Good morning. The actor who played mathlete captain Kevin Gnapoor in Mean Girls (real name: Rajiv Surendra) is now the star of an HGTV YouTube series covering things like how to wash a wool sweater and how to deep clean your home. It’s so random yet so perfect.
P.S. Colin and Samir are at the Made On YouTube event today unveiling a host of new platform features (hint: big news for Shorts monetization). We’ll have all the details right here on Friday.
The Vlogging Renaissance
Last week, Casey Neistat announced that he’d moved back to New York after three years in Los Angeles. It seems Neistat’s cross-country move illustrates a major trend for creators—the return to the fast-paced vlog.
The details: On the West Coast, Neistat’s vlogs were chiller than his earlier work. Plus his cadence slowed, with less than a dozen uploads in the last year. But as soon as he returned to NYC…
He posted twice in two days.
And he played the hits that are most characteristically Neistat in NYC: a Boosted board, cityscape drone shots, a TriBeCa office, and an appearance from UPS delivery man Marlon—all of which signal he’s not just back to NYC, but also back to his NYC vlogs.
Another creator refreshing his vlogs in the city? Gaming streamer TommyInnit.
Using his real name, Tom Simons, TommyInnit has been raising money for homeless NYC youth and donating a penny for every subscriber he gets (reminiscent of Ryan Trahan’s penny series).
Speaking of Trahan—now that the penny series is over, he too has continued vlogging (albeit less frequently) on his second channel.
In many ways, YouTube feels like a different platform today than it was just a couple of years ago. But for all that growth and change, it’s refreshing to see so many major creators take to a style so personal on YouTube, reminding us of what drew us to this corner of the internet in the first place.
Our Take
As YouTube continues to evolve and become the next generation’s TV, nostalgia is already starting to come into play for those who grew up in the heyday of vlogging, back when high-tech effects, sophisticated cuts, and costly production value were less important than storytelling. We appreciate the shift.
The Next Era of DJs Live on TikTok
The DJs making the most money right now aren’t behind the booth in Las Vegas’s biggest clubs. They’re remixing songs on TikTok.
Some context: Creators like veggibeats and xxtristanxo have enabled this generation to rediscover yesterday’s hits with reimagined versions of songs like Sam Smith’s 2014 single “I’m Not The Only One” or mashups between Mac Miller and Bill Withers.
Songs that go viral on TikTok, no matter when they were first released, often end up charting on Billboard or Spotify. That means music marketers are willing to pay a pretty penny to get their artists’ work noticed by TikTok’s discovery engine—and DJs are often the most direct route.
According to Business Insider, DJs can earn up to $5,000 for one commissioned remix. For veggibeats, viral exposure to his work on TikTok funnels through to his Spotify, where the DJ credits original works he samples. With that, both his mashups and the source material grow.
Our Take
The TikTok to Spotify pipeline extends to DJs, and they’re carving out a new business niche within the music industry. While the old guard had to tour to make most of their income, this era shows there’s plenty to be made online.
Sponsored by Acorns
POV: You Planned for Retirement Early
Being a creator, freelancer, or small business owner is rewarding. But it’s also demanding, hectic, and challenging...do you really want to still set up that ring light and send invoices every day when you’re 80?
We bet the answer is no. You’d rather be on a beach somewhere, enjoying retirement. The good news?
You can work towards that goal—with something called a SEP IRA (a Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account) that’s designed specifically for the self-employed.
Now, retirement is for everyone, even those of us with jobs our parents don’t really get. With a SEP IRA, you can...
Contribute flexibly: Adjust or suspend contributions however much you’d like from year to year—a great perk when you have unpredictable cash flows.
Add it on top of existing plans: You can open and contribute to a SEP IRA and traditional IRA at the same time.
Defer your taxes: Your contributions are made with pre-tax dollars.
Our friends at Acorns are making it easy for you to set yourself up for retirement with Acorns Later—a retirement account that comes included with every Acorns subscription.
How Long Can Apps Copy Each Other?
In the spirit of today’s introduction, the limit does not exist.
In the past several weeks alone: Instagram copied BeReal with its Dual feature, and TikTok took a swing at the platform with TikTok Now.
Social platforms copying each other is a pattern we’ve seen time and again, but history proves that when bigger platforms punch below their weight, smaller apps—even if they have the better product—tend to get knocked out (RIP Vine).
Our Take
Before BeReal has even had a chance to prove itself as a place for creators or advertisers, it could be drowned out by larger platforms. It’s a sobering reminder of the environment creators play in—platforms can shift and disappear at any moment, but a community can help keep a creator from disappearing with it.
👀 Creator Moves
MKBHD is hiring for video editors/producers and writers/researchers to join the team in the NYC/NJ area. Previous work examples are a major advantage. Click here to apply.
Smooth Media, a company that builds media businesses with creators (including The Publish Press), is hiring for four positions—an account coordinator, an operations associate, a copywriter, and a graphics intern. Learn more and apply here.
Safiya Nygaard is hiring for a producer/editor to focus on short-form video. Check the job out here.
🔥 Press Worthy
YouTube Channel Pages are getting a facelift.
TheOdd1sOut released the first trailer for its forthcoming Netflix show, Oddballs.
What actually happened when Drake slid into music critic Anthony Fantano’s DMs.
Amazon's live radio app launches a creator fund.
WhatsApp is launching its first foray into original programming.
FaZe Clan gets into digital real estate.
**This is an advertisement for Acorns. Investing involves risk including the loss of principal. Please note that a properly suggested portfolio recommendation is dependent upon current and accurate financial and risk profiles. Consider your objectives, risk tolerance, and Acorns’ fees before investing. Acorns Advisers, LLC (“Acorns”), an SEC-registered investment advisor. Brokerage services are provided to clients of Acorns by Acorns Securities, LLC FINRA/SIPC. For more information visit Acorns.com.
