Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Allen Lau of Wattpad in conversation with bestselling author Novoneel Chakraborty

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword> have already generated millions for artists, breaking digital art records.</li><li><keyword id="10871093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-art">Crypto art</keyword> could expand the <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword> industry's $11 billion market.</li><li>Artists can claim independent revenue by selling NFTs on their own, cutting out major labels.</li></ul>Crypto art could soon upend the music industry.The sale of digital assets - also known as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">non-fungible tokens or NFTs</a> - has already generated millions for artists and could change the power structure and profitability of the music industry.The US music industry generated about $11 billion in 2019 - a number that pales in comparison to other industries, including the US film industry which generated $35.3 billion the same year, according to <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/964/film/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20movie%20industry,dollars%20in%20revenue%20in%202019.">data from Statista.</a> What's more, a lot of the revenue is <a href="https://www.thebalancecareers.com/big-three-record-labels-2460743">controlled</a> from the top-down by three major record labels: Sony, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.Crypto art could become a huge independent revenue source for musicians. Sites that sell crypto art have brought in over $1 billion in the past 30 days, according to<a href="https://www.cryptoslam.io/"> CryptoSlam</a>.Music industry expert <a href="https://www.cheriehu.com/">Cherie Hu</a> told Insider crypto art could become a primary source of income for many musicians. "NFTs could save the music industry," Hu told Insider. "We're just a year out from many artists losing their No. 1 source of income. Artists can't make enough on streaming alone. They need to find a better way to make money."Even the most prominent artists receive much of their income from touring, a sector that has been all but eliminated during the pandemic. On average, artists generate about 75% of their income via concerts, according to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9444159/kanye-west-ariana-grande-musicians-forbes-highest-paid-celebrities-2020">Billboard</a>. Revenue from streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music is marginal at best. In February, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-does-spotify-pay-per-stream#:~:text=With%20that%20part%20of%20their,0054">Insider found Spotify paid artists between $.033 and $.0054 per stream</a>. At this rate, an artist needs about 250 streams to earn a single dollar.Many musicians and groups including Steve Aoki, Halsey, <keyword id="2815009" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Shawn-Mendes">Shawn Mendes</keyword>, and Kings of Leon have already released or announced plans to sell their own lines of digital art, after several artists proved NFTs can be a lucrative business. Musicians can auction digital artwork, including 3-D images, unreleased music, videos, and tokens <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-marketplaces-where-to-buy-sell-non-fungible-tokens-online-2021-3">across a variety of crypto platforms</a> in exchange for cryptocurrencies like ether and WAX. <keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword> items are designed to cater to fans who want to personally support artists and have sold for anywhere from $20 to nearly $70 million.In March, electronic music producer <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/musician-3lau-sells-the-worlds-first-ever-crypto-albums-making-11-6-million-in-under-24-hours/articleshow/81299024.cms">3LAU generated over $11.6 million in under 24 hours</a> selling crypto versions of his album. The same week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">Grimes made $5.8 million in under 20 minutes</a> selling her artwork online.Last week, digital artist <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/tech-insider/this-digital-art-just-sold-for-nearly-dollar70-million-the-highest-crypto-art-sale-in/wj60yjq">Beeple made history when he sold his artwork for nearly $70 million.</a><h2>There are two musicians leading the charge into NFT territory</h2><div type="image" title="RAC sold what is likely the most expensive cassette tape ever as an NFT" height="411" width="548" msid="81617458" hostid="261"></div>While many artists are only just hearing about the possibilities of crypto art, Grammy winning producer André Allen Anjos - known in the music industry as RAC - has been experimenting with NFTs for years. He told Insider they first captured his attention in 2017. Since, RAC has been able to generate a steady stream of income from selling NFTs, including selling what is likely the most expensive cassette tape of all time as an NFT in May. Prices for the tape skyrocketed from $20 to over $13,000 a piece in a matter of months.Justin Blau, also known as 3LAU, said he has been involved in the crypto world since 2018. Over the past few months his NFT sales have continued to pick up steam going from sales in the hundreds to selling a single item on Nfty Gateway for over <a href="https://niftygateway.com/itemdetail/primary/0xc92ca2b5b8a996ad2a6fdd97c6d7ed038e61c7222/1">$1.3 million last week</a>. Steve Aoki's manager Matt Colon told Insider when it comes to crypto, many musicians are trying to replicate RAC and 3LAU's success, but haven't been able to come close."Everyone looked at 3LAU and thought they could do better," Anjos told Insider. "They come into this space thinking celebrity has anything to do with it. It doesn't. The reason why Justin did so well is because he's been in the space for a while. I've been able to punch above my weight because I've been involved for a long time, people in the crypto world know that."