Good morning. We’re a week away from two big events: VidCon and Cannes Lions. Our team is going to both—we’ll be in Anaheim, Colin and Samir in the south of France. Will you be at either? Hit us up and say hello.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen 

This Music Creator Is Making the Meme His Moment

“It took me six years to grow 10,000 followers on Instagram, and it took me six days to grow another 10,000.”

That’s been singer-songwriter Brendan Abernathy’s experience the last few weeks. You might have seen Abernathy’s viral song, “Married in a Year,” and the hundreds of videos parodying it. 

Some quick background: 

• Abernathy has been a full-time musician for six years—four of which he spent living in his car—and has played over 600 shows across the US. 

• His “Married in a Year” 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 Abernathy’s song—the 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 Anderson to further promote his song and get in on the joke. 

“I think if you're not able to be mocked as an artist, it's probably not the job for you,” Abernathy told us. “Also, you're probably not doing a great job with branding if people can't characterize you really quickly.”

How has the audience responded? Abernathy’s monthly Spotify listeners have increased by 600%, and “Married in a Year” now sits around 190K streams. And the comments section has mellowed out, too.

Looking ahead: Abernathy’s 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.

“All I can do is keep writing good music, keep touring, keep trying to connect with fans, and post consistent quality content that reflects that,” Abernathy said.

Unicorn Launches to Manage Creators and Produce Their IP

Scott Dunn has spent the last five years helping creators launch brands like Recess Therapy, Bob Does Sports, and Little Chonk. Now, he’s starting a new creator company called Unicorn—part 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 Unicorn’s roster. Unicorn and its creators will split show IP and revenue generated from brand deals, AdSense, products, and subscriptions 50/50.

“If you're only overseeing one side of talent management or IP, it's very opaque and doesn't work in tandem with one another,” Dunn told us. “Bringing it all together is a unique way to solve a lot of these problems and make it feel team-oriented.”

So far, Unicorn has signed five creators and launched two shows: 

• 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 “The first-ever chicken interview show”

• Dating show Daddy Academy hosted by relationship coach Niko Emanuilidis

To fund its launch, Unicorn raised $900K. It’s 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 Barstool’s 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 today’s 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 Mel’s most-watched YouTube interviews ever, with 1.4 million views and counting.

What Creators Need to Know From Apple’s WWDC

Apple hosted its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) yesterday, announcing a slate of new features for iPhones, iPads, Apple Intelligence, and more. 

Here’s what creators should know →

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. “This will be the year of live translation,” 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 AirPods—making filming on phones easier. Apple is also integrating “studio quality recording” capabilities to use in noisy environments.

Spotlight search upgrade. iOS26’s 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.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Channel 5 reports from the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. 

• 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.