Good morning. It’s that time of year. The one every hipster, “I’m on aux” friend, and Twitter bot have been waiting for: the release of Spotify Wrapped. I’ve made peace with my results (and no, I don’t know how I listened to “All Too Well” 291 times). But what I’d really like to see is a personalized YouTube Wrapped. Should I start a petition to make it happen?

–Hannah Doyle

More Creators Are Becoming Investors

When you think of creator brand deals, what terms come to mind?

Probably something like this: A brand offers to pay a creator for content, the creator makes said content, the brand approves it, the creator posts it to their socials, and the brand pays them—likely through revenue share, an affiliate program, or free products.

But over the last six months, creators’ relationships with brands have started to shift. Where creators once just had a revenue share, they now have a cap table. For example:

• The D’Amelios recently started their own investment fund, 444 Capital.

• Creators like Hannah Bronfman, Aimee Song, and Danielle Bernstein have very publicly invested in brands like Our Place, Highline Wellness, and Wellbel.

It’s all part of the next wave of creators as investors. Creators can move product and retain valuable, specific audiences—which is a huge pull for brands. So to deepen connections, both brands and talent are pursuing the creator as an investor/advisor instead of just a spokesperson or brand ambassador.

Why it works: Both parties benefit from terms designed for the long haul. Especially with the economic downturn changing marketing budgets, both brands and creators are looking to lock in something steady, and equity is a viable option for just that.

Our Take

Cycling through brand partners with one-off deals and short-term engagements can be exhausting for creators, not to mention draining and insincere for their audience. But it’s worth noting this kind of angel investing–brand deal hybrid isn’t available to all creators (especially those who don’t make a CEO’s salary doing content full-time).

We wonder: If you’re a creator with long-term contracts with brands you love, would you choose cash or equity? Reply to this email with your thoughts.

Try Guys Make a Comeback

In what feels like ages ago but was actually just two months ago, one-quarter of the Try Guys, Ned Fulmer, was ousted from the group for having an extramarital affair with a subordinate at work.

Now the Try Guys are back as a trio, full PR roll-out included. Their next initiative as Try Guys 2.0 will be a ticketed livestream event of their series Try Guys Without a Recipe on December 17.

Fellow Try Guy Keith Habersberger told The Hollywood Reporter that the group’s YouTube channel will look a lot different in the coming years as they navigate the post-scandal creator world.

What could that future look like? We have some ideas.

• They could start to incorporate more characters like Babish did with his cooking channel.

• Or double down on their individual shows, like Keith’s Try The Menu series and Eugene Lee Yang’s Rank King videos.

• Or they could sell their channel, like when Mythical acquired Smosh or when AwesomenessTV sold to Dreamworks.

Our Take

After a public scandal—which got even SNL’s attention—it would be easy for these creators to fold in and cash out. But a crisis also poses an opportunity for reinvention. They can work with their audience to create something new and maybe even better—whatever form that takes.

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A Band Sells Out Shows Thanks to TikTok

The band Never Ending Fall recently shared a TikTok that read “POV: 6 months ago you couldn’t get a show in NYC, now you have back-to-back shows about to sell out [there].”

It’s all thanks to their TikTok series, “Can it Kirkland?,” which tests each band member’s ability to discern a name brand beverage vs. one from Costco’s in-house label.

In 24 episodes over the last six months, they’ve gained more than 5 million views and 300,000 followers. Now fans sing along to the catchy jingle at Never Ending Fall shows.

Our Take

We all know TikTok as a music discovery pipeline, but most success stories are driven by songs. This band played on their personal appeal and humor, which added dimension to their fan base—and that translated to sales.

🔥 Press Worthy

• QT Cinderella is hosting A Very QT Christmas tonight.

• Cassey Ho is giving away a $5k grant to four fans to pursue a dream project.

• Discord launches a monetization and creator portal.

• Jojo Siwa is hosting the first Children and Family Emmys.

• YouTube Music releases its own wrapped selections.

• The Streamys are this weekend.

• Forbes released its 30 Under 30 list.