Artificial intelligence has rapidly started finding its place in the workplace, but this year will be remembered as the moment when companies pushed past simply experimenting with AI and started building around it, Microsoft said in a blog post accompanying its annual Work Trend Index report.
As part of this shift, Microsoft is dubbing 2025 the year of the “Frontier Firm.”
“Like the digital native companies of a generation ago, they understand the power of pairing irreplaceable human insight with AI and agents to unlock outsized value,” Jared Spataro, CMO of AI at Work at Microsoft, said in the post.
These so-called Frontier Firms will be built around “on-demand intelligence and powered by ‘hybrid’ teams of humans + agents, these companies scale rapidly, operate with agility, and generate value faster,” according to the report. Microsoft argued that within the next two to five years, every company will be on the journey to becoming one.
Microsoft said that 82% of leaders responded that this is a “pivotal” year to rethink key strategy and operations, while 81% said they expect agents to be “moderately or extensively” integrated into their AI strategies in the next 12 to 18 months.
The results are a culmination of survey data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn hiring and labor market trends, trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, and conversations with experts, and AI-native startups.
Microsoft expects the transition to the Frontier Firm to play out in three phases. The first, it said, is that AI will act as an assistant to streamline work tasks. Second is the addition of AI agents as “digital colleagues,” which can take on specific tasks. The third step calls for a lot more freedom: it’s when humans set direction for agents that run entire business processes and workflows, with the human checking in as needed.
It gives the example of a supply chain role. Agents can handle end-to-end logistics, while humans can guide the agents, resolve exceptions, and manage supplier relationships.
AI agents are still in the early days, but companies are placing big bets that agentic AI represents the next major frontier and are rapidly innovating. OpenAI recently released Operator, a tool that automates web-based tasks, along with Deep Research, which it says can gather information from across the web and summarize it into digestible reports. Amazon launched a model designed to take over a users web browser and perform simple tasks. Anthropic, the creator of Claude, and Google have also introduced AI agents.
“This shift is multifacetedevery industry and role will evolve differently as the technology diffuses across business and society,” the report said. “Just as the internet era created billions of new knowledge jobsfrom social media managers to UX designersthe AI era is already giving rise to new roles, with many more to come.”
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The 2025 spring selling season isnt shaping up the way publicly traded homebuilders had hoped. KB Home, a giant homebuilder, told investors on March 24th that the traditionally strong spring buying window was off to a weaker-than-anticipated start. Just days earlier, Lennar, the nations second-largest builder, had offered a similar readout on its March 21 earnings call.
Now, D.R. Hortonthe largest homebuilder in the U.S. and No. 120 on the Fortune 500is adding its voice to the chorus.
This years spring selling season started slower than expected as potential homebuyers have been more cautious due to continued affordability constraints and declining consumer confidence, D.R. Horton CEO Paul Romanowski told investors last week.
In response, the company has leaned more heavily on concessions in regions where for-sale housing inventory has risen most.
So were still dealing with a lot of the markets where weve seen the much written and talked about buildup in inventory,” Romanowski said. “Weve had to add a little more concessions in the process, dependingagain, similar to our wholesale marketon the competitive environment, market by market. But we still feel pretty good about that business.”
Despite macroeconomic factors like high mortgage rates and inflation concerns continuing to weigh on buyer confidence, Romanowski pointed to rising inventory levels in the housing market as the primary challenge facing D.R. Horton this spring.
I would say that the macro environment hasnt done a lot to change either the pace or the concessions as much as its been the availability of inventory in the market. We are moving through that inventory in a lot of the markets and the starts pace has been down,” he said.
The impact is evident in D.R. Hortons numbers: Net new orders are down 15% year-over-year. The companys South Central (which includes Texas), Southwest, and Southeast (which includes Florida) divisions posted the steepest year-over-year declines in new orders.
I think you look at our concentration in Texas and through Florida, and certainly when those markets are a little softer, its going to cause us to have fewer starts in those markets in response to market conditions, Romanowski told investors on April 17th.
As ResiClub has covered in great detail, the balance of power in many pockets of Florida and Texas has shifted from sellers to buyers as active housing inventory for sale there has climbed back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels.
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Still, not all of D.R. Hortons markets are weak, particularly those places where active inventory remains well below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
We have expanded our geographic footprint and have some newer markets that are seeing good stable activity without much supply and were expecting some of those markets to grow potentially beyond our expectations. So it really is a balance, but it is market to market and community to community across our platform, Romanowski said.
