, raising concerns over the security of DNA samples. Customers are now left wondering what will happen to their genetic data, as it may be sold to the highest bidder in bankruptcy proceedings, prompting advice from experts to delete their data as a precaution.
Napster's Resurgence and Brand Power
The original music-sharing platform, Napster, has been acquired for $207 million, marking its fifth ownership since declaring bankruptcy over 20 years ago. The acquisition reflects a shift in focus from music piracy to the brand's symbolic value of disruption and rebellion in the music industry. By leveraging its established name, the current owner, a metaverse company, aims to evoke nostalgia and recognition in a crowded digital landscape rather than relying solely on its historical relevance to music. This case illustrates that brand recognition can significantly influence consumer behavior, demonstrating that investing in a well-known name can be a powerful marketing strategy.
StubHub is the #1 secondary ticket marketplace⌠but the biz totally depends on scalpers.
Napster still exists (?) and just got bought for $207M⌠because âSay my name, say my name.â
23&M is bankrupt, but 15M customers have a question⌠ummm, what about my DNA?
Plus, the newest economic indicator is âRecession Brunetteâ...
$STUB $ME $EBAY
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