🍳Earthquake-resistant real estate, Monet's Zannia and more…

Hey people!

Xania Monet has become Billboard's latest sensation, with a #1 R&B hit, over 44 million streams, 1,46,000 Instagram followers, and a multi-million dollar record deal.

Sidebar: Billboard is a company that tracks the popularity of music, while R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues, a genre that mixes blues, jazz, and gospel music.

All this without entering the studio. Because Zannia Monet is not real. She is an artist created by artificial intelligence. Her vocals were generated by Suno, an AI-powered music platform that turns some written prompts into a full-fledged R&B track.

Now, many singers and record companies aren't exactly raving about it. They have accused AI businesses like Xania of building success on the copyrighted materials used to train these tools, without giving credit to anyone. In fact, Sono was sued by major record labels and the Recording Industry Association of America last year for this very reason.

So, how do production companies still sign deals with AI artists like her?

Well, Zanya's songs sound so real that fans can't tell the difference. Her manager says it's no different than how remixes of Michael Jackson or Prince's songs continue to be released years after their deaths. Zanya's frontman, Telisha “Nikki” Jones, says she writes the lyrics to each song, and uses only artificial intelligence to generate the songs. In short, if the song hits the right chord, they won't have a problem.

But this is where things get difficult. True artists now worry about being replaced by technology that can create endless content quickly. As streaming services and record companies pour millions into AI work, the vision of human musicians may suffer. Not only that. The Suno lawsuit we mentioned earlier was eventually settled out of court, with Universal Music Group, one of the plaintiffs, now collaborating with AI music companies like Udio.

It appears that the industry that swore it would never dance with AI… is now moving to its own beat.

Do you want?

In the meantime, here's a (non-AI) audio clip to put you in the mood 🎵

Salad days of Jatayu

You can thank our reader, Charanj Sharma, for signing up.

Ready to roll?

What caught our attention this week 👀

Could earthquake-resistant buildings be the future of Indian real estate?

Our team discussions this week revolved around climate change a lot. Somehow, the conversation drifted to earthquakes.

We're starting to wonder whether climate change could make cities that were not vulnerable to earthquakes more vulnerable now. Think Delhi NCR. It's not located on a major fault line, but because it's close to the Himalayas, it feels the occasional earthquake. Officially, it is in seismic zone IV, the second highest hazard category in India.

While we were reading and talking about all this, we stumbled upon something wonderful. Japan's real estate market has long gained people's trust, thanks to incredibly strict building codes that make buildings more resistant to earthquakes.

This got us thinking: “Could earthquake-resistant construction be the future of real estate in India as well?”

But first, some context. Climate change does not directly cause earthquakes. Those come from movements deep in the Earth's crust. What it does is change the pressure on the crust in certain ways that can make earthquakes more likely.

Take, for example, melting glaciers. When they melt, it's like removing a heavy weight that has been pressing down on the Earth for thousands of years. The crust underneath then slowly moves back, which can change pressure patterns and sometimes trigger earthquakes. This is part of what is happening in the Himalayan region, and therefore in cities like Delhi.

Even heavy rainfall can play a role. When rainwater seeps deep into the ground through cracks (called faults), it can increase the pressure within those rocks, making them slide more easily. So, after years of unusually heavy monsoons, cities like Mumbai, which lies in seismic zone III (medium hazard) could be more vulnerable than before, given their history of nearby faults like Thane Creek and Uran.

Then there is another, slower problem: subsidence. This happens when too much groundwater is withdrawn, causing what is known as aquifer pressure. Think of an aquifer as a sponge filled with water underground. When a large amount of water is extracted from it, for example, for use in agriculture, industry or the city, the sponge dries up. With less water inside, the soil and rocks above begin to compress and sink slightly. Over time, this accumulates and causes the ground above to subside.

But these problems are not impossible to manage. Japan is a great example. After the devastating Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, earthquake-resistant construction was made a priority. Building codes were introduced in 1924 and have been constantly updated since then. The results are amazing. Building collapse rates in Japan have dropped from a staggering 76% before 1971 to only about 3% now.

If we take a cue from Japan, cities will not be able to ignore safety. In the long run, investing in safety pays off. India has lost nearly $80 billion to climate-related disasters in the past two decades alone. Rebuilding always costs more than setup. With major urban centers like National Capital Region, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai being in high seismic zones, building earthquake-resistant structures is not optional anymore. It is the basis for sustainable urban growth.

But there is a catch. Many major cities are also some of the oldest, which means that rehabilitating older buildings to make them safer is difficult and often impractical in congested areas.

Then there is affordability. Take Mumbai, for example. It is already one of the least affordable cities in India, with average property prices at around INR 26,900 per sq ft. This is approximately 14 times the annual income of the average family. Global standards suggest that housing should cost five times per capita income, but in Mumbai, even the top 5% of households would need more than a century of savings to buy an average home. Delhi is not better either. Homes cost more than 10 times the average annual income, and nearly 28% of the profits go towards EMIs.

Now, add higher safety standards to that, such as better materials, stricter regulations, and improved engineering, and costs rise even higher. This can easily make safety a luxury.

So, yes, earthquake-resistant buildings should be the future, but only if we figure out how to make safety affordable and enforce building standards effectively. Perhaps this is the irony. Our actions make the ground beneath us shake, and now we struggle to provide the security necessary to withstand it.

Infographic 📊

Readers recommend 🗒️

This week, our reader, Sakshi Sonawane, recommends The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

The book explains how small actions or ideas can lead to big social changes and become hugely popular.

Thanks for the recommendation, Sakshi!

That's all from us this week. We'll see you next Sunday!

Until then, send us your book, music, business films, documentaries, or podcast recommendations. We'll feature them in the newsletter! Also, don't forget to tell us what you think of today's issue. Just hit reply to this email (or if you're reading this on the web, send us a message at [email protected]).

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