February was a wild month for the stock market as pressure built on software stocks over fears of AI disruption, and stocks fell in the last week of the month as President Trump said he would raise global tariffs to 15% after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier round of tariffs.
Market pullbacks can be painful, but they do set up buying opportunities. Let’s take a look a few blue-chip dividend stocks worth buying right now.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Deere & Co.
Deere & Co. (DE +1.60%) dominates the market for agricultural machinery and related tools including software, and the company has experienced something of a renaissance this year as it’s rightfully being seen as a winner from AI.
Year-to-date, Deere & Co. stock is up 35% as the company is well positioned to capitalize on the AI boom. It’s investing in areas like autonomous tractors, AI-powered cameras that can identify weeds and spray herbicide, and predictive maintenance to monitor machinery and reduce downtime.
Today’s Change
(1.60%) $9.94
Current Price
$629.40
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$171B
Day’s Range
$614.12 – $631.59
52wk Range
$404.42 – $674.19
Volume
56K
Avg Vol
1.6M
Gross Margin
37.38%
Dividend Yield
1.03%
By doing so, Deere is pivoting to technology while leveraging its brand advantage in a way that a typical software company can’t. Its reputation and reach with farmers also make it difficult to displace, as the technology comes with the equipment it sells.
Even after its strong performance this year, Deere & Co. still pulled back last week, losing 5% in part on tariff-related fears. Deere is expensive now at a price-to-earnings ratio of 34, but that valuation seems warranted given the company’s potential in AI.
2. GE Vernova
Energy consumption is expected to spike from the AI boom, which puts energy generators in a good position, and GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) is a leader in the industry.
Like Deere, GE Vernova (GEV 0.33%) has surged this year, up 34% so far. The company manufactures power turbines using a wide range of energy sources, including gas, nuclear, hydro, and wind, making it a valuable partner for data centers and increasing demand for energy from AI.
Today’s Change
(-0.33%) $-2.86
Current Price
$873.60
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$235B
Day’s Range
$853.34 – $876.36
52wk Range
$252.25 – $894.93
Volume
2.5M
Avg Vol
3.1M
Gross Margin
20.28%
Dividend Yield
0.14%
GE Vernova shares actually rose last week as it seemed to benefit from a well-circulated AI doomsday blog post, as the company stands to benefit from growth in AI.
GE Vernova has delivered mid-teens growth and is premium-priced at a P/E ratio of 50, but it’s in a unique position to capitalize on growing energy demand. The stock might not seem like a blue chip as it’s only been public since 2024, but its assets were part of the GE conglomerate, and it’s soared since GE broke up then.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 2.17%) has been one of the biggest victims of the AI-driven software sell-off at least on a market-cap basis, and it pulled back last week as well, falling 1% in a volatile week.
However, Microsoft continues to deliver strong growth, and even if you buy into the AI disruption narrative, the company is much more than just a software business. It has a fast-growing cloud infrastructure business in Azure, Windows, gaming, LinkedIn, and other products, giving it a lot of ways to grow and capitalize on AI. It also owns 27% of OpenAI, giving it a major stake in the most valuable AI start-up.
Today’s Change
(-2.17%) $-8.72
Current Price
$393.00
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$2.9T
Day’s Range
$389.90 – $396.81
52wk Range
$344.79 – $555.45
Volume
2M
Avg Vol
32M
Gross Margin
68.59%
Dividend Yield
0.89%
Microsoft is now down nearly 30% from its peak just a few months ago, setting up an attractive buying opportunity. Its P/E ratio has fallen to 24.5, making it both cheaper than the S&P 500 and one of the cheapest stocks in the “Magnificent Seven.”
Microsoft looks poised to continue delivering mid-teens growth, making the stock a good bet to outperform at the current valuation.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Monster.
If your job search feels slower, more selective, or harder to break into right now, you are not imagining it. New Monster research suggests many employers are putting more energy into keeping the talent they already have than expanding headcount.
In Monster’s 2026 Hiring WorkWatch Report, a survey of 800 U.S.-based hiring decision-makers, 52% say retaining existing employees is their top workforce priority in 2026, compared with 45% who prioritize hiring new talent.
Employers also report that finding qualified candidates is still difficult: 64% say they struggle to do so. That helps explain why many organizations are investing more in internal development and skills-building.
So what does a retention-first year mean for you as a job seeker? It does not mean hiring is off. It means hiring can be more deliberate, and candidates may need to be more specific about the value they bring.
Hiring is still happening, but employers are being pickier
Even as retention leads the priority list, employers are still hiring. The process may feel slower and more selective as teams focus on fit, skills, and cost.
Monster’s research highlights several operational factors that can slow hiring, including:
Finding qualified candidates (64%)
Salary and benefit expectations (44%)
Addressing skills gaps (30%)
Competition from other employers (27%)
Meeting remote and hybrid expectations (24%)
What to do
Make your resume and LinkedIn profile highly specific to the roles you want. Lead with skills and results, not just responsibilities. Share what you improved, saved, shipped, or supported. If you are pivoting, translate your experience into the exact language of the job description.
