Good morning. #BookTok creator Kierra Lewis is sharing her experience reading Harry Potter for the first time. Through four books and over 60 videos so far, fans are reliving Potter in Lewis’ comments while protecting her from spoilers—proving that community engagement comes in all different shapes and sizes online.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Inside Ludwig’s 5-Year Business Plan

Gaming streamer and entrepreneur Ludwig Ahgren is getting ready to close the chapter on streaming. We’ll explain.

Ahgren recently gave Colin and Samir a tour of his two businesses, Mogul Moves and Offbrand, dishing on business costs, content strategy, and more. Here’s how he plans to transition his media empire over the next five years →

Quick catch-up: 

• Mogul Moves is Ahgren’s entertainment company, which includes his streaming deal with YouTube, The Yard podcast, clothing, and Swipe bidets. 

• He started the production studio Offbrand, which hosts everything from esports tournaments to original shows, in 2022.

• Mogul Moves spent $11 million of the $13 million it made in 2022, mostly toward building out Mogul’s 12-person team and Offbrand’s 20-person team.

“My next five years is getting Offbrand to that point [of sustainability], then I can do what I want,” Ahgren said. “That doesn’t stop me from doing what I want content-wise, which is my goal [in 2024],” Ahgren said. Ultimately, he is looking to build up Offbrand so it’s not reliant on him live streaming or making content to stay in business.

How Ahgren plans to do that: Through multi-faceted brand deals that incorporate both Mogul Moves and Offbrand. “Brands are paying a lot more because they’re not just being sold on me as the creator, but we’ll do an event with Offbrand,” Ahgren said. “That is able to sell for a lot more and get Offbrand to a better place.” The company also services other creators and their events, like QTCinderella’s Streamer Awards.

Looking ahead: As Ahgren phases himself out of livestream videos, he’s paving a path for Mogul employees to move to Offbrand down the road. Already, about three employees have switched over. “[Mogul] is not going to last for five years…whereas Offbrand can exist 20 years in the future,” Ahgren said. “So it’s more like ‘Hey, you can go to this lifeboat, or you can sink with the captain.’”

Stay tuned to Colin and Samir for the full tour.

Soccer Creators Find Success with Multi-Language Audio

Last February, YouTube rolled out support for multi-language dubbed videos.

One year later, creators have started to reap the benefits in building international audiences. One prime example? Soccer channel Futcrunch, which more than doubled its subscriber base to over 2 million in 2023. “The audio track tool has absolutely revolutionized our channel,” Futcrunch creator Santiago Vazquez told us.

How they got there: Vazquez, who’s from Venezuela, started making soccer content in 2019 while working as a waiter in Liverpool, England.

• As his channel grew, Vazquez recruited his brother Moises and friend Ricardo Ritrovato to help run operations and marketing.

• They realized that even though most of their content was in English, viewers were split across dozens of countries thanks to the global popularity of soccer.

So they invested more resources into dubbing their content in other languages, attaching audio tracks including Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

These days, about 20% of Futcrunch viewers watch in Spanish, the channel’s most popular language.

Zoom out: With YouTube’s increased focus on multi-language audio, creators such as Futcrunch are focusing on content topics with built-in fandoms worldwide.

“We’re not white guys in America trying to follow in the footsteps of MrBeast,” Ritrovato told us. “The views we’re pulling are [equivalent to] very broad entertainment channels, but we do that within a niche.”

Colin and Samir are going live on Discord tomorrow at 5 PM PST to chat all things creator-led merch. RSVP here and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Supreme Court Set to Rule on Social Media Content Moderation

A pair of controversial Texas and Florida content moderation laws have made their way to the Supreme Court today. The cases could determine whether platforms including Facebook and YouTube will be legally required to host users’ posts—even if the content contains misinformation or hate speech.

Context: Both states passed their respective legislation in 2021, though various lawsuits have stopped them from being enforced.

NetChoice, the tech trade group that sued Texas and Florida, argues that social media platforms have a “First Amendment right to host, curate and share content as they see fit.”

Looking ahead: The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision sometime this spring. If the laws are upheld, tech companies would presumably have to alter their algorithms and policies in both Texas and Florida (as well as any other states that pass similar legislation).

👀 Creator Moves

• Dude Perfect is hiring a content producer to conceptualize, film, and edit videos across various channels.

• Jacklyn Dallas is hiring a NYC-based videographer for her tech YouTube channel.

• MrBeast is hiring a strategy coordinator to analyze data sets and identify trends.

• Music licensing platform Uppbeat is hiring a social media manager to help define its brand voice and visual identity.

🔥 Press Worthy

• BuzzFeed keeps Hot Ones in its sale of Complex Networks.

• Meta is expanding its creator marketplace to Canada, the UK, and Australia.

• Creators are launching link-in-bio stores in minutes with this free, all-in-one tool.*

• Twitch and Kick are banned in Turkey following gambling concerns.

• Ninja is launching a nut milk brand.

_{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

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