Good morning. If you've heard the word “demure” more times in the last week than the last five years, you can thank creator Jools Lebron, who made a TikTok earlier this month (now with 33+ million views) about being “demure in the workplace.” Fast forward to today, and Lebron says the “demure” videos have changed her life, allowing her to pursue new career opportunities and finance the rest of her transition.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

BTS of Ludwig’s Streamer Games

Creator Ludwig Ahgren upped the ante this weekend with his first Streamer Games in Los Angeles. Here’s what we saw from the sidelines →

Production value was way up. The two-day event, co-created by Offbrand and Red Bull, featured creators (Jesser, Michelle Khare, Mizkif, Disguised Toast, and Michael Reeves, to name a few) competing in events including volleyball, gymnastics, the one-meter dash, and more.

Like Ludwig’s Chessboxing and Creator Dodgeball Championship events, the Streamer Games featured a mix of comedy and competition. But this wasn’t any old creator event:

• A rep from Red Bull Gaming told us it was one of the largest events it’s done with a streamer to date.

• Over 120 staff members were credited with production.

• The event included a livestream, two screens on-field showing instant replays, a broadcast desk with analysts, a Red Bull creator tent, and a fan zone selling limited edition merch. 

• Between Ludwig’s Twitch and YouTube channels, the Streamer Games brought in upwards of 80,000 concurrent viewers. 

“This is like my 10th streamer event, but this one is different,” Jeremy Wang, aka Disguised Toast, said. “It’s really cool to see because stuff like this is normally reserved for really high-tier sports, and now [Red Bull] is here supporting the streamer space.”

Worth noting: Ludwig shared ahead of the Streamer Games that he lost money on the event after dropping a six-figure sponsorship with Feastables. But creators like Wang and Michelle Khare said they see these events as raising the bar for creator programming, even if they’re operating at a loss.

“[Ludwig’s] not afraid to invest and do something really big and cool, and I really admire that,” Khare told us. “This is about creators as individuals building teams and feels bigger than what you expect of the websites we post our stuff on.”

Inside Spotify’s Video Advertising Push

It’s no secret that Spotify has recently doubled down on building tools for video creators, from passing 250,000 video podcasts (up from 100,00 in 2023) to adding user comments to its platform.

Now, the audio streaming giant is courting the other half of the equation: video advertisers.

Zoom in: Spotify is pitching potential advertisers by suggesting that podcasts foster highly-engaged (and therefore valuable) audiences, according to a leaked deck.

• 70% of Spotify users who consume video podcasts watch them in the foreground.

• Video ads, which are sound-on and non-skippable, are only served to users when they have their screen on (which in theory means more engagement with ads).

The kicker: Spotify cited a study by media measurement firm Adelaide that found its video ads hold users’ attention longer than ads on Instagram, Reddit, and TikTok.

Zoom out: Whether Spotify can make a dent in the video ad market—and build a robust revenue-sharing program with its creators—is up for debate. But it still has a ways to go to catch the competition. Spotify is projected to generate $2.06 billion in ad revenue (across video and audio) by the end of 2024, while YouTube’s advertising business made $8.66 billion during just the second quarter of 2024.

Emma Chamberlain Takes on a New Title

Lifestyle creator Emma Chamberlain stepped into a new role at her coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee, last week: co-CEO. Previously, Chamberlain served as chief creative officer, focused on executing social media campaigns and partnerships with brands such as Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila.

So why switch things up now? Five years into building Chamberlain Coffee, Chamberlain told Forbes that she’s gained “the knowledge and experience” necessary to become more involved with business operations such as hiring and retail strategy.

Zoom out: Chamberlain Coffee sells products both on its site and in stores like Target and Whole Foods. The brand brought in $20 million in revenue in 2023, according to Forbes.

👀 Creator Moves

• Rainn Wilson is hiring an associate producer for his spirituality-focused podcast, Soul Boom.

• Project Nightfall is hiring a video editor to help make videos and shorts for its commentary-based channels.

• Economics Explained is hiring a scriptwriter to identify key topics that can reach wide audiences.

Looking to bring on new team members? You can post opportunities on our (free) job board here.

🔥 Press Worthy

• The Federal Trade Commission makes it illegal for professional creators and brands to buy fake followers.

• LA creators—join us this Saturday for coffee and conversation with some of our favorite creators here.

• Kareem Rahma shares his YouTube Shorts stats over the last year.

• Meta adds insights and scheduling to Threads.

• Lifestyle creator Christina Li is opening a matcha pop-up in NYC.

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