As D.R. Horton navigates a choppy 2025 housing landscape, its focus remains on managing inventory, adapting pricing strategies, and finding growth in less inventory saturated markets.
Go here to view all of ResiClubs six main takeaways from D.R. Hortons recent earnings.
Microsoft released its annual Work Trend Index report on Tuesday, which argued that 2025 is the year that companies stop simply experimenting with AI and start building it into key missions.
As part of its release, Microsoft put together a glossary that it says is comprised of “new terms to know for a new world of work.”
Here’s the list:
Agent: An AI-powered system that can reason, plan, and act to complete tasks or entire workflows autonomously, with human oversight at key moments.
Agent boss: A human manager of one or more agents.
Capacity gap: The deficit between business demands and the maximum capacity of humans alone to meet them.
Digital labor: AI or agents that can be purchased on demand to scale workforce capacity.
Frontier Firm: A company powered by intelligence on tap, human-agent teams, and a new role for everyone: agent boss.
Human-agent ratio: A new business metric that optimizes the balance of human oversight with agent efficiency on human-agent teams.
Intelligence resources: A function dedicated to managing digital labor on an organizational levelthink of it as a blend of IT and HR.
Work Chart: The next org chart, structured not around functional expertise but around jobs that need to be done.
The World Economic Forum, which runs an annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, says its board has given its unanimous support for an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by founder Klaus Schwab.The statement from the Geneva-based think tank and event organizer late on Tuesday came after a report published in the Wall Street Journal cited a whistleblower letter alleging financial and ethical misconduct by Schwab, 87, and his wife Hilde.The newspaper reported that the allegations were sent in an anonymous letter to the board last week and included claims that the Schwab family mixed their personal affairs with Forum resources.In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the Forum said its boardwhich includes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Jordan’s Queen Rania, and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde as membersagreed to a decision by its risk and audit committee to open the probe.“While the Forum takes these allegations seriously, it emphasizes that they remain unproven, and will await the outcome of the investigation to comment further,” the statement said.The AP was not immediately able to reach Schwab or a contact person for him.The allegations emerged two days after the WEF announced Schwab had retired “with immediate effect” as chairman, and that former Nestlé Chairman and CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was taking over as interim chairman.For decades, the Forum’s annual gathering in Davos has hosted top business executives, government leaders, academics, international organizations, cultural figures, sports legends, and celebrities to discuss government policy, deal-making, and current affairs.
Associated Press
Global shares mostly rose Wednesday, with markets showing relief after President Donald Trump indicated he won’t dismiss the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.1% in early trading to 7,480.99, while Germany’s DAX rose 2.5% to 21,820.14. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.6% to 8,461.24. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 1.5% at 39,960.00. S&P 500 futures rose 2.0% to 5,421.75.In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% to finish at 34,868.63. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3% to 7,920.50. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,525.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.4% to 222,072.62, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% to 3,296.36.Trump had previously said he could fire Fed chair Jerome Powell after the Fed paused cuts to short-term interest rates. But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”Investors were also cheered by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a Tuesday speech. He said the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war.“Of course, markets will continue to listen out for the latest White House rhetoric on tariffs and any hints of upcoming trade deals. As such, market direction will more likely than not continue to be dictated by Trump’s latest whims regarding tariffs and trade,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.The only prediction many Wall Street strategists are willing to make is that financial markets will likely continue to veer up and down as hopes rise and fall that Trump may negotiate deals with other countries to lower his tariffs. If no such deals come quickly enough, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global economic growth this year to 2.8%, down from 3.3%. A suite of better-than-expected profit reports from big U.S. companies, meanwhile, helped drive U.S. stocks higher.Also helping market sentiment was the announcement from Elon Musk that he will spend less time in Washington and more time running Tesla after his electric vehicle company reported a big drop in profits. Its results have been hurt by vandalism, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott amid a backlash to Musk’s oversight of cost-cutting efforts for the U.S. government.Tesla reported earnings after U.S. trading closed. Tesla’s quarterly profits fell from $1.39 billion to $409 million, far below analyst estimates.In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 80 cents to $64.47 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard added 81 cents to $68.25 a barrel.In currency trading, the U.S. dollar declined to 141.87 Japanese yen from 142.37 yen. The euro cost $1.1390, up from $1.1379. _AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.
Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
Thanksgiving may not arrive until November, but you wouldnt know it from perusing Donald Trumps social media feeds. Hes been giving thanks quite a lot lately. Thank you for your attention to this matter! is how the president has been closing some of his recent online dispatches.
Its a weirdly stiff expression. It carries the bureaucratic heft of an HR email about which snacks are now forbidden in the break room, or that of a lawyer signing off an email about a pressing document that wont e-sign itself. Given the source, though, it feels more like the boss reading all of America the riot act.
At least 10 of Trumps Truth Social posts in the past two months have ended this way, alternately confounding and delighting those who come upon them. Hes deployed the idiom so much, in fact, and in such unusual contexts, its now found a second life as a viral meme and multipurpose catchphrase.
me: *posts the longest, least-disciplined paragraph of rambling bullshit you have ever seen in your life*
also me: "thank you for your attention to this matter"— e.w. niedermeyer (@niedermeyer.online) April 17, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Based on the lack of respect you people have shown me, I am hereby raising the Tariff charge on my free mix videos to 125%, effective immediately.Thank you for your attention to this matter! pic.twitter.com/UHNoyDPZKW— DJ Mek (@DeeJayMek) April 10, 2025
Although Trumps fondness for the expression, abbreviated from here on out as TYFYATTM, goes back at least as far as a 2019 Twitter rant about China, hes only recently cemented it as a Trumpism. Theres no obvious rhyme or reason for which posts he chooses to grace with a TYFYATTM. Its popped up when Trump makes an announcement (like the extension of TikToks grace period to find a new buyer), when he makes an ultimatum (like the demand for an apology from Maine Governor Janet Mills, which went unrequited), and when he makes his scathing opinion known about a person, place, or thing (like he did most recently in an April 16 screed about Harvard).
The purpose of “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” is open to interpretation, but there are hints in Trumps posts about what he might mean by it.
Please let this notification serve to represent that the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and all other Law Enforcement Agencies within our Country have been so notified, he wrote in a Truth Social post in March about Venezuela, before adding a TYFYATTM. Perhaps the same disclaimer is implied for all other posts that end this way, a reminder that if Trump felt compelled to do so, he could cancel a companys contract via tweet, as he once did with Boeing.
The cold formality of TYFYATTM seems meant to distinguish one of Trumps many daily dispatches as Official Business, something to be considered with utmost seriousness. It doesnt always get the job done. In one instance, Trump dropped a TYFYATTM after merely mentioning that hed had a conversation with Canadian PM Mark Carney, perhaps out of habit. (Although its certainly possible that Trumps team uses the strange phrase when posting on his behalf, now that its become a signature line.)
TYFYATTM fuses together formality with urgency, conveying that something must be done! Whether he intends to or not, by addressing readers directly, Trump involves them. TYFYATTM brings them into breaking news, like when late-night talk show hosts precede a monologue joke with, Did you hear about this? Some readers might even feel deputized by the phraseeven if all they have to do is hate Harvard a little more than before. On the other hand, Trump may just understand that people like being thankedeven when they havent done anything.
In any case, whether through marketing prowess or sheer force of will and repetition, Trump has quickly lodged his new catchphrase within the cultural vernacular.
People on X and Bluesky have been using it as a goofy mock-signoff for decidedly unofficial proclamations.
QUITE ENJOYED THIS BUILDINGS PROPORTIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! pic.twitter.com/BPDxcTC69j— Harry Wilkin$ (@hs_wilkins) April 10, 2025
Hard pass. Thank you for your attention to this matter.— Jen Jennings (@jenjennings.bsky.social) 2025-04-21T15:27:20.318Z
My prices will continue to be whatever I feel like charging whenever I feel like charging it.Thank you for your attention in this matter.All hail The Queen of Rats.— Tengushee (@Tengushee) April 15, 2025
And of course, plenty of others have been using it just to mock the president outright.
My understanding is that while we were not clear on OpSec over the weekend, we are now. Thank you for your attention to this matter.— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) 2025-04-21T14:43:33.665Z
[ the dumbest shit you've ever read in your life ] Thank you for your attention to this matter!— Ian Boudreau (@ianboudreau.com) 2025-04-16T17:29:16.132Z
Thank you for your attention to this matter!— Mark Harris (@markharris.bsky.social) 2025-04-21T20:47:30.278Z
During Trumps first term, he minted a Duolingo lessons worth of catchphrases on Twitter that were similarly mocked and imitated into ubiquity. Considering it is somehow still less than 100 days into round two, there are likely many such cases still to come.
