Good morning. After pro basketball player LiAngelo Ball played his song, “Tweaker,” on gaming creator N3on’s Kick stream two weeks ago, the song has taken off. 12 million streams, a record deal with Def Jam, and a scheduled set at Rolling Loud in March—is livestreaming the future of music discovery?

— Hannah Doyle 

TikTok Ban: Which Platform Comes Out on Top?

With four days until TikTok is set to be banned in the US, competitor platforms are angling for TikTok’s 170 million users and pole position with creators. 

Here’s how major platforms are preparing to make the most of a potential TikTok ban:

Substack is expanding its live video capabilities to all creators. It’s also offering a $25,000 “TikTok Liberation Prize” to one TikTok creator who inspires their audience to join them on Substack.

YouTube is increasing Shorts from 60 seconds to three minutes for all users. As of October, any square to vertical videos three minutes or shorter are treated as Shorts on YouTube. Worth noting: TikTok videos recorded in the app can be up to 10 minutes long.

Meta is expected to capture nearly 40% of reallocated US TikTok ad spend following the ban, according to eMarketer. And as for creators, Meta has invested more in AI over the last year to power Reels, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said make up 50% of users' time spent on Instagram.

Big picture: Over the past month, platforms have been cozying up to the incoming Trump administration to gain favor in a post-TikTok US market, from Apple CEO Tim Cook donating $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee to Spotify hosting a podcast activation in DC for inauguration day. 

Now, platforms are turning their attention to users…but will it work? Both ByteDance-owned Lemon8 and another Chinese TikTok lookalike, Red Note, have surged in downloads in the last week.

While we’re here: the latest on TikTok. On Monday, Senator Ed Markey said he plans to introduce a bill extending the TikTok ban deadline another 270 days. For TikTok’s part, the platform is reportedly planning to shut off the app for US users on Sunday.

How a Film Grad Became the Go-To Editor for Major Creators

Freelance video editor Rachel Kisela has worked for top creators, from MrBeast to Hope Scope to Bunny Hedaya.

She shared more on how she runs a successful freelance business →

Approach creators with a solution. As an undergrad student at the University of Washington, Kisela identified TikTok creators with explosive growth who hadn’t made the jump to YouTube, then emailed them with ideas for a future channel. 

“I was looking for gaps in [creator’s] content and being very specific about the things I thought they could benefit from,” Kisela told us, which led to her first gig with lifestyle creator Brittani Lancaster.

• Kisela also successfully pitched lifestyle creator Bunny Hedaya, who shared on TikTok Live that she wanted to upload a compilation of TikToks to YouTube.

• Kisela downloaded Hedaya’s TikToks, made the edit, and emailed Hedaya the compilation with a thumbnail. Hedaya liked it—they’ve now worked together for four years.

Identify market needs. Kisela said some fashion and family creators prefer female editors to handle sensitive footage (like getting dressed). 

• So Kisela created editHers, a Discord for female video editors. 

• “If you have a niche community you want to start, just start it,” Kisela said. “It doesn’t really matter how big it is as long as it helps the people that are in it, and people have gotten long-term clients from the Discord alone.”
  

This is part of our series profiling the creator powerhouses behind the camera. Read our first article here. Is there another creator or position you want to hear about? Hit reply and let us know.

Sponsored by CTB

How Theo Von Booked One of Hollywood’s Brightest Stars

With his disarming sense of humor and down-to-earth charm, Theo Von is undoubtedly one of podcasting’s most beloved hosts.

Want proof? Last year, This Past Weekend ranked as Spotify’s fourth most-streamed podcast worldwide.

Theo regularly hosts a diverse lineup of high-profile guests—many of whom he secured thanks to Central Talent Booking.

By partnering with CTB, Theo scored one of his biggest conversations of 2024: Timothée Chalamet. In just one month, the episode has nearly 4 million views on YouTube alone! 

Ready to raise the bar in 2025? Learn how CTB’s 25+ years of expertise can book you A-List talent today.

Ms Rachel Is Coming to Netflix

The latest creator headed to streaming? Toddler learning creator Rachel Accurso, aka Ms Rachel. Over the last six years on YouTube, she’s amassed over 13 million subscribers and 9 billion views.

Later this month, she’ll release four 30- to 60-minute episodes (compilations of her existing YouTube videos) on Netflix.

Zoom out: On Netflix, Ms Rachel joins kids show Cocomelon, which received over 600 million hours of watch time on the streaming service in the first half of 2023 alone.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Fitness creator MadFit reaches 10 million YouTube subscribers.

• Adobe announces Firefly Bulk Create, an AI tool that can edit thousands of images at once.

• Victoria Paris teases her new jewelry line, Tenfour.

• Twitch monthly viewership in December falls to the lowest level in four years.

• Tim Ferriss is releasing a new book tentatively titled The No Book.