Upskilling is a real employer strategy, especially around AI
Employers are not just talking about AI. They are investing in it:
74% plan to invest in AI training or upskilling for employees in 2026
41% already use AI in hiring or workforce management
31% plan to adopt AI tools soon
What to do
Build practical AI fluency. Focus on how you use AI to do your work, not just general interest. Be ready to explain your approach to accuracy, verification, and judgment. If you have used AI tools for writing, analysis, customer support, project work, or productivity, describe the workflow and the outcome.
Return-to-office policies are affecting hiring and your options
Workplace policy is part of the hiring puzzle:
54% of employers say return-to-office mandates have made hiring harder
72% expect their current hybrid or on-site policies to remain unchanged
22% plan to increase in-office requirements
What to do
Decide your non-negotiables early, such as remote, hybrid, or commute distance, then search accordingly. If you are open to hybrid or on-site roles, say so clearly. Flexibility can widen your opportunity set. If you prefer remote work, strengthen your candidacy with tight positioning, a skills match, and work samples.
Retention-first years can be leverage years for the right move
When employers prioritize keeping talent, internal advancement and development can matter more. For job seekers, that can cut two ways. Some roles may open more slowly. At the same time, employers may value candidates who can fill real gaps and ramp quickly, especially in mid-level roles.
What to do
If you are employed, consider asking about growth paths, training budgets, or internal mobility. If you are job searching, show how you will help solve immediate problems for the team.
Employers are worried about the economy, and that shapes decisions
When asked about top workforce concerns in 2026, hiring leaders most often pointed to:
Economic uncertainty (48%)
Retaining talent (41%)
Attracting qualified candidates (39%)
Pressure to raise wages (36%)
Skills gaps (29%)
Keeping pace with AI and automation (26%)
What to do
Expect more scrutiny on compensation. Be prepared with a clear range and rationale. Emphasize reliability, adaptability, and the ability to learn, especially if the company is navigating change.
Bottom line: Hiring has not stopped, it is becoming more intentional
The big signal from the data is that many employers are prioritizing stability in 2026. They are keeping strong employees, building skills internally, and adopting AI thoughtfully.
For job seekers, standing out will depend less on broad claims and more on specific proof: the skills you have, how you apply them, and the results you have delivered.
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Our Verdict
Suspect this will be insanely busy as they are also restocking stuff as well. I have no clue what is in a trading kit, but hopefully it includes a pack for the kids to rip.
Here’s something most real estate investors figure out the hard way: The best deals don’t go to the highest bidder. They go to the fastest closer.
You’ve probably seen it happen. A solid rental property hits the market. You run the numbers, they work, and you put in a strong offer. And then a cash buyer swoops in, not necessarily higher, just faster, and the seller takes it without blinking.
It’s frustrating. And it feels unfair. But once you understand why sellers behave this way, you can start using that knowledge to your advantage, even if you’re financing every deal.
Because here’s the thing most investors don’t know: Financing has finally caught up to cash. There are lenders (like Dominion Financial) who can close a DSCR rental loan in 10 days. Not 30. Not 45. Ten.
So the question isn’t whether you can compete with cash buyers anymore. It’s whether you know how.
Why Cash Wins (and It’s Not What You Think)
Most investors assume sellers prefer cash because of the money itself. No appraisal contingency or bank to deal with—just a clean, straightforward transaction. But that’s only part of it.
What sellers are really buying when they accept a cash offer is certainty. They’re buying the confidence that the deal will actually close, on time, without drama.
According to the National Association of Realtors, a significant portion of sellers rank the reliability of closing as a top priority, often above the final sale price. Think about that for a second: Sellers will take less money for more certainty. That’s the dynamic you’re up against every time you submit a financed offer with a 30- or 45-day closing timeline.
And the longer your financing takes, the more uncertainty you’re injecting into the deal. Every extra week is another week the seller is wondering if you’ll come back with a price reduction after the inspection, your lender will ask for more documentation, or if the deal will fall apart entirely.
Extended timelines aren’t just inconvenient. They are a negotiating disadvantage built into the financing itself.
So when investors ask why they keep losing to cash buyers, the honest answer usually isn’t price. It’s time.
The DSCR Advantage Most Investors Are Leaving on the Table
DSCR loans were supposed to solve this problem.
If you’re not familiar, DSCR stands for Debt Service Coverage Ratio. It’s a loan structure designed specifically for rental properties that qualifies you based on the property’s income, not your personal tax returns or W-2s.
The property pays for itself, so the underwriting process should be simpler, faster, and less invasive than a conventional loan. And in theory, it is.
But in practice? Most lenders are still running DSCR loans through the same slow, manual processes they use for everything else. You still end up waiting 30 days or more and find yourself chasing down documents, waiting on appraisals, and hoping your loan officer actually returns your calls.
The structure of the loan is fast. The lender’s process is not.
This is the gap that’s costing investors deals every single day. DSCR was built to give rental investors an edge: flexible qualification, property-focused underwriting, and the ability to scale without getting strangled by your debt-to-income ratio. But if the execution is slow, you’re still showing up to a knife fight with a loan estimate and a prayer.
The investors who understand this are doing something different. They’re not just shopping for the best DSCR rate. They’re shopping for the best DSCR process.
What Competing With Cash Actually Looks Like in Practice
Imagine two buyers walking into the same deal: A rental duplex, priced fairly, with solid cash flow in a market with strong fundamentals. The seller wants to close quickly and move on.
