3 charts for you today exploring:

• Entrepreneurs assemble. The pandemic isn't stopping entrepreneurs — quite the opposite in fact.
• Texas temperatures. Just how unusual are these temperatures in Texas?
• Universal music. The world's largest record company could be spun-off later this year.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking. New businesses are being formed at a phenomenal rate ever since the pandemic gripped the US in the middle of last year. Data from the US Census Bureau reveals that there were more than 4.25 million new business applications last year, up more than 20% on the year before. The data for 2021 so far is even more impressive — with more business applications being filed so far than any year that's been tracked since 2006.

‍Never waste a crisis

‍Never let a good crisis go to waste were famous words supposedly said by Winston Churchill — and often echoed now by many entrepreneurs. With much of our economy in upheaval new sectors, products and services are cropping up at an astounding rate and if you are an entrepreneur starting a company during this recession, it's hard not to be inspired by some of the successes from the past. The last major global recession saw Uber, Airbnb, Slack and WhatsApp get started — to name but a few.

‍Why is now a "good" time?

‍It's a bit counter-intuitive for people to take more risks when the economy is in such dire straits, but there are a lot of reasons to support why we're seeing this:

• New work paradigm. Offices and office space will change forever — and that means opportunities for physical and digital products (collaboration software, home office desks etc.).
• Funding is available. We might be in a recession, but venture capital funding is still widely available, and was actually up 13% last year.
• Time. Furloughed workers, or those with reduced hours, may now have the time to turn that side-hustle or side-project into a more substantial venture.
• Necessity, the mother of all invention. Lost your job? You may not have much choice but to start your own company and try and go it alone.

The winter storm that has gripped Texas and much of the middle of the United States is truly a once-in-a-generation phenomenon. According to data from the National Weather Service, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has seen some of its lowest temperatures in almost a century as temperatures plummeted to around 4°F (-16°C). Indeed, you have to go all the way back to 1933, and before that 1905, for temperatures that got as low as they are now in the DFW area.

In Texas that weather has caused blackouts across the state with more than 4 million people having been left without power, and has caused at least 25 deaths. With the extreme weather set to last until the weekend, that number is sadly likely to rise.

Outside of Texas, an incredible 73% of the United States is now reportedly covered in snow, and more than 150 million Americans are under winter storm warnings. Stay safe and warm Chartr readers.

After years in the wilderness, the music industry has returned to growth — and the record companies are cashing in.

This week French conglomerate Vivendi, which owns Universal Music Group, announced their intention to spin-off UMG into its own listed entity this year — reportedly shooting for a preliminary valuation of €30bn ($36bn) for the largest record company in the world.

‍You spin me right round

‍As the largest recording company in the world, UMG's roster of labels and artists is second to none and includes Kanye West, Ariana Grande, ABBA, Elton John, Snoop Dogg, U2, Kendrick Lamar and many, many more. You can't run a successful streaming service such as Apple Music or Spotify without those, and so UMG — and the other major record companies such as Sony and Warner Music Group — are increasingly in a position to squeeze more in royalty payments from the big streaming players.

For Vivendi the timing to spin-off UMG makes a lot of sense. Record companies are enjoying a return to growth, and investors are much more likely to value UMG generously when they can buy shares directly in it, instead of as part of a conglomerate that has sprawling business interests that they might not want to invest in.

DATA SNACKS

1) Ever sent money to the wrong bank account? If so you may have some sympathy for Citibank which accidentally wired $900m to lenders, and now can't get most of it back.

2) By posing as an Amazon seller a UK consumer group has lifted the lid on the shady world of fake Amazon reviews. They found one site that was charging $10,900 for 1000 fake positive reviews.

3) Governor Pedro Pierluisi believes Puerto Rico could make a strong case for becoming the 51st state of the USA over the next 4 years.

4) The no-code revolution is here. Schedule a free demo with Quickbase and try no-code building today.**

5) SpaceX has reportedly raised $850m to help fund future missions, valuing the company at around $74bn.

6) What's the sweet-spot for the length of a movie? Some cool analysis from u/ravinski on reddit suggests that short is good, long is good, but 50-100 minutes is where things are usually worst.

**This is a sponsored snack.