Good morning. Since TikTok Shop launched last September, 33% of Americans have purchased something on the platform, according to a new survey from ecommerce company Omnisend. What's more, users were more satisfied with TikTok Shop than other Chinese-owned marketplaces like Temu and Shein. Tell us: Have you made a purchase on TikTok Shop?

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Theorist Launches ‘LoreFi’ Channel

MatPat-founded Theorist Media and creator media company LunarX are launching a music YouTube channel called LoreFi.

Tune in: In the style of the beloved Lofi Girl music channel, LoreFi will play a mellow mix of original music with an animated avatar as backdrop—but with a Theorist twist. Videos will include episodic mystery storytelling and easter eggs for Theorist fans to track.

The first episode premieres tomorrow on YouTube, and the music will be available as an album on Apple Music and Spotify.

Context: Lofi is one of the most popular music genres on YouTube. Top channels Lofi Girl and The Bootleg Boy have each garnered over 1 billion total views and regularly reach the YouTube Trending page.

“Our team at Theorist, as well as our fans, have always been captivated by the digital worlds within the lofi internet communities,” MatPat said in a statement. “So in true Theorist fashion, we wanted to build one of our own, but integrate mystery and hidden storylines for our fans to uncover.”

Big picture: LoreFi is Theorist’s first venture into music. Since MatPat and his partner, Stephanie Patrick, “retired” from Theorist media videos in March, they’ve kept busy hosting a fashion show and launching new Theorist properties like an apparel brand. 

Case Study: How Ludwig’s ‘Unpaid Intern’ Integrates Ads

Gaming streamer Ludwig Ahgren debuted the first episode of his live, TV-style game show Unpaid Intern on his YouTube channel in February, inviting four creators (including LilyPichu and Daniel Thrasher) to compete in tasks such as baby-sitting children and drawing a map of the United States.

But fans had some feedback. They said the format of Unpaid Intern was confusing and the integrated advertising was “straight a**,” comments Ahgren acknowledged in March.

So, he shook things up. The latest two episodes of Unpaid Intern were uploaded as pre-edited videos instead of live streamed.

• This allowed sponsored ad reads (like one for Red Bull) to flow more naturally in between segments.

• Plus, Ahgren’s production company, Offbrand, created an original commercial for OMEN (a gaming laptop brand) that follows a day in Ahgren’s life—the commercial aired during a break in the most recent episode of Unpaid Intern.

Zoom out: Ahgren has said that he wants to retire from live streaming on his own channels.

• He sees Offbrand—which also produces events and shows for other creators—as a more sustainable business in the long run.

• Given the lengthy end credits of Unpaid Intern, it appears that the company is building up its team to create more heavily produced, TV-style shows (and ads) in-house.

YouTube Shorts Rolls Out Some Familiar-Looking Features

YouTube announced several new tools for creating Shorts…and some of them look a lot like features found on TikTok and Instagram. The highlights →

• Text to Speech: Creators can turn a transcript into an auto-generated voiceover, choosing from four different voices (including a robotic-sounding narration).

• Auto-Generated Captions: Creators can change font style and colors.

• “Add Yours” Sticker: When creators add this sticker to a Short, viewers can click on it and link their own related content.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Comedy creator Brian Jordan Alvarez is launching a TV show on FX.

• An Illinois law that requires creator parents to pay 15% of earnings to their children who star in their videos is now in effect.

• The White House is accepting applications to its Creator Economy Conference next month.

• Creator Hooks just launched a chrome extension to help generate video ideas.

• Golf apparel brand Metalwood launches a YouTube show.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: L.A. Times writer Stephanie Yang speaks with short-form video creators in India about the impact of the country’s TikTok ban.

• Watch: Comedian Grace Reiter makes creative use of emojis in a cheeky travel Short.

• Listen: Our own Nate Graber-Lipperman makes an appearance on The Try Guys’ podcast to talk about Keith’s creator midlife crisis and our recent Publish Paper.

🎁 Share the Press

When you refer new readers to the Press, you earn merch from the Press Publish shop.

*Here’s your unique link to share: {{rp_refer_url}}

You currently have {{rp_num_referrals}} referrals. You're only {{rp_num_referrals_until_next_milestone}} away from receiving {{rp_next_milestone_name}}.

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!