Buyer A is a cash buyer. They can close in 14 days.
Buyer B is financing, but their lender can close in 10 days.
Who wins? Buyer B. And the seller probably never even asks about financing because the timeline speaks for itself.
That’s the conversation that’s starting to happen in markets where investors have figured out how to weaponize their closing speed. When you can close faster than a cash buyer, you stop being “the financing offer” and start being the sure thing.
And the advantages compound from there. Faster closings mean faster rent collection. Your capital isn’t sitting in escrow for six weeks while the property generates nothing. You close, you tenant, you move. And then you start looking for the next deal, while slower investors are still waiting to get their keys.
For anyone trying to scale a rental portfolio, this matters enormously. The bottleneck isn’t usually deal flow. It’s execution speed. Every week you’re waiting to close is a week you’re not deploying capital, earning rent, or building toward your next acquisition.
Speed isn’t just a competitive advantage at the offer stage. It’s a portfolio growth strategy.
What to Look for in a Lender If Speed Is Your Strategy
Not all fast lenders are created equal, and this part matters.
Some lenders will promise you a quick close and then deliver the same slow process with a more optimistic timeline attached to it. Speed without process discipline is just a sales pitch.
When you’re evaluating lenders on execution speed, here’s what to actually look for.
1. Process-driven timelines, not just promises
Ask the lender specifically what happens between application and closing. Where do deals typically get stuck? What have they built to prevent that? Vague answers are a red flag.
2. Pricing transparency
A faster close should not mean a worse rate. If a lender is charging a premium for speed, that’s worth knowing upfront so you can run the actual math. The best fast lenders don’t treat speed as a luxury feature. It’s just how they operate.
3. Track record with rental investors
A lender who primarily works with owner-occupants is going to approach a DSCR rental loan with an owner-occupant mindset. You want someone who does this every day and has built their systems around it.
4. Straightforward documentation requirements
One of the biggest sources of delay in any loan is back-and-forth on documentation. Lenders who know exactly what they need and ask for it once, cleanly, close faster than those who drip requests over weeks.
Get clear answers on all four of those before you commit. Because the lender you choose is either an asset or a liability in every deal you make.
How Dominion Financial Is Closing DSCR Loans in 10 Days
So what does this actually look like in practice?
Dominion Financial built its Express DSCR Rental Loan around a simple premise: Investors shouldn’t have to choose between financing speed and pricing discipline. You should be able to get both.
Their Express program closes in 10 days, not as a rush service or with a premium tacked on. That’s just the timeline they’ve engineered their process to deliver.
Dominion Financial streamlined its documentation review, underwriting, and closing coordination into a single, friction-reduced workflow. They’re not a legacy lender with a stack of manual processes bolted together. They designed this program specifically for rental investors who need to move at market speed.
And they back it up with a DSCR price-beat guarantee. If you find a better rate on a comparable DSCR loan, they’ll beat it. So you’re not trading a good rate for speed. You’re getting both.
For investors who’ve been frustrated watching cash buyers walk away with deals that should have been theirs, this changes the math completely. You don’t need an all-cash portfolio to compete like one. You need a lender whose process works as fast as the market does.
The practical impact is real. You can submit stronger offers with shorter closing windows. You can tell sellers with confidence that you’ll be done in 10 days. And in a market where that’s faster than most cash buyers, your financed offer stops being a liability and starts being a weapon.
Who this is built for: Active rental investors, buy-and-hold operators, and portfolio builders who are tired of losing deals to slow financing and want a DSCR process that matches how they actually invest.
If that’s you, it’s worth a look. Click here to learn more about the Express DSCR Rental Loan from Dominion Financial and find out how fast you can actually close your next deal.
Sadly, there’s another conflict taking place, this time between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
It has already spilled over into neighboring Gulf countries, and has sent shock waves across the globe.
Unfortunately, war, or even just a military strike, is not without its consequences. Aside from the human toll, there’s a good chance world economies will also take a knock.
For starters, oil prices are expected to skyrocketed on supply concerns, as the Strait of Hormuz is reportedly closed.
As a result, gas prices will likely tick higher, meaning businesses will spend more, and consumers will pay more at the pump. But what about mortgage rates?
War Means to Seek Shelter and Hunker Down
When a war breaks out or threatens to break out most people seek shelter both literally and figuratively
For investors that means ditching risky stocks and jumping into bonds
Bonds are considered a safe haven during uncertain times like these
This can push down their yields (aka interest rates) and lower mortgage rates too
When a war breaks out, or even fears of a war, investors tend to seek shelter for their assets (too), a safe place to earn a return and avoid a collapse.
The obvious place is always bonds, and the number one place to flee from is the stock market.
The stock market has already taken a dive recently (due to AI) and this could lead to even bigger losses.
Investors take the “flight-to-quality,” exchanging high-risk stocks for relatively low-risk, safe haven assets like gold and Treasury bonds.
This phenomenon explains why the 10-Year Treasury yield fell after previous conflicts, the latest being the Israel-Hamas war and prior to that the Syrian conflict and ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Long story short, bond yields and mortgage rates tend to mirror each other in terms of direction, so if yields fall, rates fall, and vice versa.