<h2>NFTs could take power away from major labels</h2><div type="image" title="3LAU" height="3017" width="4034" msid="81617459" hostid="261"></div>Colon told Insider NFTs could change the power dynamics between artists and their labels.Traditional contracts with record labels can allow the companies to take about 80% of an artist's earnings from album sales and streaming, according to a <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-major-labels-generated-over-1-5bn-more-from-streaming-in-2018-than-they-did-in-the-previous-year/">report</a> from Music Business Worldwide.The relationship between labels and artists has long been contested. Big names like <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/entertainment/taylor-swift-fight-album-big-machine-label-group/index.html">Taylor Swift</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/18/jay-z-the-genius-thing-i-did-starting-out-in-music-business.html">Jay-Z</a>, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/prince-fought-big-labels-ownership-artistic-control-n560161">Prince</a> have spoken out in the past on how labels can take advantage of young artists."NFTs are built on decentralization, connecting fans directly with creators," Colon said. "The current systems in place are opaque and antiquated. NFTs cut out the middleman."Crypto arts gives more power to independent artists like RAC. He is in the process of creating his own NFT agency called "6" after being swamped with calls from artists asking how they can get into the crypto space. Ultimately, Anjos says crypto art is one way artists can turn a sizable profit without a major label trying to take a cut."You can make a very good living on this by just being creative," Anjos told Insider. "It's something we as musicians have really never had before because we have this very entrenched system where three major labels just run the show. By cutting them out we can capture more of that value for ourselves."Even after the NFT initial sale, artists can continue to collect royalties on future sales of their products as most platforms offer creators between a 10% to 15% cut of any future sales.While Hu is doubtful major labels will be cut out entirely, she and Blau agree the additional stream of revenue for artists will force many labels to cut back on more "predatory" strategies. "They could provide more incentive for labels to better serve artists," Hu told Insider. "Artists will likely be asking themselves 'Is my label doing the best job at maximizing the value of my relationship with fans? Do they deserve a cut of these NFTs?'"<h2>"It's a gold rush," Colon told Insider</h2><div type="image" title="3LAU Ultraviolet NFT collection" height="447" width="596" msid="81617461" hostid="261"></div>CAA music agent Hunter Williams told Insider the agency is actively considering which clients would benefit from NFT opportunities. Another CAA agent, Phil Quist, said the digital assets could revolutionize the relationship between artists and their fans.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-startups-non-fungible-tokens-the-art-world-2021-3">Here are 4 NFT startups transforming the way we buy art and sports memorabilia</a>"What started as an experiment in decentralization has led to barriers being broken down between artists and fans, leading to real revenue streams for artists, and allowing almost any content to be tokenized," Quist told Insider. "This could be the beginning stages of a switch from fans having a parasocial relationship with their artists to being able to invest in artists directly in various forms, which inevitably will enhance true fandom."Colon told Insider many artists trying to capitalize on the trend are making obvious money grabs, but creators that are trying to authentically interact with fans have a distinct advantage.<h2>Not all NFTs are created equal</h2><div type="image" title="RAC NFT on SuperRare" height="545" width="952" msid="81617462" hostid="261"></div>NFT releases from popular groups like Kings of Leon largely flopped - generating about <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/kings-of-leon-have-generated-2million-from-nft-sales-of-their-new-album-2899349">$2 million</a> from its collection in comparison to 3LAU's $11.3 million. Similarly, <a href="https://opensea.io/assets/genies?search[resultModel]=ASSETS&amp;search[sortAscending]=false&amp;search[sortBy]=VIEWER_COUNTER_COUNT">Shawn Mendes' NFTs</a> are selling on average for only a couple thousand dollars a piece. Hu said many artists don't understand what the crypto space is looking for."Some artists understand what the crypto world wants, others just copy and paste their brand into crypto," Hu told Insider. "A lot of the successful NFT drops are pretty weird. They're meant to be abstract and would likely be dismissed or overlooked in mainstream media, but it's what the crypto community is looking for."Artists like <keyword id="358602" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Grimes">Grimes</keyword>, RAC, 3LAU, and Steve Aoki have found success because they gave buyers something they could not find anywhere else.Anjos told Insider when he makes an NFT its reverent, he's "targeting a museum experience on your screen."While there are still a lot of kinks to be figured out in the NFT world, including the potential for copyright infringement, fraud, and theft, many managers and agents including Quist and Williams say the space has huge potential for artists."I don't think we've even seen the tip of celebrities getting involved in this." Hu told Insider.