Unfortunately for Trump, he doesnt get any originality points for “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Snarky expressions of gratitude invoking the president are kind of old hat by now. (Thanks, Obama!)
Struggling pharmacy chain Rite Aid may be preparing to file for a second bankruptcy and sell itself in pieces, according to a new report. The plans would come just a year after Rite Aid emerged from its prior bankruptcy proceedings. Heres what you need to know.
Whats happened?
A report from Bloomberg yesterday said that the pharmacy chain Rite Aid was preparing to file for a second bankruptcy. Rite Aid previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023, from which it emerged last year in 2024.
But now Bloombergs report suggests that Rite Aid’s reorganization in that bankruptcy wasnt enough to help the retailer put its struggles behind it.
Rite Aid is reportedly “running low on cash” reserves, according to Bloomberg, and heading towards another bankruptcy. This time, the pharmacy chain will reportedly sell itself in pieces as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
Bloomberg said Rite Aid is strapped for liquidity and will pursue a debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan to keep itself funded during the bankruptcy process. The publication cited people with knowledge of the situation as the source of the bankruptcy news.
Fast Company has reached out to Rite Aid for comment on the report. We also asked whether more store closures are planned and whether the pharmacy has any guidance for customers who get their medication at Rite Aid. We will update this story if we hear back.
As part of its second bankruptcy, Rite Aid will reportedly sell certain locations to bidders, while others will be closed permanently.
Rite Aid store closures in 2025
As part of its first bankruptcy two years ago, Rite Aid closed hundreds of stores in order to help restructure its business and get its finances in order. That bankruptcy was fueled by numerous financial woes, including declining revenue, more competition, and the costs associated with fighting opioid lawsuits.
But emerging from the previous Chapter 11 now appears not to have done enough to help the companys financial footing. Bloomberg says that like many retailers, including Joann and Party City, Rite Aid has still struggled with customers who are cutting back on their spending as well as higher interest rates.
As of now, Rite Aid has not publicly confirmed its second bankruptcy plans or announced any swath of store closures.
However, over the past several weeks, a number of local media outlets have reported on individual Rite Aid store closings in their area.
For example, the Asbury Park Press on Tuesday reported that the Rite Aid at South Main Street in Neptune Township, New Jersey, would be closing effective today, April 23. A Rite Aid representative confirmed the closure to the outlet, stating, While we have had to make difficult business decisions over the past several months to improve our business and optimize our retail footprint, we are committed to becoming financially and operationally healthy.
Similarly, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported on April 17 that the Rite Aid at 14th and Wilshire in Santa Monica, California, would be closing in May. A sign posted to the door of that Rite Aid store said, Thank you for trusting us with your health. On May 29th we will be moving your prescription to CVS on 1411 Lincoln Blvd.
A day earlier, on April 16, the Central Oregon Daily News reported that Rite Aid would be closing its south-side store in Bend, Oregon. The outlet said Rite Aid employees confirmed the store would be closed and its inventory merged with Bends only other Rite Aid on the north side of the city. The closure was reported to be part of a company-wide consolidation effort.
How many Rite Aid stores are left in 2025?
According to Rite Aids store location listings, the pharmacy chain has 1,247 Rite Aids left in the United States.
Those stores span 15 states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
However, as of this writing, the three stores reported to be closing above are still listed, and there is no indication in online listings that the stores have been marked for closure.
What that means is that Rite Aid will soon have less than its currently listed 1,247 in the United States. Just how many Rite Aids will remain if the reports of its second bankruptcy plans are accurate remains to be seen.
Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Companys mini-advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions.
Q: What should I do about a coworker who dresses inappropriately at work? A: My first instinct is to advise you to keep it to yourself. Commenting on someones appearance is fraught and how someone dresses or styles their hair, etc. very often falls into the category of none of your business.But, there are nuances and circumstances where something is actually inappropriate. Before you say anything, run though these checks:
Does your workplace have an official dress code policy?
Not all workplaces do, and many are unhelpfully vague. (After all, who actually knows what business casual means?) If there is a policy and it states a guideline that your coworker is very clearly violating, you can bring the issue to the persons manager or HR to handle.
