Good morning. After 10 months of publicly petitioning the US government, creator band Boy Throb shared that their fourth member, Darshan Magdum, secured a visa to move from India and perform with the band in person for the first time.
Along the way, they racked up over 1M followers and signed with Kesha’s record label. And isn’t that what the American Dream is all about?
Today’s lineup:
Three rules for using AI without losing your audience
How a comedy creator directed a TV spot
Challenge creator WillNE launches a marketing agency
How Creators Should Use AI, According to You
Colin (left) and Samir (right) discuss if and how creators should disclose AI usage / Colin and Samir
Following our Monday coverage on the backlash Hank Green faced for using generative AI in his research process, the topic drew hundreds of reader replies and a lengthy debate in our office—making it the story of the week.
Why it matters: Whether creators disclose it or not, there’s a good chance your favorite creator already uses AI somewhere in their workflow—from research and audio cleanup to thumbnail ideation and design.
What we learned: 83% of Publish Press readers said creators should disclose when they use AI in their content.
But the comments told a more nuanced story:
“Anti-AI is the newest virtue signal, and I say this as someone who supports being anti-AI,” faceless creator C. Thompson said. “The whole problem is an ethical mess on all sides.”
“I think if the creator's audience is built around being pro/against AI, disclosing makes sense,” one anonymous subscriber said. “Otherwise, it’s not important.”
“There are ethical and moral issues baked into the creation, training, and use of all AI models (even the now-popular local AI),” another anonymous subscriber told us. “Given AI's reliance on intellectual property theft and the localized negative environmental effects of the data centers that run and train models, it is only fair that creators are honest about how much AI is present in their content workflow.”
So where should creators draw the line? Together with Colin and Samir we landed on a few principles creators can follow →
Be honest. Samir said honesty can mean being transparent about AI use and honesty in your storytelling.
“If it’s something I really want to make and I get help from my team—plus organize those thoughts through an LLM—then deliver it through my honest lens, I’m okay with it,” Samir said.
The line is when the audience notices. Colin said he used AI to make graphics for a video earlier this year, but received audience pushback because it didn’t feel natural.
“I am not yet good enough at using this tool to make it indistinguishable for my audience,” Colin said. “Not to say that I won’t use it again when I get better, but currently that’s my line because I’m not as good as I should have been to make sure it didn’t impact the story.”
Don’t imitate another creator. AI can help creators move faster, but it shouldn’t become a shortcut to copying someone else’s work or style.
“Where you take inspiration has to go so far that the original artist would be okay with what you’ve done with it,” Colin said.
Want to go deeper on AI disclosure? Check out the full conversation in today’s episode of The Colin and Samir Show, releasing this afternoon.
Did you find this story helpful for your business?
Inside a Comedy Creator’s TV Director Debut
Jordan Howlett (right) directs and stars in a commercial alongside rapper Method Man (left) for Blenders / Jordan Howlett
While some creators star in television commercials, a few are now calling the shots. Short-form comedy creator Jordan Howlett recently wrote, directed, and starred in his first national TV spot with rapper Method Man for eyewear brand Blenders—the first project in his new role as chief content officer for the brand.
We caught up with Howlett to hear how it came together and why Blenders gave him more than a traditional brand deal →
Over Howlett’s six years of making videos, tossing glasses became a signature part of his brand. He turned down multiple eyewear deals until Blenders offered him a more hands-on creative role.
“Blenders is just the first company to treat all of that like a job and a community to be cultivated and serviced,” Howlett told us.
Though the commercial was about the same length as one of his one-minute TikToks, Howlett said there was a learning curve to leading a 40-person production team.
“Directing alone is a craft. Directing people is a responsibility, and nobody teaches creators that because a lot of us came up doing everything ourselves,” Howlett said.
Blenders and Howlett cast Method Man because fans had spent years insisting the two look alike.
"The audience cast him," Howlett said. "We just finally shot what they had already decided was true."
Breaking down the deal: Blenders declined to share financial details, but Howlett's team said the pay is commensurate with the executive title—a long-term role spanning content and product with a defined slate of work.
“Phase one—which is what everyone is currently witnessing—was the launch. Phase two is the longer build, and that's the phase that will decide what this deal was actually worth,” Howlett’s manager and Founder of Greenlight Productions, Doug Landers, told us.
Big picture: Howlett’s directing debut reflects a broader shift in how brands are working with creators—from Colin and Samir’s Lexus commercial to TBPN consulting for OpenAI. Rather than buying a creator’s reach, brands are hiring their judgment—and giving them the authority to lead the creative and its execution.
Sponsored by Circle
Get an exclusive look behind the $6 million YAP Challenge that Took Over the Internet.
At Circle’s Build Summit, Jessi Jean will take you behind one of the most talked-about launches in the online business world, revealing what happened before, during, and after the YAP Challenge exploded across the internet.
You'll walk away with practical lessons on creating anticipation, driving participation, and designing launches that generate both revenue and lasting community.
WillNe Starts a Creator Marketing Agency
Will "WillNE" Lenney (second from left) and his brand partnerships manager Elliott Tugwell (left) launch Creatorkey / Elliott Tugwell
Yesterday challenge creator Will “WillNE” Lenney and his brand partnerships manager Elliott Tugwell announced Creatorkey, a UK-based creator marketing agency.
Catch up quick: Over 14 years, Lenney has built an audience of 9M making videos like “I Bought 5 Billion of the World’s Cheapest Currency”.
In 2024, Lenney became co-owner and strategic director of Quadrant, a motorsports content brand, and last year he launched a coffee and matcha brand now stocked in hundreds of UK grocery stores.
So far, Creatorkey has worked with brands like Barclays, Samsung, and NordVPN—and represents creators like Zac Alsop and TheBurntChip.
Trend watch: More creators are launching their own agencies, from Anthpo’s Pufferfish and Creator Camp’s Camp Studios to Alex Cooper’s Unwell Creative Agency. This year, US creator ad spend is projected to reach $44 billion, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. As that market grows, will creators increasingly be the ones helping brands spend it?
🔥 Press Worthy
IShowSpeed releases a line of tees at Zumiez.
YouTube education creator Aprilynne Alter opens spots for the fall cohort of her creator accelerator program.
Esports company Razer acquires creator streaming brand StreamElements.
Try Guys cofounder Keith Habersberger is the first guest on TV writer Phil Rosenthal’s new YouTube show, How To Be A Sandwich.
Sports creators Simone Scott and Isaac Rochell join ESPN’s creator network.
Feastables partners with Liquid Death to release chocolate peanut butter flavored soda.
