Good morning. Apple is hosting its September keynote today, and IShowSpeed will be there livestreaming his POV from the event.

Because if he’s not backflipping when Apple announces the foldable iPhone, did the foldable iPhone even really launch?

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

This week, in partnership with Higgsfield AI, Kick streamer N3on announced an AI-generated livestream feed, built to run when he isn’t live. The stream quickly became his most-viewed VOD out of his last 20 streams.

Though he properly disclosed that the partnership was paid and fully AI-generated, N3on received backlash from commenters and creators alike.

What creators are saying:

Why it matters: Several creators have received pushback for using AI in the past month, including education creator Hank Green and design creator Cliff Tan. Green was criticized for disclosing AI use (with no paid partnership), while N3on disclosed the technology and the paid partnership and also faced backlash. That suggests transparency alone isn’t enough when audiences object to the AI itself. 

How we see it: N3on’s move sits at the intersection of two themes we’ve been tracking this year—the rise of AI content and livestreaming’s cultural impact. AI streamers aren’t a new trend, but IRL livestreamers have grown in part because their viewers expect a real person to experience real events. The question is whether human streamers can keep their authenticity with AI integrations.

A year ago, AI education creator Catherine “CatGPT” Goetze told us “I really want to build equity in something” to grow her business beyond brand deals.

Since then, she’s launched a Bluetooth phone company, Physical Phones, and product studio Cat Labs. Now she’s adding another venture to the mix: creator management company Smooth Media.

The details: Goetze is taking an equity stake in Smooth as the company’s first outside shareholder. She’ll advise on its core management service and custom-built internal tech called Butter—a tool that streamlines how its creators manage their brand campaigns. Smooth will continue to manage Goetze, and its management fees will remain unchanged.

“What Smooth understands is that the most ambitious creators today don’t need managers. They need operators—people who roll up their sleeves and build. I’ve seen it firsthand: when we started working together a year ago as my management team, they became an extension of team CatGPT almost overnight,” Goetze told us.

Context: Over the last year, creators have increasingly negotiated for ownership beyond traditional brand deals, including Alix Earle’s stake in soda brand Poppi and fitness creator Grace Benvenuti’s role as co-founder and equity partner in energy drink Joggy.

But Goetze’s deal is a little different. Smooth isn’t bringing her on primarily for distribution to her audience—it wants her expertise.

"We've seen creator equity deals go more for distribution and brand than for brain and perspective," Jenny Rothenberg, co-founder at Smooth Media said. "We're working with Cat way more for the latter." 

Why it works: Goetze’s business runs mostly on brand deals—she told Axios she makes $3 in brand-deal revenue for every $1 from her own products. For Goetze, holding equity gives her ownership in Smooth and potential upside if the company grows in value. For Smooth, it puts the perspective of one its own creator clients inside the company as it builds new products and services.

“When you get aligned at the equity level, you start wearing the ‘same jersey’ so to speak. You become associated with them, and they become associated with you,” Goetze said. 

Her advice to creators? Build trust with a brand before exploring equity partnership. “I recommend exploring equity deals where you know the product/service of the company extremely well and you genuinely connect with their leadership team,” Goetze said. “Look for brands where you can offer asymmetric value and whose core brand mission is aligned with where you want to go.”

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After a five-month hiatus to reimagine his interview podcast, veteran journalist Michael Moynihan made a massive return—and landed Hollywood legend William Shatner as his premier guest.

To secure the 95-year-old icon, Moynihan turned to Central Talent Booking (CTB). Leveraging 27 years of industry connections, CTB delivered a high-stakes booking that paid off immediately:

Ready to elevate your show with influential voices that drive views and authority? Partner with CTB today.

Film creator Sachin Kumar just launched Typecast, a vertical series following an South Asian actor trying to make it in Hollywood as he fights industry stereotypes. 

Kumar self-funded the series for $10K, worked with director Grayson Shapiro (who was the assistant director for Curry Barker’s Obsession), and is releasing 14 episodes over the next seven weeks.

How he got here: 

Understanding trends: Kumar originally intended to release Typecast as a YouTube sketch show, but switched his strategy after observing trends with major streaming services prioritizing vertical videos.

“A lot of these enterprise-level companies are focusing a lot of attention on creating their vertical video engines. And I thought, ‘Why is that?’ It’s because most audiences exist there.”

Pufferfish, a creator-led marketing agency and creative studio co-founded by Anthony “Anthpo” Potero and Talia Schulhof, is hiring for a variety of roles:

For other opportunities in the creator world, visit our job board.