This might be what we’ll see next week if the tensions stay at a boiling point. Even before the weekend strike, interest rates on the 30-year fixed were at the lowest levels since 2022.
And the 10-year bond yield had already sunk below 4% due to wider economic concerns surrounding AI taking our jobs.
On the surface, this is great news for prospective home buyers (and those who decided to float), but it’s bad news for the victims of war and the rest of the world.
It could also be bad news for consumers at large, whether it’s higher gas prices and/or a sign if rates are heading back down it means things aren’t going as planned for the economy.
Mortgage Rates Tend to Go Down Initially After a War or Major Conflict Breaks Out
When Russia forcefully annexed Crimea back in early 2014, the 30-year fixed fell about 25 basis points from roughly 4.50% to 4.25%.
Rates fell by a similar amount after the United States got involved militarily in the Syrian civil war in September 2014, from 4.25% to just under 4%.
After the Hamas attack in October 2023, mortgage rates fell sharply lower as well, dropping about 20 basis points day-to-day.
But it was short-lived and they resumed their ascent shortly thereafter due a hot inflation report.
Lately, mortgage rates have been trending lower and this could give them an additional nudge toward the lowest levels since early 2022.
However, it could also exacerbate inflation concerns (related to oil prices and government spending) and also give the Fed pause regarding additional cuts.
So if you do see a big drop in mortgage rates on Monday, you might want to pounce!
Mortgage Rates Are Very Difficult to Predict, Similar to War
Ultimately, rates will be driven by what transpires over the next weeks and months, both in the Middle East and the wider economy.
As noted, mortgage rates have already been on a downward trend this year due to AI fears and lofty stock market valuations.
This was the situation even before the U.S.-Iran conflict got underway and could continue to be the bigger driver of rates if we zoom out.
In the meantime, the Fed may be forced to hold off on any planned rate cuts as this situation develops.
But it will depend on what happens in the interim, and how volatile things become in Iran and elsewhere.
If you’re shopping for a home loan, expect a wide range of rates between mortgage lenders, as each may interpret the news differently. In other words, shop around!
Also be careful when locking or floating, as there might be wild swings as developments unfold. In fact, we’ve already seen rates seesaw back above 6%. Then back below.
Though this news could push them deeper into the 5s, at least initially. So be ready to lock if you like what you see!
Remember, lenders often take their time lowering interest rates out of an abundance of caution, but are happy to raise them at a moment’s notice.
To sum things up, if investors remain skittish and fall back in love with bonds, mortgage rates should decrease as well, which is good news for at least one group of individuals out there.
Read more: 2026 Mortgage Rate Predictions
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.
Trailblazers is an MBW interview series that turns the spotlight on music entrepreneurs with the potential to become the global business power players of tomorrow. In this feature, we speak to Jeff Waye, Co-Founder and COO, and Patrick Curley, Co-Founder, President and CEO, of global independent music publisher Third Side Music. Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore.
Third Side Music started life in Montreal in 2005 with a $150,000 investment by two music industry veterans. Now, it’s an independent publishing powerhouse.
The company, founded by Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley, tells MBW that it’s averaged 15-20% year-over-year growth and generated over USD $25 million in annual revenues in 2025, all without ever taking a cent of outside capital.
Waye started his career in record distribution and retail before spending a decade running Ninja Tune‘s operations in North America.
Curley, meanwhile, came from the indie rock world, eventually becoming an entertainment lawyer and founding Plateau, one of the first agencies to offer sync as a dedicated service.
Today, their company’s track record speaks for itself: “Over 95% of our deals have been fully recouped, and we’ve had 99% client retention across our active roster,” says Waye of Third Side Music.
“Our passion is music not market share.”
Jeff Waye, Third Side Music
TSM’s 75,000-plus title catalog spans a roster that includes SOFI TUKKER, Sky Ferreira, BadBadNotGood, Courtney Barnett, Future Islands, Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, and Colin Stetson, alongside iconic legacy catalogs such as The Clyde Otis Music Group, Studio One, Galt MacDermot, and Alan Watts.
The company’s sync division – with dedicated teams in Los Angeles, New York, London, Montreal, and Mexico City – has been the engine of much of its success, landing music in everything from The Bear and The White Lotus to brand campaigns for Apple, Dior, and Hermès.
The power of TSM’s sync operation was on full display in late 2025, when client Wolf Parade’s 2005 track I’ll Believe in Anything was placed in the TV series Heated Rivalry.
The song nearly doubled its lifetime Spotify streams – from 21million to over 40million – in just two months. Wolf Parade’s monthly Spotify listeners, meanwhile, surged from 196,000 to over 2 million.
“In my 35+ years in music, I’ve never seen a sync have this kind of impact — both statistically and culturally,” says Waye.
Curley tells MBW that TSM experienced “record growth” in 2025, including its best-ever year for sync, and says the company is building on that momentum in 2026.
“TSM is expanding ways we can partner with artists, including new admin deals, joint ventures, and partial catalog purchases — while staying disciplined about the kinds of deals we do,” he says.
In an industry increasingly shaped by consolidation, Waye and Curley’s insistence on full independence has become central to their pitch to artists.
“Companies have offered to buy us,” says Waye. “But I suspect often their interest is mostly in burying a competitor. The minute you have to prioritize investors over artists, it will never benefit the artists, and I’m not interested in that.”
