Good morning. As promotion for Lena Dunham’s new Netflix series, Too Much, Fergie collaborated with the show’s star, Megan Stalter, to make a second music video for her song “London Bridge,” 20 years later—this time actually on the London Bridge.

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Minecraft creator Quackity just came out of retirement on YouTube after almost three years to showcase his newest (non-cube-shaped) build: Dababel, a real-time language translation app for content creators.

How he got here: 

This new venture fits his niche. In 2023, Quackity started his own Minecraft group called the QSMP—the first multilingual Minecraft server with real-time translation. The following year, he announced that he was working on a universal real-time translation tool for content creators.

And now it’s here. Dababel (geared toward bigger creators with a $140/week pricepoint for the most advanced version) aims to connect creators and their audiences globally through three different modes:

“Throughout my life and my career I’ve noticed how prevalent language barriers are—no matter where you are,” Quackity said in his announcement. “Dababel is a project with the objective to help people move beyond this barrier, which has existed since the beginning of time.”

How’s the launch going? Dababel experienced so much traffic in the first hour that the app crashed.

The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the creator economy increased 73% year-over-year last quarter, according to a new report by advisory firm Quartermast. 

Here are some key takeaways →

Private equity is growing. One of the largest disclosed acquisitions? Private equity firm PSG’s purchase of a majority stake in video membership platform Uscreen for $150 million.

Creators are buying back IP, continuing a notable trend (see: Smosh buying back its brand from Mythical and the Hot Ones creators purchasing the brand from Buzzfeed for $83 million).

According to Quartermast, media was the second-largest acquisition category, behind only software.

Big picture: As the creator economy matures to a $192 billion industry, M&A is heating up—from Epic Gardening purchasing nonprofit Modern Farmer to Noah Beck selling his underwear brand IPHIS to sustainable clothing company Sown Again.

Sponsored by CTB

With nearly 11 million subs, Diary of a CEO is one of YouTube’s most-watched podcasts. Steven Bartlett has built a loyal following around laser-focused interviews that reveal the pressures behind public success.

Getting founders and celebrities to open up is Steven’s expertise. Central Talent Booking is happy to collaborate with his amazing team to secure bookings.

Case in point? They helped DOAC secure Jimmy Fallon to discuss, among a variety of topics, the emotional costs of building his comedy empire. The episode has 1.6 million views and counting.

Want guests your audience tune in to see? Connect with CTB today.

Last week, catastrophic and fatal flash floods swept through Texas Hill Country, devastating communities along the Guadalupe River.

Creators have joined the many volunteers in stepping up to help with aid. Here are some of the efforts we’ve seen so far →

Wildlife creator and streamer Maya Higa raised over $250K through her nonprofit, Alveus Sanctuary, to help rebuild the Texas animal sanctuary. Donors included Valkyrae and Hasan Piker.

Jewelry creator Erin McDermott raised $100K for those impacted by the floods and is donating 100% of proceeds from select necklaces purchased on her site to those affected.

Demolition Ranch’s Desperado Resort was affected by the floods (creator Matt Carriker and his family are safe). Carriker compiled a list of ways to help flood victims and volunteer.

Creator Camp is donating 100% of profits from all locations to Austin Disaster Relief Network, which started a fundraising campaign specifically for flooding around Austin and Central Texas.

Our bodies may be in summer mode, but our hearts are set on fall with Press Publish NYC—our one-day summit for the creator economy on September 4.

This week, we’re finalizing the run of show, wrapping up stage design, and picking out special merch for the event. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on all summer—apply now to attend.