Crypto art could become a primary source of income for musicians and potentially cut out major labels

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword> have generated billions of dollars and one <keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword> sold for nearly $70 million.</li><li>Many people question whether the digital assets will maintain their value over time.</li><li>Some investors compare the NFT boom to the dawn of the internet.</li></ul>In the past month, people have spent over $1 billion on digital assets, according to data from <a href="https://cryptoslam.io/">CryptoSlam.</a><keyword id="10871093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-art">Crypto art</keyword> has been around for over half a decade, but for many people outside of the crypto world, these digital assets, known as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">non-fungible tokens or NFTs</a>, have seemingly come out of nowhere.So, what's driving people to get in on the NFT mania, <keyword id="35175" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="investing">investing</keyword> anywhere from hundreds of dollars, to in some cases, millions? Crypto <keyword id="1105" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="art">art</keyword> investors say it's a combination of several factors, including the pandemic, as well as the rise in bitcoin prices.In the past few months crypto artists have been drawing more attention than ever before to NFT marketplaces with flashy sales.Last week, digital artist Mike Winkelmann - more commonly known as Beeple - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-auction-nft-beeple-top-selling-most-expensive-sale-millions-2021-3">made history when he sold a crypto art piece for nearly $70 million.</a> Other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">artists like Grimes</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-ultraviolet-3lau-first-ever-crypto-albums-sales-11-million-2021-3">3LAU have also made millions</a> in a matter of hours dropping crypto-art collections.On Monday, at the mere suggestion of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-hes-selling-nft-2021-3">Tesla CEO Elon Musk selling his own digital asset</a>, bids for the piece topped $1 million, before <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-nft-non-fungible-token-tweet-for-1-million-2021-3-1030218330">Musk turned down the offer.</a>Creators and buyers alike have seen significant profit from crypto art. In February, Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile first showed just how lucrative the market can be when he resold a piece by Beeple for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-nft-beeple-blockchain-pieces-sell-for-millions-2021-3">nearly 1,000% increase over its original price.</a><h2>Why are people buying NFTs now?</h2>Rodriguez-Fraile told Insider the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-price-surges-record-60000-stimulus-hopes-institutional-support-2021-3-1030188023">surging price of Bitcoin</a>, impact of the pandemic, and distrust in the US dollar created a perfect storm.Last week, Bitcoin hit a record high, topping $60,000. Since the pandemic started more people have been saving money. 59% of people with an income over $100,000 significantly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-americans-saving-more-during-pandemic-k-shaped-recovery-2021-1">boosted their savings in 2020</a>. As faith in the US dollar seems to be at an all-time low, NFTs could be another way for people to invest."People have long used art to store value," Rodriguez-Fraile told Insider. "Crypto extends easily into digital art. This is just a more modern approach to investing in art and using it like someone would use gold or bitcoin."He thinks the NFT boom was accelerated by the pandemic, but ultimately inevitable - a product of the tech boom that younger generations would have eventually driven anyway.For many artists, especially in the <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword> industry, multi-million dollar sales by 3LAU and Grimes have captured the spotlight and created a sort of gold rush, but for buyers the reasoning is less clear.<h2>Will NFTs maintain their value?