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Why Ludwig Sold His Company š¼
The streamer sells Offbrand to its employees
Good morning. Prank creator Fidias Panayiotou has been elected to represent his home country of Cyprus in the European Parliament. Despite having no political experience, the 24-year-old creator with 2.6 million YouTube subscribers earned 19% of votes in Cyprus. Whether itās a true pivot to politics or a long-con prank, only time will tell.
AI Roundup: Apple and Adobe Make a Safety Play
Apple announces Apple Intelligence while Adobe shares a clarification / Illustration by Moy Zhong
This week, Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence, its system-wide push into generative AI, while Adobe overhauled its AI terms of service. Hereās what creators need to know ā
Apple Intelligence is a new suite of generative AI tools spanning Appleās products via its latest operating systems. Apple said Intelligence is built with āsafety at its coreā (but didnāt explain exactly how). Top features:
New generative AI writing tools built into Pages, Notes, and Keynote to let you summarize, proofread, and change writing style in-app.
The cleanup tool in Photos lets you cut items in the background of a photo without altering the subject. You can also get summaries of phone calls and videos.
āIt feels like weāve entered a new age with Apple,ā MKHBD said in a video recapping Appleās 2024 Developers Conference. āThe AI stuff is so important that itās very much what weāre most interested in.ā
Adobe is changing its user terms to clarify that it wonāt train AI on usersā work after users became concerned that Adobeās new terms implied it would do just that. The revised terms of service are expected to roll out next Tuesday.
Zoom out: These announcements follow a wave of scrutiny (see: last weekās Instagram pushback) from creators and artists concerned that generative AI tools might use their content without their consentā¦so much so that āanti-AIā social apps like Cara are on the rise.
Ludwig Sells His Stake in Offbrand
Last week, gaming streamer Ludwig Ahgren announced that he sold his ownership stake in Offbrand, the creator events studio he co-founded in 2022.
So whoād he sell it to? Employees who work at Offbrand. The company became a worker cooperative in 2023ābut with this sale, Offbrandās personnel now own the majority of the company.
āWhat that means is the people who work thereā¦now all get a say and a vote at what happens at the company,ā Ahgren explained in his announcement video.
āI have as big of a vote as someone whoās worked there as long as I have who operates a camera.ā
Big picture: Major layoffs and millions of dollars in losses plagued gaming in 2023, leading analysts to declare an āesports winter.ā
Ahgren cited these industry-wide trends as the catalyst for turning Offbrand into a worker cooperative. āI don't want to just survive, I want us to thriveā¦and I think this is the best path forward for a stronger work culture and a more sustainable company,ā he said.
FYI: Ahgren also revealed that Offbrand is spinning off a video game publisher called Offbrand Games. Jason āThorā Hall, a former game developer at Blizzard Entertainment and the creator behind YouTube channel Pirate Software, will become Offbrand Gamesā Director of Strategy.
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Fiverr Invites Creators to Expanded Partner Program
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Kai Cenat Hosts Record-Breaking Stream with Kevin Hart
(From Left) Kai Cenat, Druski, and Kevin Hart host their nearly 12-hour āSleepover Streamā / Kai Cenat, Rico Da Vinciii
Twitch streamer Kai Cenat hosted a nearly 12-hour overnight stream on Monday with comedians Kevin Hart and Druski that peaked at over 720,000 concurrent viewersāa record for Cenat.
Why it matters: Cenat, who has over 11 million followers on Twitch, regularly plays a role in driving youth culture. Hart joins a growing list of celebrities who have made viral appearances on Cenatās channelāLeBron James even FaceTimed in for a cameo in Mondayās stream.
Zoom out: Cenatās popularity has extended past just the Twitch community. Nike signed him to an endorsement deal back in February, making Cenat the first streamer to sign with the sportswear company.
š„ Press Worthy
Cheeseball Man is hosting a charity cheeseball-eating event in New York City.
BeReal is being acquired for $540 million.
Learn about the latest innovations in creator-brand partnerships at a Vidcon panel presented by Bio Sites from Squarespace. Join on 6/29 at 11 am PT.*
Design creator Nicole McLaughlin is releasing a sneaker with Hoka.
TikTok Shop is now the ninth-largest beauty ecommerce retailer in the U.S.
AMP signs on to make products with Bang Energy.
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