Consider what is truly ‘inappropriate’
Just because you think sweatpants are unprofessional doesnt mean you need to police others clothing choices. Issues with appearance usually only rise to the level of intervention in a few scenarios.
For example, if someone is in a client- or customer-facing role and there is an expectation to dress formally when meeting a client, or to dress in a way that respects the culture in the place you are doing business. Or if there is a need to dress safely for workplace hazards (like closed-toe shoes on a construction site, for example).
Among internal colleagues, the only reason to intervene is if their appearance is causing a legitimate issue in a workplace. Clothing with political messages or graphic images likely falls in the same bucket as displaying similar content at your deskif its not allowed there, its not allowed on your body.As for inappropriate in the context of “too revealing,” tread very lightly and ask yourself if its more of a you problem than a them problem. Theres a long sexist history of rules around womens appearance at workfrom requiring things like high heels and skirts to punishing women for dressing in a way that distracts men. If you truly think that someones appearance is holding them back from getting a promotion or being taken seriously, you can have a conversation with them where you dont blame or shame them.Want some more advice on dress codes at work? Here you go:
This is why we need to end dress codes for work
How to dress for every stage of your career
Managers, this is how to encourage new employees to adopt a more formal dress code
Do dress codes at the office work?
This months legal dustup between NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. over trademark rights to the number 8 may have amounted to little more than a tempest in a teapot, but it has drawn attention to a rarely considered topic in branding and marketing: the use of numbers in brand names and logos. Why might a seemingly arbitrary number like 8or 27 or 63, for that matterbe worth fighting over? And are some numbers worth more than others?
Obviously, numbers are at an important disadvantage compared to letters when it comes to their use as trademarks. While an initial letter can stand for any word that it begins with, numbers are much more constrained in their ability to represent a range of meanings. This helps explain why an examination of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records shows that, over time, there have been a total of 7,183 trademark applications for logos consisting solely of a stylized letter Awhether traditional or crossbar-lesswhile the most popular number (1, naturally) has garnered just 466 such logo applications.
So its rare for numbers to stand alone as trademarks. They often serve as supporting elements in brand names, (Heinz 57, Phillips 66), or worse (Nikes would-be moniker, Dimension 6). USPTO data reveals, surprisingly, that in trademarks that are simply names, with no graphic elements, the most commonly used number between 0 and 100 is 2, which edges ahead of 1 perhaps in part due to its ability to represent the word to in a name. Next come 4, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 100, with poor number 8so hotly contested by Jackson and Earnhardtrelegated to 11th place. The bottom of the list is populated by the apparently uninspiring 87, 67, 82, 89, and, last of all, 83.
Some numbers are able to function as trademarks by playing off meanings that have already been baked into them. Both the NBAs Philadelphia 76ers and 76 gas stations (shortened from the more descriptive Union 76) strike patriotic chords by referring to the U.S.s 1776 founding (although the latter also nods to the fuels original 76 octane rating). When no such meaning is obvious, numbers used as trademarks are like empty vessels that can be laden with significance only through some combination of time and heavy brand lifting. Take 84 Lumber: Its name is essentially arbitrary, stemming from the companys location in the village of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, which itself is named after . . . well, no one is quite sure. But after 69 years in business, 84 Lumber more or less owns the number 84.
Part of the appeal of such seemingly random numbers is their mystery, and the accompanying tease that they might hold some secret meaning. This explains the popularity of the use of area codes as trademarks, and hints at why Rolling Rock continues to emblazon a 33 on each of its beer bottles.
But for brands more interested in distinctiveness than riddles, perhaps the best way to employ a number as a trademark is to express it in the form of a unique logo design, making it not a mere number, but a stylized numeral. The result can be a powerful symbol, particularly for types of businesses where identifying numbers have an outsize importance, like television stations (see WABC New Yorks 63-year-old Circle 7 mark), banks (Cincinnatis Fifth Third Bank has a delightful improper fraction for a logo), and, yes, racing concerns like NASCAR (where Dale Jr. emerged from his recent kerfuffle with the rights to the iconic Budweiser 8). Adopting an unusual design motif can help a brand lay claim to even the most common of numerals, as Builders FirstSource has done with its oddly tilted 1.