</h2>Investor Gary Vaynerchuk, the CEO of VaynerMedia, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/investor-gary-vaynerchuk-says-nfts-are-like-the-dot-com-bubble">told CoinDesk</a> he believes NFTs are operating under a bubble, but it doesn't mean they won't have staying power."A lot of people talked about the internet being a fad," Vaynerchuk said. "In reality, the internet was this game-changing revolution of technology, but a lot of the early projects were just overpriced on the excitement."Even Winkelmann admits NFTs are likely overinflated."If it's not a bubble now, I do believe it probably will be a bubble at some point because there's just so many people rushing into this space," Winkelmann told CoinDesk.<h2>What do you get when you buy an NFT?</h2>When someone buys an NFT they gain the rights to the unique token, but only on the blockchain. If someone buys a image or meme, they can own it on the blockchain, but they have no control over rights to its distribution.When you buy an NFT in most cases you're not buying content, but rather a token that connects your name with the creator's art on the blockchain.However, the digital tokens operate on the same deflationary principles as bitcoin. NFTs cannot be duplicated, can be easily authenticated, and are immutable, but there's no surefire way to know whether they will maintain their value over time.Billionaire <keyword id="219358" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mark-Cuban">Mark Cuban</keyword> told Insider buying NFTs is about scarcity."The buyer knows how many will be made and has blockchain proof of ownership," Cuban told Insider.Cuban has been a proponent of NFT investing, from buying NBA Top Shot clips to <a href="https://cryptoslate.com/mark-cuban-invests-undisclosed-sum-in-nft-platform-mintable/">investing in Mintable</a>, a community-controlled digital-asset marketplace.The CEO of SuperRare, another NFT site, told Insider people are motivated to buy NFTs because it provides a unique connection to the creator that does not exist with any other art form.Crypto art has also spawned entire communities online. <a href="https://www.kapwing.com/resources/how-to-create-and-sell-nft-crypto-art/">Robert Martin, a senior content strategist at Kapwing</a>, told Insider there's a lot of pressure right now to buy and even create your own NFTs within the crypto community. <h2>NFT buyers are not necessarily fans</h2>Music Industry expert Cherie Hu told Insider an artist's fan base does not dictate their NFT sales. How could it? How many fans would be able to drop thousands if not millions of dollars on a single digital token?Musician Justin Blau, known by his stage name 3LAU, and André Allen Anjos, known as RAC, have been members of the crypto community for over half a decade. They told Insider a lot of their buyers are already investors in the crypto world. As artists they make a point of buying other creators' NFTs as well."The crypto community creates and sells these artworks for each other," Hu told Insider.While NFT investors hardly account for a large portion of a creator's fanbase, involvement from outside the crypto community is on the rise.Platforms like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-top-shot-virtual-highlights-for-sale-moments-blockchain-explained-2021-2">NBA Top Shot are spreading awareness</a> and present broader audience appeal. Hu told Insider that she believes the NFT space will continue to grow, but will need to become more accessible in order to generate mainstream appeal.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-startups-non-fungible-tokens-the-art-world-2021-3">Here are 4 NFT startups transforming the way we buy art and sports memorabilia</a>NFTs still face several barriers to mass adoption. Most NFT marketplaces require buyers to use a crypto wallet. Only about $70 million people - less than 1% of the world's population - have a crypto wallet, according to <a href="https://www.blockchain.com/charts/my-wallet-n-users">Blockchain.com. </a>Creators and buyer also have to deal with gas fees associated with minting and buying a product off the blockchain. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-investing-crypto-art-what-is-a-gas-fee-explained-2021-3">These hidden fees can cost hundreds of dollars.</a>Co-founders of NFT platform Nifty Gateway, Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster have been working to make digital assets more attainable for the general public. They are one of few platforms that allow users to buy NFTs off the site using their credit card."We're trying to make a space where anyone can be an art collector," Griffin Cock Foster told Insider. Rodriguez-Fraile said NFTs represent the future of the art world."A few years from now this could just be how people own art," he told Insider.

