Good morning. Amelia Dimoldenberg recently hosted comedian Eric André on Chicken Shop Date. After nearly a decade making the show, it was one of the rare times she nearly cracked. One commenter perfectly characterized the interaction: "When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object."

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Morgan Jay Finds Success Through Immersive Comedy

Music and auto-tune comedian Morgan Jay has spent the last 17 years performing standup and musical comedy on shows like Wild ‘n Out. But it wasn’t until this year that Jay started selling out 1,000-seat venues and bringing in revenue in the high six figures.

The difference maker: Jay credits recent wins to videos of his set going viral on TikTok an Instagram, where he has over 4 million combined followers. 

“What I’m realizing with my audience is that they want to see live what they saw on TikTok or Instagram,” Jay told us. “So how do we give that to them and more?” Here’s how he’s doing it →

• Jay started including people from his most viral videos, like audience member Ethan, into his set. 

• One audience member suggested adding more physical comedy to a particular bit in the routine—now Jay says that’ll happen every time it’s performed.

“I want to create a show where people can step into a structure where they get the opportunity to be part of the show without ever having to rehearse,” Jay said. “There’s always a part of us that wants a taste of the spotlight and I think my show can give that to people in a fun, low stakes way.”

Why it works: Jay said his “irreverent, kind of chaotic, and rough around the edges” comedy speaks to Gen Z’s content preferences. He points to Kai Cenat’s record-breaking livestream with Kevin Hart and Druski as a similar example of where entertainment is headed.

Looking ahead: Jay will record his next special at an 1,800-seat venue in LA in April, and he plans to make it into three short-form specials with a livestream element.

Colin and Samir’s Takeaways From Cannes Lions 2024

Last week, Colin and Samir were at the Cannes Lions Festival to attend events, host panels, and meet with advertisers interested in learning more about creators. Three takeaways from the week →

Advertisers still need some education on the difference between “creator” and “influencer.” Colin and Samir said they found themselves explaining that many creators are building independent media organizations and producing long-form, repeatable formats—not just posting one-off photos.

In order to pitch themselves to advertisers effectively, “creators should focus on how to become singular and become a brand that transcends the term,” Samir said, pointing to Hot Ones as an example.

Advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) is platform-agnostic. YouTube’s increasing share of connected TV viewership was a major topic at Cannes, according to Colin and Samir. Marketers are beginning to consider an ad on a 25-minute MrBeast YouTube video equivalent to one run on a streaming platform or cable.

Cannes is a great place for creators to understand the broader ads business. Colin and Samir said they learned a lot in speaking to the chief marketing officers in charge of major ad budgets, some as large as 9 to 10 figures annually.

Go deeper: Listen to Colin and Samir’s recap of Cannes Lions here.

Former Donut Media Stars Start New Channel

Two former Donut Media personalities, Zach Jobe and Jeremiah Burton, have left the automotive content brand to start their own YouTube channel called BigTime.

Between the lines: Jobe and Burton stressed their love for the people at Donut, but they said its sale to a private equity-funded media company in 2021 capped the creative freedom Donut hosts previously held.

“When you have to [constantly] convince people…to do the videos you want to do, it gets old fast,” Burton said in the BigTime announcement video.

Looking ahead: While they didn’t share release dates for upcoming BigTime videos, Jobe and Burton teased a return to formats such as car builds and test driving.

👀 Creator Moves

• MrBeast is hiring for a role on his special projects team, responsible for leading operations and strategy across business verticals.

• Anna McNulty is hiring an on-site producer for her gymnastics challenge videos.

• AstroKobi is hiring a video editor to establish video pacing through animation and music.

Calling all creators: an exclusive opportunity to tell the story of freelancers and get paid for sharing your experience. Join the Fiverr creator network today.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.

📽️ From The Studio: And the Secret IRL Location is…

The Lighthouse Venice, the “Campus for Creators” located a couple blocks away from the Venice Beach.

ICYMI: We’re dropping a secret project at the end of the month, and Publish Press readers can access it early from 12:00-3:00 pm PT on Tuesday, June 25 (tomorrow).

• Head to 1601 Main Street, Venice, CA—if you’re driving, look for street parking nearby.

• Enter The Lighthouse campus at its Windward Circle entrance and walk to the lobby.

• You’ll see our yellow Publish Press mailbox (pictured above) and members of our team.

The first 50 people to arrive will receive the drop there, with some other exclusive items up for grabs. To get the drop, tell us this password: “HOLLYWOOD.”

P.S. The drop will officially go live for everyone at presspublish.store on Friday, June 28.

🔥 Press Worthy

• The Sidemen launched a new line of Sides, including wings and ribs.

• Ashley Alexander aka urmomashley is launching her matcha brand next month.

• Spotify is offering a new U.S. subscription plan without audiobooks for $10.99/month.

• Magician Justin Flom broke the record for the most-viewed Short, at 1.58 billion views.

• Khloe Kardashian launches a video podcast on X.

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