Good morning. TikTok creator Reesa Teesa’s 50-part video series, “Who TF Did I Marry,” is sweeping the platform. The videos detailing the creator’s relationship with her ex have received more than 300 million views, with a total runtime over 7 hours. Maybe long-form content on TikTok isn’t a pipe dream after all.

P.S. Last week, we covered Marques Brownlee’s new job title (and board seat) at Ridge. For more insight on the deal, you can listen to our full convo with Ridge CEO Sean Frank here.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Public Opinion Launches ‘Track Star’ Content Series

Creator-founded media company Public Opinion just debuted Track Star Presents, a new concert series that complements their hit short-form music trivia show, Track Star.

“We realized we had this direct line to get really interesting musicians who want to come and talk to us…about music,” Public Opinion CEO Jack Coyne told us. “But there was a missed opportunity to not have musicians play their music.”

Some background: Track Star, which Public Opinion launched last year, is a game show published on vertical platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

As it gained traction, Public Opinion booked major artists including Olivia Rodrigo and Ed Sheeran as participants.

Now, Track Star is going long(form). Inspired by NPR’s popular Tiny Desk Concerts series, Public Opinion designed a set in their studio to combine recorded performances with their signature documentary-style interview format. Their first guest: indie-rock singer-songwriter Madi Diaz.

“Nothing like this, from our perspective, exists in New York City…[there’s] these quick hits where [artists] go and get on a TikTok for a minute, but you don’t really get as much of that in-depth exposure,” Coyne said.

Big picture: Coyne compared his vision for Public Opinion to Complex, which built up brands such as “Hot Ones” and “Sneaker Shopping” on YouTube.

The key difference? Coyne and his six-person team are producing lower-lift, short-form original shows first, then fleshing out more episodic long-form formats to accompany them down the road.

How a PhD Student Became Cleo Abram’s Producer

Nicole Menkart, science producer at Cleo Abram’s tech journalism channel Huge If True, was pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering with a focus in quantum optics. Then in January 2023, she took the leap into the creator world. Here’s how she got the gig →

What made her a good fit: Menkart shared Huge If True’s passion for explaining complex subjects in a simple and entertaining way.

“I was really drawn to the core values that Cleo instilled, which is optimistic, nuanced coverage of exciting science topics that are explained really accurately,” Menkart told us. “So much so that a lay person can understand what you’re saying and an expert can appreciate how you’re saying it.”

Menkart sent a cold email to Abram while studying at the University of Maryland, heard back nearly a month later, then joined the team as an associate producer doing research, pitching and writing short-form content, and assisting on long-form scripts.

“My favorite thing that I’ve learned is that ‘explain it like you would to a friend’ is the best way to start writing an engaging explainer video,” Menkart said.

Programming note: This is part of a new series highlighting the people who work for some of YouTube’s biggest creators behind the scenes. Do you work for a creator or want to learn more about certain roles on creator teams? Hit reply and let us know.

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Platform Roundup: Global Expansion & Big-Ticket Fines

This week in major creator platform news:

YouTube is expanding the beta version of its short-form editing app, YouTube Create, to countries including Canada, Australia, and Brazil. It’s also introducing new features, like an audio cleanup tool.

Twitch was fined ~$300,000 by the Korean Communications Commission for suspending its video on demand service in the country in 2023. Remember: Twitch announced it was pulling its platform from South Korea late last year—that went into effect yesterday.

X (formerly Twitter) is rolling out audio and video calling to all users. The feature was previously reserved for Twitter Blue subscribers.

➕ Community Tab

Last week, we wrote about the rise of UGC creators and polled you on your thoughts. The results were pretty split, with 61% saying they weren’t interested in creating UGC content. Here are some of our favorite responses.

• “I am currently in between contracts as a solopreneur and it is a fast way for me to make $$.” –Aaron D.

• “It's been my main source of revenue as my relatively new channel gets off the ground.” –Cory B.

• “I’d rather make a personal brand than sell for another company and their products. I like being a content creator for what I like, not a reviewer for random, not-my-type products.” –Anonymous

• “Why would I spend hours making a video to get paid only $10? It probably comes out to less than a waitress's pay before tips.” –Ashley A.

🔥 Press Worthy

• The Florida Senate passes a bill blocking anyone under 16 from making a social media account.

• NELK launches a hard iced tea.

• TikTok ups its battle with UMG, removing songs that feature songwriters under contract with the music company.

• MKBHD is releasing a keycap with dbrand.

• Music creator Tyla stars in Gap’s latest campaign.

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