Here, Waye and Curley discuss TSM’s two-decade journey, the state of independent publishing, and why they’ve never been tempted to sell…
YOU BOTH CAME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS IN THE BUSINESS — HOW DID THOSE EXPERIENCES INFORM YOUR VISION FOR THE COMPANY?
Jeff Waye: In the early 2000s, record sales were taking a dive, people were buying the odd track on Apple, streaming hadn’t really come in yet, and it was getting increasingly hard to make a record label work. But at the same time we’d land a six figure sync, and I’d increasingly wonder why we were sending so much mechanical income to passive publishers.
So it led me to think about creating a new kind of artist-focused publishing company that would be an equitable destination, treating them as partners and not commodities, and actually bringing services to the table.
Patrick Curley: Since Plateau had been specializing in B2B marketing to music supervisors and production companies, I saw firsthand how powerful it could be when it was done right. So we merged this, and modeled TSM after the indie labels we loved, focusing on creative and sync, administration, proper registrations, paying accurately, and building long-term partnerships instead of locking people into lopsided deals.
COULD YOU DESCRIBE THE STATE OF THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS WHEN YOU LAUNCHED COMPARED TO TODAY, AND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE WITNESSED?
PC: When we started, sync was relatively under-serviced by a lot of the major publishers, and many artists looked at sync as selling out. Today it’s central to how they build their careers, and publishers have since added full-service sync operations that didn’t exist in the same way as when we started twenty years ago. As publishing revenues have grown substantially, so has the appetite for catalog acquisitions, and valuations have changed accordingly.
“WHEN WE STARTED, SYNC WAS RELATIVELY UNDER-SERVICED BY A LOT OF THE MAJOR PUBLISHERS, AND MANY ARTISTS LOOKED AT SYNC AS SELLING OUT.”
PATRICK CURLEY
JW: Back then, you’d pitch more seasonally to a few networks and advertising agencies, and generally the business wasn’t as global as it is today. But as things shifted to streaming, the demand exploded. Not to mention the rise of video games and other media. Today we’re pitching on hundreds of projects a week. Over the last two decades, the quality of content became way broader, and music needs more global. Syncs can also catapult a career. That really changed the perception of many who had previously viewed sync as a sellout.
YOU’RE CELEBRATING YOUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH up to 20% YOY GROWTH AND $25M ANNUAL REVENUE. WHAT’S DRIVING THIS REVENUE GROWTH?
PC: Jeff and I launched TSM with $150,000 of our own money and have averaged up to 15-20% growth every year by sticking to a basic philosophy: pay accurately and regularly, offer very fair deals, and win people over through services and results rather than hype. We focus on building catalogs that have depth, not just a couple of headline hits, and staying genuinely independent so we can make decisions with a long-term view.
“Jeff and I launched TSM with $150,000 of our own money and have averaged up to 15-20% growth every year by sticking to a basic philosophy: pay accurately and regularly, offer very fair deals, and win people over through services and results rather than hype.”
Patrick Curley
JW: Our model has proven to work in practice. Over 95% of our deals have been fully recouped, and we’ve had 99% client retention across our active roster. Many of our clients are on their fourth or fifth contract cycle, which means two things: we’re picking the right partners, and delivering enough value that they choose to stay. They also recognize we’re in it for the long haul and not looking to flip their copyrights to someone else. Our passion is music not market-share.
PC: On top of that, we’ve deliberately invested in building a worldwide copyright admin platform, which means collections expertise, fixing registrations and doing the heavy lifting on complex, often non-Western catalogs.
We also ensure music supervisors can license music easily. This approach has turned a lot of under-exploited repertoire into steady, recurring income. When you combined that with a high-retention of the roster, and staff that has been with us 10–18 years, and you get compounding growth, not just incremental. Our current head of royalties, Monica Castilla, was TSM’s first employee back in 2007!
TSM IS STILL FULLY INDEPENDENT AFTER 20 YEARS. WHAT DOES INDEPENDENCE MEAN TO YOU, HAVE YOU HAD BUY-OUT OFFERS, AND HOW HAS STAYING INDEPENDENT SHAPED YOUR DECISION-MAKING?
JW: With no third-party investors, parent company, or corporate oversight, TSM is not beholden to anyone but our artists, songwriters, and their teams. This lets us take a long-term approach, and back music we believe in.
YOU’VE BECOME A PROMINENT PLAYER IN THE SYNC SPACE WITH OVER 17,000 PLACEMENTS. HOW HAS YOUR SYNC STRATEGY EVOLVED, AND WHAT DIFFERENTIATES TSM’S APPROACH?
PC: We started as a sync-focused company before it was an industry norm, and built our foundation around doing that extremely well—pitching, clearances, relationships, and making sure every artist has approval over what is licensed.
Our approach hasn’t changed. But as the market for syncs exploded, TSM’s sync reputation and global reach has grown. TSM has dedicated teams in Los Angeles, New York, London, Montreal, and Mexico City, and we invest heavily in catalog research and rights-clearance especially for non-Western repertoire so that supervisors don’t get hit with claims later. That’s why we can place nine tracks from one catalog in a single season of a show like The White Lotus and not have any issues.
