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Good morning readers. I think we can all agree certain types of music make you feel a certain type of way. Admittedly, a lot of us here listen to music while we work. And it got us thinking: what songs would make up the ultimate work playlist? The type of playlist that gets you in the zone, ready to get shit done?

This is where you come in. Reply to this email with your favorite songs that get you through the work day. We’ll post the 5 most popular ones in a later edition and start a playlist on Spotify to share with everyone too. As we find more songs, we’ll add them to the playlist. Oh, and we’ll also need to come up with a name for the playlist, so if you’ve got a rad suggestion, drop us a line. We’ll post the best names and put it to a vote. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• Target taps on Spotify to boost its third-party marketplace, Target Plus

• Headline Hustle: Julian Assange reaches a plea deal with the U.S. government, Shein confidentially files for London IPO, Alex Jones’ InfoWars is shutting down for good

• Telegram might have a big security problem on its hands

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending

RETAIL

Target teams up with Shopify to spice up its online marketplace

If you thought your shopping cart was already full, Target’s latest move might just make you consider a little more space. Starting this Monday, the Minneapolis-based giant is shaking things up by partnering with Shopify to introduce new and trendier brands to its website.

Shopify, known for empowering small to midsize businesses with its e-commerce platform, could be the secret sauce Target needs. The deal allows Shopify's wide collection of brands to apply to join Target Plus, Target’s invite-only third-party marketplace.

Cara Sylvester, Target's Chief Guest Experience Officer, shared with CNBC that this partnership isn't just about padding out their catalog. It's about speed and responsiveness to what's hot—and making those products available pronto. Popular picks could even leap from web page to store shelf, making them even more accessible.

The timing couldn't be better

With Target reporting a slump in sales growth and a modest 1.4% increase in digital sales—its first in over a year—the retailer is hungry for a turnaround. Sylvester hinted at a rebound in the second quarter, attributing it partly to last year's weaker performance. For the full year, Target remains cautiously optimistic, projecting flat to 2% growth in comparable sales.

But there’s more to this story than just numbers.

• Third-party marketplaces are retail gold mines because they drive higher profits without the inventory risk. Retailers like Target get a cut of the sales and can charge for extras, like advertisements.

• Although Target doesn’t handle fulfillment – letting sellers manage their logistics – it does rake in revenue through its ad business, Roundel, which grew by over 20% last quarter.

Looking ahead…as Shopify also seeks to regain its footing after a rocky earnings report, both giants are banking on this partnership to boost their fortunes. With Target Plus showcasing everything from viral TikTok hairbrushes to luxury sunglasses, the potential to attract a diverse shopper demographic is vast. And as Target’s marketplace doubles its seller and product count, the future looks promising.

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IN THE KNOW

Headline Hustle

🤝 Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S.. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department. This agreement would allow Assange to go free after spending five years in a British prison. The deal, detailed in court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, would see Assange sentenced to 62 months with credit for time served, allowing him to return to Australia. Assange's charges stem from leaking classified information during Barack Obama's presidency.

🇬🇧 Shein confidentially files for London IPO as U.S. listing stalls. Shein, the fast fashion giant with ties to China, has confidentially filed for a public listing in London amid backlash in the U.S., a source told CNBC. Shein had initially filed for a U.S. IPO but faced opposition from American lawmakers concerned about forced labor in its supply chain and tax exemptions. Despite moving its headquarters to Singapore, Shein's supply chain remains in China. The company aims to go public to embrace scrutiny and transparency, not primarily to raise capital.

📺️ Alex Jones’s InfoWars is shutting down and getting sold. Alex Jones’ Infowars media empire will be shut down and sold off, according to a court-appointed trustee's emergency filing. A bankruptcy judge had earlier ruled that Jones' personal assets would be liquidated to pay the nearly $1.5 billion he owes Sandy Hook families. The trustee, now overseeing Free Speech Systems (Infowars' parent), began planning to liquidate its assets. However, the process stalled when a Sandy Hook victim’s parent sought custody of these assets in Texas court. Jones acknowledged Infowars might only continue broadcasting for a few more months.

SECURITY

Telegram’s lean team poses a security problem for its users, say security experts

If you ever thought running a massive tech company with a skeleton crew was a stroke of efficiency, Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, just gave that theory legs—but not everyone's applauding. Over the weekend, a clip where Durov boasts to Tucker Carlson about operating Telegram with merely "about 30 engineers" caught the internet's eye for all the wrong reasons.

Being lean isn’t always so mean

Durov's pride in his lean machine went semi-viral on X, sparking a debate about what such a streamlined team means for user security. According to cybersecurity experts, Telegram's setup is less of a tech marvel and more of a "security nightmare." The primary concern? Telegram chats aren't end-to-end encrypted by default, unlike competitors like WhatsApp and Signal. Users need to initiate a "Secret Chat" to secure their messages, a feature not as straightforward as one might hope.

Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation took the critique a notch higher.

• She highlighted Telegram's dual role as a messaging and social media platform, stressing that it sits on a mountain of unencrypted user data.

• "Thirty engineers means that there is no one to fight legal requests, there is no infrastructure for dealing with abuse and content moderation issues," Galperin explained, suggesting that the platform's cybersecurity workforce is overwhelmed and possibly underqualified.

Big picture: As Telegram approaches the billion-user mark, its popularity among crypto traders and various fringe groups makes it a prime target for sophisticated attacks. With cybersecurity being a costly affair—as noted by SwiftOnSecurity on X—the company’s minimalist approach could be its Achilles' heel, leaving users wondering if their trust in the platform is misplaced.

SNIPPETS

Pulse Points

• The Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to avoid a historic collapse.

• OpenAI has reversed its stance on secondary share sales and will now permit current and former employees to participate equally in annual tender offers, CNBC reports.

• Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out 2" could be the first film since Warner Bros.' "Barbie" to surpass $1 billion at the global box office.

• Paramount Global is raising the price of its flagship streaming service as it seeks to revitalize its business.

• Louisiana parents and civil rights organizations are suing the state over a new law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms.

• Meta is incorrectly tagging and labelling real photo’s with “made by AI’.

• Hooters is closing dozens of locations across the United States, citing tough economic challenges such as rising food and labor costs.

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_{A note from Masterworks: past performance is not indicative of future returns, investing involves risk. See disclosures masterworks.com/cd}