Good morning. Issa Rae is partnering with streaming platform Tubi to launch Stubio, a program that will help creators get their streaming projects greenlit. Rae was the first YouTube creator to get an HBO show—it seems with this new initiative, she’s making sure she’s not the last.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Kai Cenat Headlines NBA’s Revamped Creator Program

In recent months, Kai Cenat has starred in a T-Mobile commercial with Snoop Dogg, launched his own meal with McDonald’s via his Twitch stream, and started his own basketball association. Now, Cenat is moving up to the big leagues.

The streamer is headlining the NBA’s revamped, season-long creator program, starting with a collaboration during the season opener last night. Cenat shared exclusive content from the New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics matchup and joined the TNT broadcast crew to discuss his experience at the game.

How else is the NBA involving creators this season? 

• Collaborations with @NBA. Commentary creator Drew Afualo is attending tonight’s game between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, sharing her POV across the NBA’s social channels.

• Creator Cup expansion. Last year, the NBA welcomed 12 sports creators (including Jenna Bandy and Jesser) to compete in its first “Creator Cup” basketball game. This season, the league will host three Creator Cups around marquee events—the In-Season Tournament Finals, All-Star Weekend, and Summer League.

• Access to the NBA’s archives. The league is giving select creators including Thinking Basketball and Swish Cultures access to over 25,000 hours of game footage for use in their videos.

Big picture: Cenat may be the headliner, but the NBA’s expanded partnerships program this season underscores the basketball niche’s deep bench of creators—and their ability to drive interest in the sport’s premier professional league.

Last season, creator collaborators helped generate more than 650 million video views across the NBA’s social and digital channels, according to the league.

Should Creators Disclose Song Promos?

When you watch a video with a trending sound on TikTok, have you ever wondered how many catchy songs on your FYP paid to be there? Here’s your answer: 75% of TikTok’s top songs are funded by marketers, Billboard estimates. 

Context: Paid videos that use an artist’s song, aka “sound campaigns,” have been a key part of music labels’ marketing strategies since TikTok rose to popularity. 

The FTC considers videos that use songs in the background as a gray area similar to product placement, meaning they don’t require disclosure when marketers pay for songs to appear in videos and other content. 

But the line between unpaid enthusiasm for a song and a paid song promotion is hard to discern—as evidenced by creators’ growing confusion around which videos are actually paid for by marketers.

Looking ahead: Marketing experts told Billboard that unmarked song promos are fairly harmless. But the lack of awareness among creators re: what’s paid and what’s not points to the growing concern of media literacy, which is impacting other fields like politics and health.

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Creator Book Roundup: Bestseller Edition

It’s been a big week for creators hoping to add “bestseller” to their bios. No wonder TikTok’s owner ByteDance is on its way to making its own publishing house.

John Green announced his new book, Everything Is Tuberculosis, which will outline the history of the disease and how it’s shaped our culture. The title will be published under Crash Course Books, a new imprint under Penguin Young Readers based off the Green Bros’ Crash Course YouTube channel.

Nicolas “New York Nico” Heller released New York Nico’s Guide to NYC, which profiles mom-and-pop businesses around the five boroughs that give NYC its charm. Fellow creator Jeremy Cohen photographed the two-year-long project.

Henry “Salt Hank” Laporte released a cookbook, Salt Hank: A Five-Napkin Situation, which recently hit the New York Times bestseller list. It contains recipes for Laporte’s dishes like lamb burgers and vodka parmesan that have gained upwards of 70 million views on TikTok.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Pokimane and Valkyrae stream with Senator Bernie Sanders.

• Last week, we hosted our very first creator premiere featuring Tejas Hullur with Bio Sites. Here’s what made the night so special.*

• Joe Rogan will record an interview with former President Donald Trump on Friday.

• Corporate Natalie acts in Roku’s The Charlie Puth Show.

• YouTube launches a media literacy program for teens.

• Public Opinion launches a new YouTube channel and longform series for its Track Star show.

_{*This is sponsored advertising content.}