Good morning. Last night at SAG-AFTRA’s Actor Awards, Michael B. Jordan won for his lead performance in Sinners—an award many people expected to go to Timothée Chalamet for his role in Marty Supreme.
With the Oscars just around the corner, who do you think will take home the prestigious award for best actor? Hit reply and tell us your hot takes.
When Should Creators Hire a CEO?
Alessandra Catanese (middle) is the CEO of Smosh, which was founded by Anthony Padilla (left) and Ian Hecox (right) / Alessandra Catanese
One of the biggest debates taking over our LinkedIn feed is: should creators hire a CEO? If so, when?
We called up Smosh CEO Alessandra Catanese, one of the longest-running creator CEOs in the business, for her take.
Quick background →
Smosh, a comedy brand started by friends Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox in 2005, has had multiple owners—Defy Media purchased the brand in 2011, then Mythical in 2019, then Hecox and Padilla bought it back in 2023.
Catanese joined as CEO soon after and now leads a team of 70+.
Her edge? Deep knowledge in talent management and partnerships with experience at companies like Maker Studios and Patreon—plus trust with the founders.
Three questions Catanese asks creators to find out if it’s time for a CEO →
What does your business need? Catanese said to identify where growth is slowing you down, not speeding you up. “Try learning as much about business as possible, and on that journey if you're like ‘I want to tear my eyes out and I've sacrificed so much of my art’...that’s kind of your answer,” Catanese said.
What are your concerns? “Where I think creators get scared is ‘are you going to run away with the businesses?’ For us, our relationships are strong but we also work with a system.”
Smosh’s system includes running meetings on workflow software Entrepreneurship Operating System and setting one-, three-, and 10-year plans broken into 90-day sprints.
How can your business grow? Catanese says creators should identify where they want to expand—such as products or courses—and where they are comfortable off-loading decisions.
“Being a CEO doesn’t mean I make all decisions on an island, but oftentimes I make decisions [Anthony and Ian] won't be privy to,” Catanese said. “We need to get there with the understanding of always being respectful, POV of comedy rooted in friendship, and core values for employees that we have to exhibit.”
Programming note: This is part of a new series highlighting the CEOs who work for some of YouTube’s biggest creators. Do you work for a creator or want to learn more about certain roles on creator teams? Hit reply and let us know.
AI Artists Climb Spotify Charts
Spotify has seen an influx of music by AI artists like Sienna Rose (left) / Sienna Rose, Illustration by Moy Zhong
Last week, music creator PJ Frantz noticed that six of Spotify’s top 50 trending songs were made by AI—and swiftly called for Spotify to label AI music.
Context: Last September, Spotify removed over 75 million AI-generated songs and announced it would implement protections like AI labels on the platform. However, AI “artists” like Sienna Rose have gained millions of monthly listeners on Spotify without labeling.
“Listeners want to know and they can’t tell the difference,” Franz said on Instagram.
“Good music is hard to make on purpose,” music creator Hamilton Troy Hayes told us. “The only purpose of AI is convenience. And with that convenience, you lose all of the details that make music truly powerful.”
Should music streaming platforms be required to label AI-generated music?
Sponsored by CTB
How Theo Von Landed Chris Hemsworth for an Off-Script Conversation
In most interviews, Chris Hemsworth rarely gets personal. But on a recent episode of This Past Weekend with Theo Von, that wasn’t the case.
With help from Central Talent Booking, Theo booked one of Hollywood’s biggest stars for a conversation that went beneath the surface. Chris opened up about connecting with his father through his battle with Alzheimer’s and what it’s like to reach the top of your career yet still feel lost.
In just one week, the episode crossed 1.1 million views on YouTube.
Want to land guests who are willing to go deep like this? Partner with CTB and their 26+ years of industry expertise today.
Streamers Launch a Scholarship at NYU
Valkyrae (left) funds a scholarship at New York University's Game Center named after fellow streamer Squeex (right) / Valkyrae
Gaming creators Valkyrae and Squeex just announced a scholarship in partnership with New York University’s Game Center.
Loading screen: As part of Valkyrae’s “Touching Grass” YouTube series where she tries activities that scare her with other streamers, Squeex gave a lecture at NYU about livestreaming—where Valkyrae announced the “Squeex Scholarship.”
The scholarship will support travel stipends, internships, and networking opportunities for students looking to launch their careers as gaming creators.
Leveling up: As content creation is being recognized as a viable career path from universities, more schools are involving creators beyond curriculum. Syracuse University opened the Center for the Creator Economy in November, and Gymnasium’s Adam Faze and Subway Take’s Kareem Rama recently guest lectured at Harvard University.
👀 Job Board
Jack’s Dining Room is hiring a video editor.
The Publish Press (hi, that’s us) is hiring a social media freelancer to grow our audience across Instagram and LinkedIn.
Comedy creator ElevenZ is hiring a video editor to edit YouTube reaction videos.
🔥 Press Worthy
News creator Andrew Callaghan is going on tour across the US.
Coffee creator Morgan Eckroth is releasing a book on at-home coffee making, Coffee, For Here.
X launches paid partnership labels for sponsored posts.
OpenAI partners with the US Department of War.
LinkedIn reports a 60% decrease in traffic due to AI search.
Alex Cooper shares a tour of the Unwell offices, saying the company has tripled in size in the last year.