As noted above, 1 is the most prevalent stylized logo number in the USPTOs files. After that, though, come 7 and the coveted 8, suggesting a particular visual appeal in the form of these numerals. Following along are 3, 5, 2, 4, 9, and 6, before the first double-digit number, the aforementioned 76. Repeating digits seem popular in logos; 33 comes in at 14th, and 99 at 19th, for instance. Meanwhile, the most unpopular numbers are 71, 87, and 94, with only one logo trademark application apiece. But perhaps in these unloved numbers there are opportunities for brands to acquire an ownable set of digits that they wont have to tussle over.
There is no bad seat at Cercle Odyssey. In fact, there are no seats. Within the rectangular structure, screens project an art film inspired by Homers Odyssey, made especially for the concert. In the center of the space, world-famous electronic musiciansfrom Moby to Black Coffeeperform for a crowd of 5,000 fans. As the worlds first 360-degree immersive concert installation, its a FOMO-inducing Instagram story waiting to happen. Thing is, phones arent allowed inside (theyre secured in pouches at check-in). Instead, theres no choice other than to be present.
Cercle Odyssey is the latest project from Cercle, a French company known for producing livestream DJ sets from exotic locales. The pop-up concert series begins April 23 and runs through June 1 starting in Mexico City, then moving to Los Angeles and Parisplaces where Cercle founder Derek Barbolla says the brands strongest online fan communities are based. Each city will host 10 events across five days (two shows per day, at 5 and 9:30 p.m.). Tickets start at $180 in the U.S.
I was equal parts blown away and baffled by what theyre [Cercle] doing with immersive spaces, says Moby, who will perform at Cercle Odyssey in Los Angeles. Ill be performing but Ill also probably spend half of my time on stage just looking at the visuals.
[Rendering: Courtesy of Cercle]
The project is a natural evolution for Cercle, whose YouTube videos attract millions of viewers to watch artists perform from ancient pyramids, historic monumentseven a hot-air balloon. While top-tier talent is part of the appeal for dance music fans, ticket prices are notably higher than what you’d pay to see the same artists at a similar-size venue. What sets this experience apart is the visual component, a concept Barbolla says Cercle invested 3 million euros (nearly $3.5 million) to develop and produce.
The five screens throughout the structurewhich measures 164 feet long and 33 feet highstream in 8K resolution; 72 speakers by French audio company L-Acoustics line the venue. While the structure will be built to the same specs in each city, equipment is rented locally to support regional vendors and reduce excess cargo.
[Rendering: Courtesy of Cercle]
The (dialogue-free) film that will screen during the live performances was inspired by The Odyssey and shot over six months on four continents. I consider this a feature film, says director Neels Castillon, who came up with the concept after revisiting the epic poem and seeing images he imagined pairing to music. He began writing a script that focuses on two men and two women, each portraying a version of the protagonist Ulysses. The film spans icebergs, sand dunes, ocean, and forest across Iceland, Namibia, Tahiti, and Bolivia.
Filmed entirely with human actors and no AI or digital art, the visuals at Cercle Odyssey stand in stark contrast to the futuristic, animated aesthetics of shows like Anyma at Sphere or Eric Prydzs HOLO. Despite those shows popularity, Cercle deliberately chose a more organic, story-driven approach. When you see visuals from the Sphere in Las Vegas, to me, its impressive for the first 10 minutes, then you lose interest because it’s not a film and there are no narratives, there is no storytelling, says Castillon.
[Rendering: Courtesy of Cercle]
At each show, the arrangement of scenes will vary, modularly adapted based on feedback from each artist. Castillon originally wrote 20 scenes for Odyssey, but ended up filming more than 80, resulting in 47 hours of footage and a near infinite combination for artists to select from. Whether the storyline will be discernible by audience members remains to be seen, but Cercle and Castillon believe that either way the human element of the film will touch concertgoers in a unique way.
So much emphasis on an immersive, multisensory experience feels at odds with the concerts no-phones policy. Allowing attendees to share their experience could boost ticket sales and drive desire for another run of shows, but Barbolla is willing to take the risk for Cercles greater mission. In this increasingly over-connected world, we end up spending more time sharing our experiences online than truly enjoying them. We are so focused on recording our lives that we forget to actually live them, Barbolla says.
And if, after a few hours of phoneless bliss, youre still yearning to post about the experience, once the show finishes, a folder of professional videos are sent via email. You get to be fully present and still post clips that are better than anything you could capture on an iPhone mid-dance.