We talked to crypto-art investors to figure out what's driving people to spend millions on NFTs, despite no guarantee their value will increase

<ul><li>Wattpad has 70 million users globally, and 2.6 million of them were <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/people/wattpad-appoints-devashish-sharma-as-india-head/66964720">reportedly</a> in India as of the end of 2018. </li><li>Wattpad uses machine learning to discover stand-out stories among the over 565 million stories on its platform. </li><li>The partnership with Times Bridge will help the company boost its presence in India and reach new users.</li></ul>The Toronto, Canada-based online publishing platform Wattpad has tied up with Times Bridge*, the global investments and partnerships arm of The Times Group, to grow its presence in India and reach new users. Aside from offering the publishing platform like Amazon and Fictionpress.com, Wattpad has created a community for writers. There are forums and contests to engage with peers around the world. Winners of these contests have been known to find publishers. "My Life with the Walter Boys" by Ali Novak, "The Kissing Booth" by Beth Reekles, and "Nothing Left to Lose" by Kristy Moresely, found publishers for the paperback versions through Wattpad, according to a review on another online publishing platform Odyssey. Novak’s work, for instance, had 33 million reads even before it got published, <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Life-Walter-Boys-Ali-Novak/dp/1402297866">according</a> to Amazon. That was the reach of Wattpad in 2014. Wattpad uses machine learning to discover stand-out stories among the over 565 million stories on its platform, the company said in a statement. In 2018, it also tied up with Sony, online streaming service iflix, TV show producers Huayi Brothers Korea and Bavaria Fiction, and the US cable television channel SYFY to turn many of the stories into books, TV shows, films, and digital projects. Wattpad has 70 million users globally, and 2.6 million of them were <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/people/wattpad-appoints-devashish-sharma-as-india-head/66964720">reportedly</a> in India as of the end of 2018. And its founder Allen Lau, an electrical engineer turned entrepreneur, wants more of the Indian pie. The India outreach will be led by country manager Devashish Sharma, who was <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/devashishsharma/?originalSubdomain=in">part</a> of the founding team at CoHo, one of India’s co-living companies founded in 2015. Wattpad’s partnership with Times Group, one of the biggest media conglomerates in India, will also be an advantage. “Wattpad is a bold, proven idea that has changed how audiences around the world create and experience stories. Our investment will advance Wattpad’s mission, and original storytelling, across the Indian subcontinent, unlocking the creativity of many millions along the way,” Rishi Jaitly, the CEO of Times Bridge, said. Times Bridge’s previous investments include Uber, Airbnb, Coursera, Houzz, MUBI and Smule among others. In January 2018, Wattpad raised $51 million from Chinese investment giant Tencent, Globe Telecom’s Kickstart Ventures, Peterson Group, Canso, and existing investor Raine. *Times Bridge is also a partner in Business Insider India See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-will-groom-these-10-indian-startups-that-use-ai-and-machine-learning/articleshow/68384856.cms">Google will groom these 10 Indian startups that use AI and machine learning</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Spotify-got-a-million-Indians-to-try-its-app-in-a-week-but-they-will-only-stay-if-the-price-is-right/articleshow/68297160.cms">Spotify got a million Indians to try its app in a week — but they will only stay if the price is right</a>

Tencent-backed Wattpad has tied up with Times Bridge to woo more Indian writers and readers

<div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image">iTunes</div></div>Wattpad, an app used by 25 million people to create 150,000 stories per day, is now worth $67 million <a href="http://recode.net/2014/04/08/vcs-plow-46m-more-into-writing-community-wattpad/">reports Re/code</a>.
The app only had 8 million users two years ago, but there were two motivating factors for the recent infusion of capital: the growth and the loyalty of the writers and readers.
You can find all kinds of stories on Wattpad: romance, science fiction, fantasy and even stories about the band One Direction. Writers can upload their stories chapter by chapter. Members of the Wattpad community can leave comments on each chapter to provide suggestions on where the story could go.
Wattpad CEO Allen Lau told Re/code that 85% of the usage comes from mobile devices. Most of that time was spent reading, but Lau said that a surprising number of writers were using mobile devices to create their stories, as well.
Investors have referred to the app as the "YouTube of Writing." In an interview with <a href="http://gigaom.com/2012/06/06/wattpad-raises-17-million-to-become-the-youtube-of-writing/">GigaOm's Matthew Ingram</a>, one of Wattpad's primary investors Andrew Chung explained how this could be used as a tool for discovering new writers:
You're able to upload a story chapter by chapter, folks are able to comment on that chapter, and they can provide encouragement to the writer and actually signal where they'd like want the story to go, which creates a type of engagement that's impossible in an offline context. There's a very strong parallel to the way that YouTube was able to do that for amateur or user-generated video content.
This could become a powerful tool for finding the next popular author, but Lau explained to Re/code that the focus would be on building user growth for now. Paid products and native advertising could be coming down the line
You can download the app for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/free-books-wattpad-ebook-reader/id306310789?mt=8">iOS</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=wp.wattpad">Android</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wattpad-Unlimited-Stories/dp/B004K56MNU">Kindle</a>.

An App That Lets You Write Fan Fiction About The Band One Direction Raised Another $46 Million

