Reese Witherspoon Wants To Give Creators "Rocket Fuel" 🚀

The actor's Hello Sunshine media brand launches a creator collective

Hannah Doyle & Nathan Graber-Lipperman
October 23, 2023

Good morning. 90-year-old Aleen Wilson started a YouTube channel to document her glass art earlier this year. Her POV? "I want to encourage older people to find something creative or interesting to do with their golden years...so depend on the young ones to help you step out of your comfort zone." Here’s to a future of staying inspired (and creative) no matter our age.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Valkyrae, Korean Vegan Join Hello Sunshine Creator Collective

Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter (left), Joanne Molinaro of The Korean Vegan (center), and Sydney Carter (right), are among the 15 women selected as part of the Hello Sunshine Collective / Valkyrae, Hello Sunshine, Sydney Carter

Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter and Joanne “The Korean Vegan” Molinaro are among 15 female creators who last week joined media brand Hello Sunshine’s creator collective.

Context: Hello Sunshine, founded by actor Reese Witherspoon, has made a name for itself by producing female-driven media, including hits like the movie Where The Crawdads Sing, the TV series Big Little Lies, and the popular Reese’s Book Club that highlights women-focused novels.

Now, Hello Sunshine is investing in creators—following in the footsteps of other personality-led media brands like Mythical and Magnolia Network that have also recently backed creators.

The details:

Hello Sunshine’s year-long program will support creators in marketing, strategic partnerships, and direct-to-consumer retail.
Witherspoon told The Hollywood Reporter that the collective will serve as “rocket fuel” for creators.

For veteran creators like Valkyrae (who is a co-owner of gaming media brand 100 Thieves), the Hello Sunshine Collective could provide new pathways into women’s retail. For creators earlier in their careers like University of Texas women's basketball coach Sydney Carter, the community can provide mentorship and collaboration with more seasoned female creators.

Big picture: Hello Sunshine parent company Candle Media is expected to report 2023 earnings that’ll come in about 50% below expectations for the year, according to Bloomberg. Candle says the slowdown is due to both the Hollywood strikes and a general spending pullback in entertainment.

Investing in creators—through this Creator Collective and a recent production deal with TikTok to produce popular #BookTok titles—could help Hello Sunshine reverse that trend.

Twitch Announces Flurry of Popular Updates at TwitchCon

Twitch announces updates to the platform at TwitchCon Las Vegas, which was held from Friday to Sunday / Twitch

Twitch announced several major updates to its platform over the weekend at TwitchCon. Many streamers who attended the event in Las Vegas seem to be in support of the company’s efforts to turn things around after months of missteps, from top streamers signing with upstart competitors like Kick to the company’s own self-induced stumbles.

Three major takeaways:

Creators can simulcast. Following a controversial ban on the practice in June, streamers can once again go live on multiple platforms at the same time.
Better creator protections. The company said it will “further protect” its creators by taking action against Twitch users who dox or swat streamers.
Updated Path to Partner. The company clarified specific viewership requirements to its revenue sharing program application process. To highlight the changes, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy documented his journey to monetizing his personal account.

So…dubs in the chat? Creators seem pleased by the company’s willingness to adapt to better meet their needs.

After dropping his exclusive contract with Twitch in 2022, streamer Ninja dined with Clancy this month and indicated his support for the new simulcasting guidelines.
“I love Clancy…great CEO, really cares and listens to streamers, also fun dude,” comedy streamer Burke Black tweeted.

A Struggle That Creators Know All Too Well

You’ve got a brilliant video idea that’s been swirling around your head for what seems like forever.

But you’re stuck…

Stuck because you can’t quite see how to script, shoot, and edit your concept into something real.

For moments like these, invideo AI can come to the rescue. Think of it as your creative co-pilot for storyboarding, visualizing, and producing your next video.

Using its AI-powered, text-based editor, simply type in a prompt of your idea. Then, watch it evolve into a foundational draft—complete with voiceover, music, and even the right B-roll.

You can generate shorts or long-form videos with invideo AI. All your content is tailored to match your platform, audience, and preferred aesthetic.

Ready to transform that idea in your head into something tangible? Then test invideo AI for free today.

FaZe Clan Sells for $16 Million

GameSquare acquires esports and creator group FaZe Clan and reinstates founder Richard “Banks” Bengston (right) as CEO / GameSquare & FaZe Clan, Faze Banks

Esports company GameSquare has acquired FaZe Clan for $16 million in an all-stock deal that will name FaZe cofounder Richard “Banks” Bengston as CEO, the companies announced in a joint statement on Friday.

Big picture: The acquisition follows a rollercoaster ride at FaZe since the company announced its plans to go public in October 2021 at a $1 billion valuation. After FaZe shares fell to as low as 15 cents, the company was valued last week at just $15.5 million.

GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna said FaZe is still “one of the biggest names in gaming” that can benefit from joining a larger company with more “infrastructure.” According to Bengston, running FaZe Clan as an independent division of GameSquare will allow the group to “produce first, talk later,” in turn regaining trust with its audience through new original content.

👀 Creator Moves

Finance education company Adventis is hiring a newsletter copywriter to craft compelling job recruiting content.
Dhar Mann Studios is hiring a content manager to produce original videos for Snapchat.
MrBeast is hiring an assistant editor to help organize projects and maintain a structured environment.

🔥 Press Worthy

Productivity creator Thomas Frank explains how he doubled his income by starting a second channel.
SSSniperwolf apologizes to Jacksfilms following YouTube’s decision to demonetize her channel.
Sam and Colby sell out 168 screens for the premiere of their new “Conjuring House” series in movie theaters.
DrDisRespect surpassed iShowSpeed to become the most-watched North American streamer on YouTube.

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