“We started as a sync-focused company before it was an industry norm, and built our foundation around doing that extremely well—pitching, clearances, relationships, and making sure every artist has approval over what is licensed.”
Patrick Curley
JW: If I do say so… we have hands down the best sync team and sync strategy. But, not here to share our special sauce except to say, it’s nothing without the A&R team bringing in constantly exciting and relevant new music partners, and a sync team that makes it their job to make clients’ lives easy and not waste anyone’s time. Also, we don’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring. We are insanely proactive, know each catalog inside out, and make it easy and safe for supervisors to use our music.
YOUR ROSTER SPANS LEGACY CATALOGS LIKE STUDIO ONE, THE CLYDE OTIS MUSIC GROUP, GALT MACDERMOT, JOE DARION, AND SOUNDWAY, TO CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS LIKE SOFI TUKKER. HOW DO YOU BALANCE DEVELOPING NEW TALENT VERSUS ACQUIRING ESTABLISHED CATALOGS?
PC: At a basic level, we’re all music nerds and record collectors. So we tend to gravitate towards great art irrespective of whether it’s new or old. The beauty of being a music publisher is that you’re not public facing, so there’s no need to stick to a particular sound or style. Very deliberately, we try to get world class quality music in all genres, styles, and eras.
In the case of SOFI TUKKER (pictured inset), TSM has helped to land them over 450 syncs to date, which have absolutely played a unique role in developing their successful career. For a lot of our writers, sync isn’t just ancillary income, it’s integral to how they reach fans.
“We’re not out there trying to buy a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re interested in carefully chosen catalogs where TSM can add real value.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re not out there trying to buy a $50 million catalog to flip it. We’re interested in carefully chosen catalogs where TSM can add real value —especially non-Western catalogs, where rights are sometimes messy, as historically there weren’t rights management structures in place when the music was created.
Our copyright team led by Melanie Santa Rosa excels at the heavy lifting — tracking down heirs, doing due diligence, fixing splits, and making sure the right people get paid. That lets us hang an “open for business” sign on deep Nigerian, Ghanaian, Thai, and Jamaican catalogs, and bring them safely into modern sync and streaming.
At the same time, we sign and develop new artists that we’re genuine fans of. We want the best of the best in every genre possible, so we never leave an opportunity on the table. But, not so much of one thing where we’re then competing against ourselves and the artist we made commitments to.
WHAT M&A OPPORTUNITIES ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET?
PC: The most interesting opportunities for us are less about big headline acquisitions and more about targeted catalog partnerships. With so many reversions happening, there are a lot of writers and estates getting rights back after long periods.
“We’re also seeing a gap in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs that are off the radars.”
Jeff Waye
JW: We’re also seeing a gap in financing for artists with mid-size catalogs that are off the radars. So we have been positioning ourselves to offer partial catalog purchases and joint ventures on an as-needed basis. However, we will only do these deals if they are genuinely mutually beneficial and tied to our long-term work growing the income of a catalog.
WHAT OTHER TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE MARKET THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?
JW: First and foremost is the industry obsession with treating music catalogs as financial assets. We’d rather just talk about music as music and then figure out how to make good money for musicians we respect. Also can the AI bros please just move on to their next shiny object. AI output that by design can only be derivative is just such a boring topic.
PC: Overall publishing revenues are growing, and organizations like NMPA and others are fighting the big battles. And then there’s AI and the wave of panic around it. From our perspective, good music isn’t going anywhere.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN THE MUSIC PUBLISHING BUSINESS TODAY?
PC: One immediate challenge is platform behavior — Spotify’s bundling being a prime example. Another is the sheer amount of capital chasing catalog acquisitions, and majors bidding up assets. It can be hard for independents to compete on upfront money where the multiples makes no sense (i.e. deals that won’t recoup in the Term). However our clients know we know we can deliver better services and better results, and ultimately help them increase the long term value of their catalogs.
JW: There are also challenges around rights clarity, especially with non-Western catalogs. There can be decades of inaccurate registrations that rights owners face, copyright gaps, and mistrust. We’ve invested in providing the highest level of services to help solve these issues and maximize income for our clients. The work is painstaking, but if you don’t do it, supervisors and artists end up dealing with the issues down the line. And thumbs down to the constant tech-bro-ification of music.
IF THERE WAS ONE THING YOU COULD CHANGE ABOUT THE GLOBAL MUSIC BUSINESS, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
PC: I’d undo the kind of moves we’ve seen with bundling and similar tactics that strip millions from songwriters and publishers. Songwriters need to be properly valued.
JW: I’d love to see the industry stop talking about music as if it’s just another asset class. When boardrooms treat songs like real estate, you end up with decisions that are totally divorced from the creative reality and lives of working musicians.
Trailblazers is supported by TuneCore. TuneCore provides self-releasing artists with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration, and a range of promotional services. TuneCore is part of Believe.Music Business Worldwide
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is overhauling the list of schools that military officers can attend for professional courses and graduate programs.
In a memo on Friday on professional military education institutions, he announced the elimination of certain Senior Service College fellowship programs for the 2026-2027 academic year and beyond.
“We must develop strategic thinkers through education grounded in the founding principles and documents of the republic, embracing peace through strength and American ideals, and focused on our national strategies and grounded in realism,” he wrote. “We will no longer invest in institutions that fail to sharpen our leaders’ warfighting capabilities or that undermine the very values they are sworn to defend.”
