&Pizza opened its doors in 2012, and has been on the expansion fast track every since. CEO Michael Lastoria explains how his company grew from one Washington, D.C. location to 23 along the East Coast. The company recently closed a round of funding led by RSE Ventures. Lastoria says that the company plans to use the capital to open 15 stores in the next year. At least four will be in New York City. &Pizza plans to expand to Miami and Boston as well. Community is at the heart of &Pizza's business model. Each of the company-owned locations partner with local artists and organizations. Lastoria is also a fervent advocate for increasing the federal minimum wage. He says that morally, it is the right thing to do. Lastoria has spent time on Capitol Hill lobbying Congress on the issue.

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Universal Music and AI song generator Udio partner on new AI platform
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
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