Good morning. Music journalist Nardwuar released an interview with Harry Styles over the weekend, which, like all of his interviews, was delightfully odd. Who’s gonna be the Nardwuar for creators? Maybe it’s time to step up, be the change I wish to see in the world.

–Hannah Doyle

Long Form Video Is Having a Moment

For the better part of two years, platforms have been encouraging creators to try new video lengths—but for any creators keeping track, success has been a moving target. Since 2020, YouTube has been pushing Shorts. Meta emphasized Instagram Reels. Then TikTok zagged to longform, bumping its max video duration to 10 minutes in February.

All these disparate platform strategies rewarding disparate content styles have made creating algorithmically pleasing videos increasingly difficult.

But finally, we may have some clarity. A recent Google study posited a theory: Long-form content still has a place in the media world, despite all those seven-second TikToks. And we’re seeing it in practice, too—recently a crop of extra-long videos have been gaining popularity on YouTube.

For example, Quinton Reviews’ whopping eight-hour long review of Nickelodeon’s Victorious has racked up over 4 million views in five months, and Good Good Golf’s three-hour Major Tournament has amassed nearly 3 million views in two weeks.

What’s a creator to make of these findings? It’s all in the context.

• Short-form content has its pros: It’s lower-lift, it can be filmed on a phone, and it’s easier and faster to execute from ideation to publication.

• But there are cons, too: Short-form makes going deep enough to really build community difficult. And the name of the game is churn and burn.

• As for the pros of long-form content? It allows for a deeper audience connection and leaves room for nuanced, complex stories.

• You know there are cons, too: Long-form content takes more time and money to produce, plus it’s a crowded sector.

Our Take

While any given platform’s main agenda is to compete with other platforms to become the #1 place for creators, those creators have to think selfishly about what content works for them and the career they want. There will always be a platform home for the content that best suits your style, needs, and creativity—it’s about finding the right mix that aligns with your goals.

Andrew Tate Is Kicked Off Social

Andrew Tate, the ex-kickboxer whose misogynistic, troubling takes have recently become difficult to avoid, is finally getting easier to avoid. Tate’s personal accounts have now been banned on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Some context: For many, this is too little too late—Tate’s toxic rhetoric has wreaked havoc on TikTok the past few months, with #AndrewTate clocking almost 14 billion views. And despite TikTok’s efforts to remove duplicates of his videos, Duets and clips of Tate’s harmful ideas remain plentiful. On Instagram, his following climbed to 4.7 million before his official account was removed.

Our Take

Following recent bans, Tate’s most fervent followers have made plenty of noise about the potential infringement of his right to free speech. But it’s important to note: These platforms are private businesses, which have terms and conditions for use. They in turn get to determine their own rules around free speech.

And while Tate’s ban feels like a relief to some, his ideas can’t be eradicated easily. Tate’s extreme views have been especially harmful for young boys—so much so that parents and teachers are looking for practical ways to cope with his impact. What can platforms do to make the work easier for parents and caretakers offline to mop up the mess and equip kids with discernment?

Sponsored by Jellysmack

What Flexible Financing Solutions Look Like For Creators

Introducing Jellysmack’s new financial solutions: JellyFi.

In Jellysmack’s Creator Program, they help creators grow their audience by distributing their videos across multiple social platforms. And now with the launch of JellyFi, they’re providing customized financial solutions that will empower creators to grow their businesses.

Why do creators need financing solutions? JellyFi’s Chief Business Officer, Dov Marmor, explained the creator use case to Insider:

"[Entrepreneurs] might need a line of credit, they might need a loan, they might want an investment, they might be doing tax or estate planning—you name it. Most industries have several financing options to help business people in that vertical and we believe it won't be any different in the creator economy.”

JellyFi allows creators to secure upfront funding so they can both focus on their content and invest the cash into business-building activities like hiring, renting a studio, or launching a product.

Go here to learn more about how JellyFi is empowering creators to bet on themselves.

Creator Builds a Network Reuniting Indian and Pakistani Families

Today in heartwarming content: YouTube channel Punjabi Lehar just published a series bringing a 90-year-old man back to his home in Pakistan that he hadn’t visited since he was 15.

It’s part of the work Nasir Dhillon has been doing through the channel since 2016 to reunite families split by the 1947 partition between India and Pakistan.

Big picture: As these countries have some of the highest populations without internet access, the channel has been a means to broaden an offline network of contacts and activists who can help track down lost family members. And people love it! The channel went viral earlier this year for reuniting brothers after 75 years apart.

Our Take

With all the entertainment and functionality that YouTube strives for, it can be easy to overlook one of its biggest utilities—connection. By forging a strong interpersonal network through the channel, Dhillon can reunite even more families than we see in the channel’s published content.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Apple Podcasts unveils Top Subscriber charts.

• Cameo releases a live feature to let fans chat with celebrities.

• You don’t need more music to choose from for your videos—you need better music. Customize premium music infinitely with MixLab™ by Track Club.*

• Why it’s so hard to find PRIME in the UK.

• YouTube starts auto-watermarking Shorts to help with creator attribution.

*This is sponsored advertising content.