Good morning. This Friday, we’re packing our berets and white linen and heading off to the Cannes Lions festival in France…which will feature more creators than ever before.

Got something you want to learn more about while we’re there? Someone you want to hear from?

Hit reply and let us know.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

Kai Cenat’s Streamer University is back for a second year, now accepting applications both online and in-person. It will be Cenat’s first stream since Mafiathon 3 ended in September 2025.

ICYMI: Last year, Cenat brought 120 creator students and 18 creator professors to the University of Akron’s campus for a four-day crash course in livestreaming.

What makes this creator-led event so successful? We spoke with MARI, a creator who attended Streamer University last year, to learn more. →

“[Livestreaming] is oversaturated,” MARI told us. “Everyone wants to become a streamer nowadays. […] You gotta know the right people. You gotta have the best setup. You gotta grind.” 

Enter: Streamer University, which can connect livestreamers (regardless of how big their businesses or channels are, MARI said) with other creators, audiences, and resources. 

And Cenat himself can send a livestreamer supersonic—RayAsianBoy grew by 10M followers in two years after one interaction with Cenat, for example. And her time at Streamer U last year helped MARI get a feature in a MrBeast video and appear in the Streamer Games. On a platform like Twitch that’s struggled with organic discoverability, that kind of exposure can change a streamer’s business permanently.

Last year, over 1 million people applied to Streamer U. This year, MARI told us the competition is even stiffer. More creators are producing professional audition tapes, hiring staff (MARI herself plans to bring a camerawoman and hire a clipper if she’s selected), and preparing content strategies outside of the Streamer University curriculum. 

“This is the best opportunity you could have nowadays,” MARI said. “And if you're there, you need to take advantage of everything.” 

Hi everyone, Syd here. At an event I attended last week, a theory of mine was all but confirmed: Creators have flipped the comedy workflow on its head. 

What that means: Comedians used to test material at small open mics, move to larger rooms, go on tour, then film and distribute their projects. 

But creators have changed everything. Comedy creators now use their social platforms to try new material, then go IRL—to open mics, live theaters, or the writer’s room for TV and film development. 

For example: Last week, I attended comedy creator Madi Hart’s play for the Hollywood Fringe Fest—where she portrays her real-life estranged father who left her family to become a professional breakdancer.

If that sounds a bit familiar, it’s because the show was based on her most-viewed video. Hart used audience reception (both good and bad) to the video to build a live show.

“I started posting online because I wanted another avenue to show proof of concept for my comedic voice,” Hart told me. “So posting has always been in conversation with me workshopping my material.”

She’s not alone: Sketch group American High Digital is developing a show at Netflix based on a short-form series, and comedian Tom Segura signed a deal with Fox Creator Studios to develop content on his existing social channels, which reach over 9M followers.

Big picture: Comedy creators have led the charge on this strategy of using their platforms as a testing ground for new concepts, but creators across all genres are benefitting. Kevin Cate’s sci-fi short film just got picked up in a six-figure development deal, and Glitch’s Amazing Digital Circus finale grossed over $20M in theaters.

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For Episode 330, Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer welcomed comedian Nick Kroll, with booking support from Central Talent Booking.

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With global revenue for vertical series passing $11B this year, streaming platforms are making big deals to bring short-form content to their platforms. Case in point: Disney+ recently acquired the streaming rights for Gracie’s Corner, a children’s YouTube channel with over 6.3M subscribers and 6B views.

Inside the deal: 

Zoom out: The massive success of Ms. Rachel and Cocomelon at Netflix could be Disney’s reasoning for prioritizing children’s content from creators. Earlier this year, the company signed a similar development deal with children’s music creator Lenny Pearce. 

Over the weekend, musician Oliver Tree and YouTube creator Gaspi were among the six people who died in a helicopter accident in Brazil. Our hearts go out to their families, friends, and communities.