Good morning. We’re less than two months out from our biggest event yet, Press Publish LA: The Hollywood Creator Summit. Applications have been coming in fast and the room is filling up—so far our attendees have a combined following of over 150 million. If you haven’t grabbed your ticket yet, apply here.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

1. Creators share their income
2. Why everyone is talking about Clavicular
3. An SNL alum launches an Instagram show

Two weeks ago, we asked you how much money you make in a year through content.

An overwhelming amount of you responded anonymously with your income, ranging from beginners making $260 in their first year to multi-channel conglomerates raking in millions. 67% of creators considered YouTube their primary platform, followed by Instagram at 15%.

Why now: Every creator has worried about how much—or how little—they're making. And while we're in a more transparent industry than most (raise your hand if you've seen a "how much I made this year" YouTube video) it's always hard to tell what's normal for a creator in sports, finance, or education. 

The aim of the survey is to capture this moment, shed light on how much creators are making across niches, and provide service to those who are looking to make a little more.

Here’s a snapshot of creators’ yearly income →

How we see it: It’s easy to read the headlines and see multi-million subscriber channels as a representation of our industry. But 53% of our respondents reported making less than $100K per year. With ad dollars often consolidated toward top players, how can smaller creators entice brands to spend on them? 

“​​Instead of negotiating from scratch every time, we assigned clear prices to specific offerings,” Samir said in a Creator Support newsletter. “[...] Once we did this, deals closed faster, and more of them closed.”

Want access to the full creator income report? Sign up to receive it when it comes out👇

If you’ve heard the words “looksmaxxing” or “mogging” in the past month, you might have Bradon Peters (aka Clavicular) to thank. 

The 20-year-old streamer has amassed over 1.5 million followers in the last year going to extreme measures to improve his physical appearance (AKA “looksmaxxing”)—including using methamphetamines and smashing his cheekbones with a hammer. 

Peters makes roughly $100K per month through donations, Kick's creator program, and a $50/month coaching subscription, Clavicular’s Clan.

How he got here → 

Worth noting: The looksmaxxing movement is derived from the incel community, rooted in misogynistic ideology and eurocentric beauty standards. Clavicular has used racial slurs on stream, and was recently arrested for allegedly instigating a filmed fight between two women. 

In a recent interview with news creator Andrew Callaghan, Peters said that appearances were the most important value in life.

“Now, you have to be so well off in another category to compensate for your lack of looks that you have to be a Beethoven-level player in order to compete with a guy who’s mogging and going to the club,” Clavicular told Callaghan.

Big picture: It would be easy to write Clavicular off as a single provocateur chasing views—and without a doubt, he is. But critics argue his rise reflects something bigger. As more of life plays out on image-based platforms—swiping, rating, scrolling—the message that your worth is tied to your looks gets louder. Peters didn't invent that idea. He just took it to the extreme, and figured out how to monetize it.

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Most creators dream of being on SNL—but what’s a comedian’s career after SNL? For former cast member Michael Longfellow, it looks a lot like being a creator.

This month Longfellow launched an Instagram show, The Void, in partnership with creative management and production studio Unicorn.

The Void films at Unicorn’s NYC studio in 2-4 hour sessions, with each guest in a 10-minute slot. Unicorn handles production, distribution and development. Longfellow and Unicorn split IP and profits 50/50.

Big picture: More comedians want to bet on themselves, creating shows with shared profit and ownership. “It’s a growing trend within the comedian community, as projects historically take years to green light,” Unicorn cofounder Scott Dunn said. “At Unicorn, we try to go from concept to launch in weeks.”

*This is sponsored content