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Denis BalibouseChief Executive Tidjane Thiam of Swiss bank Credit Suisse speaks during the Forum 100 conference in Lausanne, Switzerland May 19, 2016.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Credit Suisse promotes 173 staff globally to the role of managing director.</li><li>18% of those promoted were women.</li><li>"At Credit Suisse, we believe that progress is driven by people who take responsible ownership of their decisions and actions," the bank said in a memo.</li></ul>Credit Suisse is the latest bank to announce its annual round of promotions, saying it has made over 170 people globally managing directors at the firm.173 staff serving clients in around 50 countries worldwide were given the promotion, according to an internal document viewed by Business Insider. All promotions will be effective from January 1 next year.18% of those promoted were women, <a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/here-are-credit-suisses-new-managing-directors-20181217">according to a report from Financial News.</a>Geographically speaking, 98 of those promoted were in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 35 of those based in the bank's London office."At Credit Suisse, we believe that progress is driven by people who take responsible ownership of their decisions and actions," the bank said in a memo."Today we are proud to introduce our new Managing Directors who will carry forward Credit Suisse's commitment to making change happen and creating value for our clients."Credit Suisse's round of promotions is slightly larger than at other banks to announce their list. Citigroup just <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citigroup-promotes-125-to-managing-director-heres-the-full-list-2018-12">promoted a new class of 125 </a>managing directors. Bank of America Merrill Lynch <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-america-merrill-lynch-2018-internal-md-promotion-full-list-2018-11">promoted nearly 140 </a>employees to MD in late November. Morgan Stanley <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanleys-new-managing-director-list-is-out-2018-1">promoted 153 employees</a> to MD in January- up from the 140 it promoted in 2017. Barclays<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barclays-names-85-new-managing-directors-2018-12?r=UK&amp;IR=T"> last week promoted 85 staff to MD level.</a>At Goldman Sachs, where MD is one rung below the prestigious role of partner and the classes are announced every two years, 509 employees were promoted to MD in 2017 and 69 were promoted to partner <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-new-partner-class-list-2018-2018-11">in November</a>.Here's the full list of employees promoted (listed alphabetically):<ul><li style="font-weight: 400;">Rafael Abati</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Sanjay Advani</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Laith Al Kurdi</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Fahad Al-Ebrahim</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Girish Anthur</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Anita Antonopoulos</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">José Arcilla</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">özgür Arzik</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Angeline Aw</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Gustavo Azevedo</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Vik Bali</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Sabine Barbier-Goldman</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Franck Bataille</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Alexis Baumont</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Nevin Bhatia</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Julien Binnie</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Bruno Bischoff</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ian Blair</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Lea Blinoff</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ryan Bondroff</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Christophe Bonjour</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Simon Booth</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">William Bors</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Niklaus Boser</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Conrad Bruggisser</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Marc Buchli</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Urs Burgherr</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Pauline Cahill</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Barbara Capobianco</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Pablo Carrasco</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Matthew Cattee</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Allen Cermak</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Raynard Cheng</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Marcello Chilov</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">David Cohen</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Comisarow</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Stuart Crabtree</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Peter Cross</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Eleonore Dachicourt</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Martial Décoppet</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Diego Discepoli</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Vamil Divan</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Christopher Doolin</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Andrew Duff</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Jeremy Duksin</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Georges El Khoury</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ilya Feldman</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Stewart Finlay</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Antony Fisher</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Russell Gale</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas Geiser</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">George Geotes</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Eugenio Giancotti</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Katrina Glover</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Neil Glynn</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mark Green</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Rafael Gross</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Shivam Gupta</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Elena Hainaut</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tariq Hasan</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Jos Hehenkamp</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Philippe Herminjard</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ralf Hippenmeyer</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">John Hoffman</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Lynn Honkanen</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Edward Hope</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Christian Hübner</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Holger Inhester</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Jakob</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Craig Jeffers</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Steven Jorgensen</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Timothy Joyce</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Stephen Ju</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">John Katsikoumbas</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Gary Katz</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Gavin Kelly</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Lokesh Khiani</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Alexandrine Kiechler</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Sven-Christian Kindt</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tom Koffer</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Edouard Kohler</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Pawel Kowalski</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Sandro Kutschera</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Andrew Lai</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ashley Lam</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Martin Lamb</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Eduardo Lapena</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Will Lau</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Robert Leichter</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Dabby Leung</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Yiping Li</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Lillian Liao</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">See Bing Lim</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Antonio Limones</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Marcus Linfoot</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mandy Loo</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Marcus Lutz</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Luis Macias</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Nicholas Markson</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Matthew Masso</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Leonardo Mayer</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tim McKessar</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">David Mechlin</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Lars Moeller</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Daniel Monckton</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Annabel Morris</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Erik Morris</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Reinhard Mues</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Maria Nacheva</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Javier Nardiz</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Daniela Nievergelt</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Guido Niffenegger</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Erik Nijssen</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Patrick No</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Paul Norris</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Connor O'Keeffe</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mathias Ordody</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Yair Oshman</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mohammed Patel</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Sébastien Pesenti</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Valerie Philips</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Romain Pointurier</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Chris Pollard</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">David Rabuano</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Stefan Rauch</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Igor Rena Cardoso</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Adam Roberts-Thomson</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Paolo Roncati</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Steven Rosen</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Andreas Roth</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Daniel Rupli</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Gregory Rye</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">François Schnyder</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Christopher Schofield</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Dominique Schwitz</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Richard Sehayek</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Masahito Shimada</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Drew Shoemaker</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tanvi Singh</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Nikhil Singhvi</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Conor Stransky</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Meryl Sullivan</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Maarten Swart</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Teddy Swigert</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Vincent Tay</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Robert Taylor</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Winson Toh</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Jonathan Tse</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tim Tu</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Alexander Tyo</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Giorgio Valle</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Michele Van Tassel</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ravi Venkataraju</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Adil Virani</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Marc von Widekind</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Bin Wang</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Jeans Wang</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Qing Wang</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Robert Wartchow</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Masashi Washida</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Tracy Watkinson</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Thomas Wechsler</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Germane Wee</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Kathrin Wehrli</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ross Whittaker</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Urs Widmer</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Ryan Williams</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mark Wilson</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mary Kate Wynperle</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Wang Xue</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Cyril Yip</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Serge Yokoyama</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Mascha Zaugg Portmann</li></ul> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2019-market-outlook-blackrock-kate-moore-on-trade-war-possible-recession-2018-12">The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Credit Suisse just named its new managing directors - here are the 173 people who made the list

