Good morning. After 13 years, Stevie Wynne Levine, Mythical's Chief Creative Officer and the voice behind Good Mythical Morning, just announced her departure from the company.
"With everything going on in the world right now, and these larger life conversations that the guys and I have had, I've come to realize I need to start putting myself first. And to do that I need to find a way to go back to doing what I love the most: creating," Levine said in a video.
From working with Rhett and Link in a makeshift garage studio to building one of the largest media companies—that's one incredible run. Best of luck to Stevie.
Why Senate Democrats Want Creators in the Room
Creators like Haley Lickstein (left) attend the Senate Democrats’ first Creator Summit hosted by Senator Cory Booker (right) / Haley Lickstein, Photography by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0
This week, 100 news and political creators gathered at the US Capitol for the Senate Democrats’ first creator summit. It was hosted by the Strategic Communications Committee, led by Senator Cory Booker.
The mission? Educate creators on Democrat priorities and how to talk about policy without spreading misinformation. Attendees ranged from social-first media companies like Betches to individual creators including news creator Aaron Parnas, commentator Cats on a Couch, and political creator Haley Lickstein.
“I do want to make sure I'm up to the standards of journalistic integrity,” Lickstein told us. “How can we make sure we're connected with people whose life's work is being knowledgeable on these topics, especially when the news is moving as fast as it is?”
The agenda: Each creator’s schedule varied by their content specialty. While Lickstein interviewed 12 Democratic senators throughout the conference for her socials, other creators attended hearings, toured the Capitol, and heard from speakers like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jon Ossoff.
Big picture: Since losing the 2024 US election, Democrats have been making a concerted effort to strengthen its ties with creators. Senate Democrats' followers across socials are up 80% from 2024, and Democrats have been on a search for donors to fund their equivalent of “the next Joe Rogan.”
Why This YouTube Channel Bought a TV Show
YouTube channel Law&Crime, founded by Dan Abrams (left), purchases Court TV / Law&Crime, Court TV
As YouTube takes over the living room, some digital-first media brands are flipping the script—and buying broadcast TV.
Legal YouTube channel Law&Crime, which shares crime commentary to over 7 million subscribers, just purchased longtime cable show Court TV.
Context, your honor: TV personality Dan Abrams got his start as a production assistant on Court TV in 1992 before moving to NBC as a correspondent, eventually launching Law&Crime in 2015.
Court TV was an early pioneer in live trial coverage, airing the OJ Simpson and Menendez brothers trials in the 1990s.
Time Warner acquired it in 2006 and rebranded it as truTV in 2008, phasing out most of the courtroom content.
In 2019, broadcast company EW Scripps revived Court TV amid the true crime boom sparked by hits like Serial and The People v. OJ Simpson. Still, linear viewership kept sliding—and Scripps’ shares fell 95% last year.
Which brings us today: The Court TV deal is reportedly valued at just under $125 million, transferring ownership from Scripps to Law&Crime parent company Jellysmack. Worth noting: Jellysmack acquired Law&Crime for $125 million in 2023.
Court TV will continue airing on cable through a three-year distribution deal, though it’s keeping only about a dozen of its 50+ employees, per The New York Times.
As for its digital strategy, Law&Crime plans to develop additional Court TV content for YouTube and other social platforms. Abrams told The NYT the brands will stay distinct: Law&Crime will lean into true crime, while Court TV sticks to live trial coverage.
“The goal is going to be to try to transform what is a legacy media company into a YouTube and digital-media-first business,” Abrams said.
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Indie Music Creators Find Longevity on YouTube, Study Shows
Musicians who begin as YouTube creators are more likely to have their music consistently streamed, according to Duetti / Photography by Alena Darmel/Pexels
Want the song of the summer…that lasts until next summer? Start on YouTube. Indie music creators who grow on YouTube first are 16% more likely to maintain constant streams over time, according to a new economic report from music tech platform Duetti.
Although TikTok has been marketed as a music discovery app, other studies have shown that 52% of people find new music on YouTube, versus TikTok’s 37%. Some music creators, like Tessa Violet, even have higher subscriber numbers on YouTube than monthly Spotify listeners.
Ripple effect: In December, YouTube announced it would no longer share data with Billboard. In response, some musicians (like Taylor Swift) are bringing their music videos to Spotify and Apple Music first to boost charting stats.
Do you think YouTube will become less important for indie music creators looking to grow an audience?
🔥 Press Worthy
TikTok launches a local feed based on users’ precise locations.
Propagate Content, the production company behind The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, receives a $50 million investment from Ares Management to make more creator-led content.
Jake Shane is now the Chief Creative Officer of German candy brand Katjes.
App creators Danger Testing make a website that lets users send a floral “link bouquet" of favorite links to a crush for Valentines Day.
Twitch tests ad breaks that begin when users press pause on a stream or VOD.
H&R Block launches a tax platform for creators.
Teen creator Salish Matter signs a brand and licensing partnership with Moose Toys.
📚 Thank You for Pressing Publish
The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.
Read: For NY Magazine, tech reporter John Hermann investigates the “k-shaped” economy forming on YouTube, and why so many longtime creators feel uncertain about their business.
Watch: Video essayist Alex Zhou, aka Shloop, explores if the building in Edward Hopper’s famous Nighthawks painting could structurally exist in real life.
Listen: For the third season of Bossclass, senior writer Andrew Palmer uncovers whether AI can replace his work. He writes an article, has AI write the same one, and makes his colleagues guess which is which.