The list of canceled institutions includes Ivy League schools Harvard, MIT, Yale, Columbia, Brown and Princeton as well as other top universities like Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
That comes after the Pentagon chief said earlier this month that he would cancel professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard.
In his memo, Hegseth also included a list of potential new partners schools: Liberty University, George Mason University, Pepperdine, University ofTennessee, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska, University of North Carolina, Clemson, and Baylor, among others.
“For decades, the Ivy League and similar institutions have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X on Friday.
Despite his accusation that the schools on his banned list are “anti-American,” some of them have been partners with the military on key emerging priorities.
For example, the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center is located at Carnegie Mellon University, which has long been a top source of AI innovation.
The center is meant to increase the Army’s familiarity with AI applications and better connect the service with AI leaders in the private sector.
In addition, the Space Force partnered with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies for officer intermediate level education and senior level education.
Representatives for the Army’s AI center and the Space Force didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on how Hegseth’s directive will affect partnerships with their respective schools.
The change comes as the Trump administration is cutting off Anthropic as a provider of AI technology to the federal government, including the Defense Department, while expanding ties with OpenAI and xAI.
Zafran Security, a provider of AI-native threat exposure management, has announced a strategic investment from Amex Ventures, the venture capital arm of American Express. Amex Ventures joins Zafran’s latest $60M C round, including existing investors Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Cyberstarts.
The investment reflects a broader shift in how enterprises are approaching cybersecurity as AI becomes deeply embedded across core infrastructure. As innovation accelerates across cloud platforms, digital payments, data ecosystems, and third-party integrations, CISOs are under increasing pressure to move faster while maintaining operational resilience, regulatory confidence, and uninterrupted service delivery.
Large financial institutions and other critical infrastructure operators face constant scrutiny from regulators and boards, while being persistently targeted by sophisticated threat actors. These organizations manage hybrid environments spanning cloud, on-premises data centers, endpoints, and third-party providers. At the same time, their tolerance for disruption is minimal. Any instability, rushed remediation effort, or operational misstep can introduce immediate financial and reputational consequences.
Over the years, many of these enterprises have assembled best-in-class security stacks. EDR platforms, firewalls, WAFs, cloud security controls, vulnerability scanners, and ticketing systems are firmly in place. The challenge is no longer a lack of tools. It is the lack of coordination between them.
Zafran addresses this coordination gap with a fundamentally different approach. Designed as the “defensive coordinator” for complex security programs, Zafran aligns coverage across environments and validates how controls operate together in practice. By integrating across the full breadth of an organization’s existing security stack, Zafran consolidates disparate inputs into a unified view of exposure. Rather than replacing tools or adding operational friction, the platform acts as a force multiplier, identifying where defenses break down and surfacing the small number of vulnerabilities that carry material risk.
“Critical infrastructure institutions such as financial organizations are under constant pressure to innovate while maintaining trust, resilience, and regulatory confidence,” said Sanaz Yashar, co-founder and CEO of Zafran Security. “We built Zafran to serve as the defensive coordinator for complex environments. Our platform helps teams understand where the real risk is, align their existing tools, and mobilize action to stop exploitation without disrupting the business.”
Zafran’s Agentic Exposure Management platform unifies discovery, prioritization, mitigation, and remediation into a single operating model. By coordinating tools, teams, and workflows, Zafran enables financial institutions to reduce exposure faster, improve operational consistency, and gain confidence that their layered defenses are functioning as intended.
For Amex Ventures, the investment aligns with a focus on technologies that help financial institutions scale securely in increasingly interconnected environments.
“As financial systems grow more complex and digitally interconnected, visibility and coordination across security controls become essential,” said Kevin Weber, managing director at Amex Ventures. “Zafran’s approach reflects how leading financial institutions are thinking about managing risk at scale while continuing to innovate.”
Inflation is driving up the cost of everything, but you don’t have to just sit there and accept it.
From cutting your car insurance premiums in half to finding hidden subscriptions that are quietly draining your bank account, there are simple, legitimate ways to keep more cash in your pocket.
We’ve rounded up the top free tools and services that do the heavy lifting for you, helping you slash your everyday expenses without sacrificing your lifestyle.
1. Stop overpaying for basic insurance
Slashing your fixed monthly expenses is the fastest way to fight inflation, and your auto & home policies is the perfect place to start.
How would you feel if you found out you’re throwing away $1,200 annually just to pad some insurance company’s bottom line?
It’s very possible. But there’s only one way to know for sure.
This new car insurance shopping tool can tell if you’re overpaying for your car insurance with just a few clicks.
This new home insurance comparison tool exposes what home insurers don’t want you to see: identical coverage for hundreds less.
Take 3 minutes right now, click those links and see if you can save serious money: that’s what I did.
But don’t forget the cardinal rule: When you find ways to spend less on major expenses, don’t blow that extra money: Put it toward your mortgage, or invest it.
2. Erase high-interest debt payments
If massive monthly credit card payments are draining your budget, you need a strategy to eliminate that high-interest debt for good.
Worrying about debt is probably the worst way you can spend your time, and paying interest and late fees is the worst way you can spend your money.
If you’ve got a problem, like I did, the sooner you deal with it, the better.
