Good morning. Turns out kids aren't the only ones who want to grow up to be YouTubers. 54% of adults ages 18–60 would quit their jobs to become creators, according to a new survey by influencer marketing company Izea.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

RDCWorld Kicks Off Sixth ‘Dream Con’

Sketch comedy creators RDCWorld kicked off their sixth “Dream Con” anime and gaming convention today, hosting exhibitions, panels, and a 5v5 creator basketball game over the next three days.

How they got here: Texas-based Mark Phillips and Affiong Harris created the RDCWorld YouTube channel as teenagers in 2012.

• The group added members as their sketches (on cartoon shows, video games, and sports) slowly gained popularity. The channel now counts 7 million subscribers and 1.5 billion lifetime views.

• They wanted to start connecting with fans IRL, but anime and comic conventions would reject their requests to host meet and greets, saying the creators wouldn’t “fit in.”

So, RDCWorld took matters into their own hands. The first Dream Con in 2018 sold about 1,000 tickets.

• But the message of inclusivity stuck: “This convention [is] for everyone whether you're Black, white, brown, purple, or green like [Dragon Ball Z character] Piccolo,” the Dream Con site reads.

• Last year, the convention moved to Austin from Waco, TX, to accommodate its over 20,000 attendees.

Big picture: Dream Con has become the largest and fastest growing Black-owned anime and gaming convention in the United States—something RDCWorld credits to their genuine commitment to the fandoms they love.

“Just staying consistent and sticking to the plan the whole time really worked for us,” Phillips told BlackEnterprise last year. “And believing that like-minded individuals of color would all come together at an event that we happened to build.”

Golf Creators on the Republican Campaign Trail

While Vice President Kamala Harris’s camp capitalizes on Brat Summer TikTok edits, former president Donald Trump’s presidential campaign social strategy is targeting one of the most popular creator niches: Golf YouTube.

On Tuesday, PGA tour player Bryson DeChambeau published an hour-long YouTube video playing 18 holes with Trump. By Wednesday, it topped the YouTube trending page with more than 6 million views.

The why: Golf is one of the fastest growing genres on YouTube. Top creators Grant Horvat, Rick Shiels, Good Good, and DeChambeau have a cumulative 6+ million subscribers. It’s an organic fit for Trump, who is known for playing golf and owns 16 courses. 

Worth noting: Creators wading into politics isn’t always warmly received by viewers (for example: fashion creator Hannah Chody’s recent clap back). Sometimes, though, it works—consider The Sorry Girls, who have received positive feedback from their political content.

Skibidi Toilet Gets the Hollywood Treatment

Filmmaker Michael Bay has signed on to make a TV show and movie based on the mega-popular YouTube series Skibidi Toilet. 

The details: Skibidi creator Alexey Gerasimov has been working with entertainment studio Invisible Narratives to create product licenses and media franchises around his Shorts series, which has amassed over 65 billion views in the last year. Skibidi action figures made with Bonkers Toys are expected to hit store shelves later this year.

Big picture: “I think YouTube is one of the greatest breeding grounds of new IP,” Adam Goodman, CEO of Invisible Narratives and former president of Paramount Pictures, told The Washington Post. “It’s a business as significant financially as everything we’ve seen in the traditional entertainment business. It’s just a little different.”

🔥 Press Worthy

• TikTok lets creators add custom thumbnails to clips.

• Jaiden Animations celebrates a decade on YouTube.

• Gaming streamer Jynxzi is releasing an energy drink.

• SAG-AFTRA video game performers go on strike.

• Kamala Harris joins TikTok.

• Twitch tightens its policy on sexual harassment.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: A loose collection of hyperlocal Instagram meme pages known as ”The Oat Milk Elite” are serving as “town bulletin board[s],” one creator told The New Yorker. 

• Watch: Natalie Lynn breaks down how she captured some of her most iconic shots from her travel adventure videos.

• Listen: Who’s the king of streaming—Netflix or YouTube? The Town host Matt Belloni brings on Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss.

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