Good morning. In the celebrated tradition of sharing morning routines online, Alex Cooper took her audience along for a day at the Unwell offices. With almost 12 hours of meetings and recordings, she’s giving Ashton Hall a run for his money—no banana peel mask or Saratoga face bath necessary.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Unpacking Morning Brew’s Latest Creator Contract

Comedian Macy Gilliam just went from employee → creator under her new contract with media company Morning Brew.

Gilliam walked us through the details of the gig ahead of her forthcoming Morning Brew show, Out There, launching on YouTube April 17.

The show → Gilliam will ideate and star in field reporting stories covering businesses and jobs ranging from stamp sales to plumbing. 

• “I was a Girl Scout for 12 years and mentally I've never stopped being a Girl Scout,” Gilliam told us. “With this show I'm earning my blood donation merit badge right now. Next, I'm going to earn my plumbing and then I'm gonna earn my knitting.”

• Gilliam hired producer Meag Cherry to help with video production and editing, and Morning Brew’s associate director of social and video Uber Bautista will help with logistics and strategy.

Behind the camera, Gilliam and her reps at UTA negotiated a creator contract with Morning Brew that nearly doubled her compensation. It includes a cut of all show revenue, from merch to advertising, that can increase based on video performance. 

• Morning Brew will own the show IP, but Gilliam can promote her personal social channels on Morning Brew’s accounts and spend time with her producer making personal content.

• “It’s a really safe way to be an entrepreneur where I have this backing and foundation but I can go up very high from there and keep growing as a creator and not feel like I'm stuck for the next two years,” Gilliam said.

Zoom out: While older media companies like BuzzFeed and Bon Appétit have recently faced a creator exodus, newer companies like Morning Brew, Barstool, and NewPress are focused on evolving with the shifting creator landscape. Many are providing incentive structures and rev share based on content performance, and some are even handing over IP. 

“We’re trying to optimize for shared value,” Morning Brew president Devin Emery told us. “Have real profit sharing so that as IP gets more valuable, they see that show up in terms of compensation but also work to develop opportunities that would likely not be possible outside of having the weight and support and expertise that Morning Brew is able to provide.”

Is the Next Pop Star from YouTube?

Alan Chikin Chow, creator of the hit YouTube series Alan’s World, is partnering with entertainment company HYBE America to create an original streaming series centered around a co-ed pop group formed at an arts academy. 

What is HYBE?

• Founded in South Korea, HYBE is responsible for training the world’s largest K-Pop groups, like BTS and NewJeans. 

• In 2023, the company produced the reality show Dream Academy, in which the girl group Katseye was formed through a fan-interactive competition. 

The search: Chow will launch his own nationwide talent search exclusively on YouTube Shorts. Fans are already using the #HYBEAMERICAxAU to submit their auditions. Once band members are selected, they’ll go through a music and content training program, then publicly debut in the streaming series executive produced by Chow.

“This partnership represents entertainment’s future,” HYBE America’s president of film and television James Shin told Variety, “where content and music enhance each other rather than simply coexist.”

Big picture: This new series will be available exclusively on Chow’s channel, where he counts 89 million subscribers. He also plans to extend beyond YouTube to live touring and merchandise with the help of HYBE America.

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Tech Roundup: OpenAI Academy and Improved YouTube Shorts

Roblox is introducing rewarded ads, which grant power-ups or in-game currency to players. According to Roblox, these ads “have seen high completion rates and viewability in tests.” Roblox is also partnering with Google to expand immersive ads.

YouTube Shorts is upgrading its video editing capabilities. Creators will soon be able to edit specific clips within a sequence, sync edits to a song, and use pre-made templates to participate in trends.

OpenAI is launching an online academy to teach users how to better utilize the platform. Live classes include “AI for Nonprofits,” “AI for Older Adults,” and “Introduction to ChatGPT.”

🔥 Press Worthy

• Gaming creators Tommy Innit and CaptainSparklez host a Twitch stream at the world premiere of A Minecraft Movie.

• Fashion interview podcast The Cutting Room Floor launches its sixth season.

• Jake Shane will appear in the new season of Max’s Hacks.

• FaZe Clan partners with Four Loko.

• QVC will start hosting 24/7 live shopping streams on TikTok.

• Simone Giertz is selling a puzzle made of mostly edge pieces.

• Brittany Broski releases her first original song.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

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

• Read: For Texas Observer, writer Ryan Cantú profiles a group of Texas filmmakers aiming to redefine what life is like along the Texas-Mexico border.

• Watch: Commentary YouTuber Eddy Burback locked his phone in a safe for 30 days. What followed was a reflection on boredom, media overconsumption, and navigating the Los Angeles public transportation system.

• Listen: Comedian Amy Poehler recently dethroned Joe Rogan on the podcast charts with her new show, Good Hang. In the first episode with Tina Fey, they debate whether rich people should have side hustles.