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>When Anna Todd started posting&#xa0;<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/5095707-after">fan fiction stories online</a>, she never expected that her love of boy band One Direction would turn her into a sensation with a reported&#xa0;<a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Anna-Todd/474410587">six-figure publishing deal.</a>&#xa0;But it did.Now, Todd is a bona fide best-selling author thanks to a story&#xa0;she wrote mostly&#xa0;on her iPhone.Her&#xa0;five-book "After" series has been published in 29 countries&#xa0;and read over a billion times on <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/home">Wattpad</a>, the digital reading platform where she originally published it. Paramount <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/one-direction-inspired-fan-fic-800189">even recently purchased the rights</a> to turn "<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/5095707-after">After</a>" into a movie.Todd's fanfic success story is far from a fluke. Publishing houses and movie studios are increasingly looking online for fresh stories that have a built-in fan base. "Fifty Shades of Grey"&#xa0;was first published&#xa0;online, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-started-as-twilight-fan-fiction-2015-6">presented as fan fiction based on the "Twilight" books</a>. As writer E.L. James'&#xa0;audience ballooned online, mainstream publishers and movie studios took note. She became a best-selling author and&#xa0;her story was then adapted for the big screen, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-at-the-box-office-2015-2">making millions at the box office</a>.And now, Todd is&#xa0;following in her footsteps. The main difference between their trajectories, though, is that Todd had the added benefit of the digital publishing platform&#xa0;<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/home">Wattpad</a>&#xa0;accelerating the&#xa0;process. So how'd she do it?A few years ago, Todd was working odd jobs and waiting tables after having taken&#xa0;some classes at&#xa0;college but never graduating. She'd married her high school boyfriend at 18 and moved to Texas to follow his Army career.&#xa0;After becoming obsessed with One Direction, she&#xa0;started writing standalone fan fiction short stories about the boy band on an unlikely medium: the photo-sharing app Instagram. "I had no intention of [formally] publishing them," she said of her stories. "I just wrote what I wanted to be reading."Even when restricted to writing her stories as lengthy&#xa0;Instagram captions, though, she started gaining a following. A fellow fan took notice and turned her on to the much more writer-friendly&#xa0;<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/home">Wattpad</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Starting in April 2013, she wrote and published "After" one chapter at a time on Wattpad, without any&#xa0;outlining or planning&#xa0;for the plot. "After" reimagines One Direction's Harry Styles as a bad boy college student with a girlfriend named Tessa Young. And yes, its sex scenes are just as bodice-ripping as those found in any romance novel."After"&#xa0;was&#xa0;written almost entirely from Todd's cell phone.&#xa0;Often, she'd write while standing in line at Target or the grocery store.She dedicated five hours a day to writing "After" and another three hours to promoting it within Wattpad and on social media. Soon, it turned into a 100-chapter, one-million-word juggernaut that was rapidly attracting a fan base in the hundreds of thousands. Todd become famous on Wattpad.The only issue: Wattpad and its writers don't have much name recognition beyond the site's&#xa0;rabid fan base.Wattpad is a platform for reading and self-publishing, and its reach is quietly enormous. The Toronto-based free digital reading site&#xa0;has more than 40 million users, <a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140926/dq140926b-eng.htm">more than the entire population of Canada</a>. These numbers are constantly increasing, with over 24 hours of new reading content being uploaded every minute, Wattpad CEO Allen Lau told <keyword id="72550" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="TI">TI</keyword>. So while Todd's fame on Wattpad was growing, her life continued normally. She kept waiting tables in her Texas town.