Good morning. Weβre a week away from two big events: VidCon and Cannes Lions. Our team is going to bothβweβll be in Anaheim, Colin and Samir in the south of France. Will you be at either? Hit us up and say hello.
β Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

This Music Creator Is Making the Meme His Moment

"Married in a Year" singer Brendan Abernathy has increased his Spotify listenership by 600% /Β Brendan Abernathy
βIt took me six years to grow 10,000 followers on Instagram, and it took me six days to grow another 10,000.β
Thatβs been singer-songwriter Brendan Abernathyβs experience the last few weeks. You might have seen Abernathyβs viral song, βMarried in a Year,β and the hundreds of videos parodying it.Β
Some quick background:Β
Abernathy has been a full-time musician for six yearsβfour of which he spent living in his carβand has played over 600 shows across the US.Β
His βMarried in a Yearβ videos have earned 35 million views across TikTok and Instagram.
Prior to that viral moment, his most popular video topped out at 21K views.
But not everyone is loving Abernathyβs songβthe comments section is a mixed bag, with many viewers criticizing his performance style. So what is Abernathy doing to seize the moment anyway?
Embracing the meme. Abernathy has collaborated with comedy creators Kyle Gordon and Mitsy Sanderson to further promote his song and get in on the joke.Β
βI think if you're not able to be mocked as an artist, it's probably not the job for you,β Abernathy told us. βAlso, you're probably not doing a great job with branding if people can't characterize you really quickly.β
How has the audience responded? Abernathyβs monthly Spotify listeners have increased by 600%, and βMarried in a Yearβ now sits around 190K streams. And the comments section has mellowed out, too.
Looking ahead: Abernathyβs experience going viral has made him much more aware of his content strategy and pushed him to create more content to promote his music, prioritizing authenticity above all else.
βAll I can do is keep writing good music, keep touring, keep trying to connect with fans, and post consistent quality content that reflects that,β Abernathy said.

Unicorn Launches to Manage Creators and Produce Their IP

Chris Gera (left) and Scott Dunn (right) launch talent agency and video production studio Unicorn / Photography courtesy of Unicorn
Scott Dunn has spent the last five years helping creators launch brands like Recess Therapy, Bob Does Sports, and Little Chonk. Now, heβs starting a new creator company called Unicornβpart talent agency, part video production studio.
The details: Dunn, in partnership with cofounder Chris Gera, will represent creators in most facets of their businesses, while producing short- and long-form shows with Unicornβs roster. Unicorn and its creators will split show IP and revenue generated from brand deals, AdSense, products, and subscriptions 50/50.
βIf you're only overseeing one side of talent management or IP, it's very opaque and doesn't work in tandem with one another,β Dunn told us. βBringing it all together is a unique way to solve a lot of these problems and make it feel team-oriented.β
So far, Unicorn has signed five creators and launched two shows:Β
The Chicken Show, hosted by Dave from Old Jewish Men (who went viral at Costco for wearing a t-shirt with a bar code of a rotisserie chicken) and jokingly dubbed βThe first-ever chicken interview showβ
Dating show Daddy Academy hosted by relationship coach Niko Emanuilidis
To fund its launch, Unicorn raised $900K. Itβs currently filming from a studio in Brooklyn, where each show has its own set.
Big picture: Unicorn is leaning into the creator-operator businesses that continue to grow across the industry, from Morning Brew and Barstoolβs creator media models to production studios including Fallen Media, Gymnasium, and Mad Realities.

Sponsored by CTB
How Mel Robbins Booked a Mental Health Expert Who Drove 1.4M Views
Dr. Stacy Sims is a world-renowned expert reshaping how women approach fitness, hormones, and health.
Mel Robbins, host of a top 5 Apple podcast, wanted to feature Dr. Sims on the show. To make it happen, she worked with Central Talent Booking, a team trusted by many of todayβs top creators, to manage the coordination and execution.
With 25+ years of experience, CTB handles scheduling, communication, and logistics so creators can focus on the conversation.
The result? One of Melβs most-watched YouTube interviews ever, with 1.4 million views and counting.

What Creators Need to Know From Appleβs WWDC

Apple announces live translation, AirPod camera controls, and more tools creators can use /Β Apple
Apple hosted its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) yesterday, announcing a slate of new features for iPhones, iPads, Apple Intelligence, and more.Β
Hereβs what creators should know β
Live translation in Messages, Calls, and FaceTimes. AI-powered translation will automatically translate texts in different languages and generate real-time captions in FaceTime. This can help creators collaborating internationally or interviewing guests for multi-language channels. βThis will be the year of live translation,β Marques Brownlee said in his WWDC recap.
Built-in camera control on AirPods. Users will be able to snap pictures or control video recordings on iPhones, iPads, and third party apps by pressing and holding on the stem of their AirPodsβmaking filming on phones easier. Apple is also integrating βstudio quality recordingβ capabilities to use in noisy environments.
Spotlight search upgrade. iOS26βs new Spotlight search features let users run actions within apps before opening them. For example, turn on lights and change sound settings whenever you open an app for recording a podcast.

π₯ Press Worthy
Channel 5 reports from the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.Β
Instagram releases recaps for creators with weekly and monthly analytic insights.
Ryan Trahan and Haley Pham launch a daily video series crossing 50 states in 50 days.
The SmartLess podcast hosts are starting a cell phone company.
Creators are expected to surpass traditional media in ad revenue this year.