If you have over $10,000 in debt, National Debt Relief is one of the most respected providers of debt relief in the U.S.
There’s no upfront fee and no obligation to get started.
Ready to start a new, happier chapter of your life?
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3. Ditch your bank for a cash bonus
Stop paying monthly maintenance fees to a bank that gives you nothing in return, and switch to an account that actually pays you.
If you’re banking at a traditional brick-and-mortar bank, you’re getting ripped off. They’re charging you monthly for a checking account and paying a pittance on your savings.
Better idea? SoFi. They offer a combination checking-and-savings account, and if you set up direct deposit, you’ll earn up to 4.00% on your savings. (Can change without notice.) That’s eight times the national average.
Direct-deposit $5,000 or more within the first 25 days, you’ll get up to a $300 bonus. Direct-deposit $1,000 to $5,000, you’ll get a $50 bonus.
That’s free money.
Check out SoFi right now.
Earn up to 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on SoFi Savings with a 0.70% APY Boost (added to the 3.30% APY as of 12/23/25) for up to 6 months. Open a new SoFi Checking and Savings account andpay the $10 SoFi Plus subscription every 30 days OR receive eligible direct deposits OR qualifying deposits of $5,000 every 31 days by 1/31/26. Rates variable, subject to change. Rates variable, subject to change.
Terms apply at sofi.com/banking#2. SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
4. Earn $1,340 while watching TV
When you can’t cut your bills any lower, the smartest move is to generate extra income to cover the difference.
Swapping a little spare time for extra money is easier than you think. I made up to $1,340/month doing it.
Lots of companies let you earn money for testing apps, playing games and taking surveys. But the one I used, FreeCash, is in a league of its own.
They list thousands of offers from companies with most taking only around 5-10 minutes to complete.
Take a sec and check it out!
5. Shield yourself from massive repair bills
A sudden mechanic bill can instantly destroy months of careful budgeting, but you can protect your wallet with the right coverage.
Unexpected financial shocks are a leading cause of stress in retirement. With repair costs rising, one transmission failure could wipe out months of hard-earned savings.
Stop gambling with your financial future. Endurance pays the mechanic directly, so your retirement funds stay where they belong—in your account.
They cover vehicles up to 20 years old. Includes 24/7 roadside assistance and rental benefits.
Protect My Retirement Savings Now.
6. Freeze your credit card interest until 2027
Stop throwing money away on massive interest charges and transfer your balances to a card that gives you a multi-year breather.
If you have outstanding credit card debt, getting a new 0% intro APR credit card could help ease the pressure while you pay down your balances.
Our credit card experts identified top credit cards that are perfect for anyone looking to pay down debt and not add to it!
Click through to see what all the hype is about.
7. Cut your wireless bill in half
Stop handing over $100 a month to major wireless carriers when you can get the exact same network coverage for as low as $15.
If you’re with a major carrier, pull up your last phone bill right now. Chances are, you’re paying $70-100+ per month for unlimited data – money that could be growing in your investment accounts instead.
Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network and offers unlimited data for just $15/month for a limited time (with upfront payment required). This isn’t just a great price—it’s truly unlimited.
Customers get unlimited talk, text, and high-speed 5G • 4G data on the nation’s largest 5G network, with no hard data caps. Over 2 million people have already made the switch.
Still unsure about coverage quality? Every Mint plan comes with a 7-Day Money-Back Guarantee for purchases made on Mint Mobile
Switching is simple: bring your own phone and number, and get started in as little as 15 minutes.
Calculate Your Exact Savings Based on Your Current Bill
See additional terms and conditions, here.
7. Swap expensive debt for a cheaper rate
You can drastically reduce your monthly debt obligations by using your home’s equity to pay off expensive credit card balances.
When my home soared in value, I turned to a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to replace my high-interest credit card debt with a much lower-interest loan. I saved hundreds annually by simply swapping credit card interest for HELOC interest.
Those savings eventually helped me pay off my house.
HELOCs could be the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to access extra cash, for whatever purpose, from consolidating debt to upgrading an outdated kitchen: HELOC rates are less than half what credit cards charge
In seconds, Money.com’s comparison page will show you the best rates in your area, so you know you’re getting the best deal.
Check it out right now.
8. Cancel hidden subscriptions instantly
Reclaim hundreds of dollars each month by letting artificial intelligence hunt down and cancel the sneaky subscriptions you forgot about.
What if you could automatically save thousands without changing your lifestyle? The average Rocket Money user saves $290 per month by eliminating waste they didn’t know existed.
Rocket Money’s AI scans your spending, instantly identifies forgotten subscriptions, negotiates your bills down (including cable, internet, and phone), and even helps you get refunds on overdraft fees. Join 5+ million members managing over $50 billion in transactions.
Free to try, keep what we save you through bill negotiations, or upgrade to Premium for unlimited cancellations and 24/7 financial concierge support. No commitment, cancel anytime.
Calculate my potential savings — free instant analysis.
Bonus: Subscribe to this free newsletter.
The free daily Money Talks Newsletter is chock-full of advice on saving more, spending less and smart investing. You can subscribe in 30 seconds, and if you don’t like what you see, you can unsubscribe just as fast.
Do your future self a favor and subscribe right now.