&#xa0;But soon, all that would change.Wattpad had noticed how popular she was. They&#xa0;reached out to Todd&#xa0;and, within six months, helped&#xa0;her score a book deal with Simon and Schuster in April 2014. This was just one year after Todd had shared her first "After" chapter on Wattpad.The&#xa0;"After" now available in stores&#xa0;is an edited version&#xa0;based on Todd's Wattpad writings. The 100-chapter saga has been broken down across <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-The-Series-Anna-Todd/dp/1476792488">four books</a>, while the&#xa0;original version is still available on Wattpad.&#xa0;When she got the book deal,&#xa0;Todd had&#xa0;to change her character's name from Harry Styles to Hardin Scott&#xa0;for legal reasons. This is a common practice when online fan fiction is adapted for print. Since&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-started-out-as-twilight-fan-fiction-2015-2">"Fifty Shades of Grey" started out as 'Twilight" fan fiction</a>, the character names and settings were also changed when the stories were published.&#xa0;Since <a href="http://www.amazon.com/After-The-Series-Anna-Todd/dp/1476792488">the first "After" book&#xa0;was published</a> in October 2014, her audience has only continued to grow."At [book] signings, I'll have everyone from 15-year-old girls to 45-year-old women coming up to me," Todd explained.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Todd's&#xa0;success has&#xa0;opened the door&#xa0;for other fanfic authors. Wattpad writers like&#xa0;<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/5449917-body-rock">Doeneseya Bates</a>&#xa0;and <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/1333719-backfire-niall-horan">Bel Watson</a> have gained millions of reads on the platform for stories featuring&#xa0;characters like Justin Bieber and, of course, members of One Direction.&#xa0;Despite their fan fiction origins, there's still one major difference between&#xa0;"Fifty Shades of Grey" and "After."&#xa0;While Todd's&#xa0;books have plenty of sex scenes,&#xa0;the couple isn't suspending each other from the ceiling with&#xa0;rope."If you read 'After,' you won't find any BDSM stuff," Todd said of her characters' sexual encounters.&#xa0;"After" is also&#xa0;inspiring a new generation of readers."A lot of parents have said, 'My daughter never read before your books and now she loves reading," Todd told TI.Not everyone is a huge fan of Todd's writing style. Critics&#xa0;have been brutal, calling her work "<a href="http://jezebel.com/book-is-supposedly-new-50-shades-but-is-really-just-sl-1564444771">sloppy</a>," "<a href="http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1055203/anna-todds-after-is-an-insult-to-intelligent-readers-everywhere">lacking in style</a>," and a "<a href="http://www.sugarscape.com/bookclub/reviews/a1072004/book-review-after-anna-todds-one-direction-fan-fic-turned-novel/">letdown</a>," but Todd and her loyal readers remain unfazed."Love fanfic or hate it, it's getting thousands of people to read and write who otherwise would not have," she told TI. "Reading and writing isn't supposed to be this exclusive club, it's just supposed to be entertaining." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hackers-ashley-madison-client-information-2015-7">Here's the type of info hackers have after breaking into the extramarital hookup site Ashley Madison</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ViaDFkdjqYAnmokhNuwEhJWAd8e5-lu0" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "Allen Lau" and got 7 results

Allen Lau of Wattpad in conversation with bestselling author Novoneel Chakraborty

Samarpita Banerjee

Crypto art could become a primary source of income for musicians and potentially cut out major labels

Grace Kay

We talked to crypto-art investors to figure out what's driving people to spend millions on NFTs, despite no guarantee their value will increase

Grace Kay

Tencent-backed Wattpad has tied up with Times Bridge to woo more Indian writers and readers

Sriram Iyer

An App That Lets You Write Fan Fiction About The Band One Direction Raised Another $46 Million

Ryan Bushey

Credit Suisse just named its new managing directors - here are the 173 people who made the list

Will Martin

This woman wrote One Direction fanfic on her phone and ended up with a massive six-figure book deal

Madison Malone Kircher

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides