Good morning. Over the holidays, Jimmy βMrBeastβ Donaldson and gaming creator Thea Booysen got engaged. Congrats to the couple, and hereβs to hoping Whobilly (who wrote MrBeastβs outro song) performs a MrsBeast version at the wedding.
β Hannah Doyle

Creators Take Action Against Honey

Devin Stone (left) files a lawsuit against Honeyβs parent company, PayPal, and Marques Brownlee (right) removes clips from videos with Honey promotions /Β LegalEagle,Β Marques Brownlee
Two weeks ago, investigative creator MegaLag alleged that Honey, a browser extension tool and popular creator sponsor, has a history of committing advertising fraud and withholding earned commissions from creators.Β
Honey reportedly overrides creator affiliate links, keeping the revenue for itself.
More creators have come forward with their own Honey allegations, with some taking legal action. Hereβs the latest β
Creators sue Honey. Devin βLegalEagleβ Stone and creator Sam Denbyβs Wendover Productions filed a class action lawsuit against PayPal, Honeyβs parent company. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for revenue that shouldβve gone to creators and a judicial order that keeps Honey from malpractice in the future.
MKBHD edits old videos. Marques βMKBHDβ Brownlee scrubbed three Honey-sponsored videos to prevent future promotion.
βThe lesson Iβve learned for myself and every other creator thatβs got got working with Honey is to be even more skeptical about the products and companies that we actually put in front of our audience,β Brownlee said in a video.Β
βFor me, that basically just looks like being extra committed to the long-term channel partners that I have with dbrand and collaborations with Ridge and things like thatβthose I know are great.β

Our 2025 Creator Predictions

New year, ever-evolving creator economy / Illustration by Moy Zhong
What are you buying and selling this year? Colin and Samir kicked off 2025 by sharing listener takes and their own predictions for whatβs going to work (buy) and what isnβt (sell) in the coming year for creators.
Hereβs what to know:
Buying β As more streaming services roll out ad tiers (43% of all streamers now offer ad-supported content) weβll see more creators across streaming. For example, Kai Cenat on Netflix or Hulu.
βThe quantity of content thatβs required for an ad-supported model...the only answer is working with creators,β Samir said. βItβs not paying extremely high prices for Hollywood actors and directors.β
Selling β Mega creators that dominate YouTube like Emma Chamberlain or MrBeast
βI think itβs in the best interest of YouTube to have a more dispersed level of fame,β Colin said. βTo make sure theyβre very well known in a bunch of different communities, but to not have someone who represents the entire platform.β
And our two cents, based on recent reporting?Β
Weβre buying livestreaming. Be it journalist Taylor Lorenz, musician Ricky Montgomery, or comedian Morgan Jay, weβll see more stories of creators across backgrounds tapping into gamersβ chosen medium.Β
Weβre selling solo Substack subscriptions. After a 2024 marked by tons of βgoing independentβ success stories, we think writing creators will start gravitating toward other rev models. Think Johnny and Iz Harrisβs Newpress creator collective or the Nebula news division.
Hit reply and tell us: What creator trends are you buying and selling in 2025?

The Future of TikTok

TikTokβs fate in the US may be decided soon / Illustration by Moy Zhong
With just 16 days until TikTok is set to be banned in the US, hereβs the rundown on what comes next.
Last week, President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the ban to give him time to negotiate a βpolitical resolutionβ once he takes office.
Meanwhile, TikTok is promising advertisers to return any down payments made at the start of the year. And creators are speaking outβsome in defiance against the ban, others directing their followers to other platforms.
The Supreme Court is set to hear Trumpβs and othersβ arguments on January 10.

π₯ Press Worthy
YouTubeβs Russian viewership has reportedly declined 80% since July due to suppression from the Russian government.
Spotify launches its creator monetization program.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) fails to pass in Congress.
Political creator Keith Edwards shares how he grew his following by 5x in a pivot from X to YouTube.
Joel Haver achieves his goal of releasing 12 movies in 12 months.
Nintendo creators fight fake takedown charges on YouTube.

π Thank You For Pressing Publish
The content weβre looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.
Read: For Rest of World, writer Michelle Anindya explores how over 20 creators were elected into Indonesian parliament last year.Β
Watch: βDonβt miss out on the garden because you found a flaw in the gateβ and other sage advice from auto creator James Pumphrey.
Listen: AI isnβt affecting language translation as much as we think, Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn explains on NPRβs Planet Money.
