Good morning. Spotify Wrapped may still be seven months away, but for the music platform’s 20th anniversary, users got stats including their top song and artist of all time.
We both have the same top artist of all time—the first person to guess (hit reply) gets to know our top song too.
Today’s lineup:
Creators present new shows to advertisers
Why creators are walking away from $100K
Kareem Rahma gives us his take (on YouTube)
Creators Take on Upfronts
(Left to right) Alix Earle reveals her show with Netflix, Nick DiGiovanni joins Food Network, and MrBeast hosts an exclusive gathering with advertisers / Netflix, Photography by Cheryl Clegg, IMDb
This week was TV upfronts in NYC, where major networks and platforms pitched to brands and agencies for advertising dollars.
YouTube used to be the only platform including creators in its pitch to advertisers. This year, platforms including Netflix and Amazon joined in—with some creators hosting their own presentations too.
Here are the highlights →
Netflix brought Alix Earle to showcase her upcoming reality show, Earle Meets World. It also highlighted its podcasts and original shows with Jordan and Salish Matter, Mark Rober, and Alan Chikin Chow.
Food Network announced it will team up with Nick DiGiovanni to co-judge its upcoming show 100 Cooks, airing on linear TV and streaming platforms Discovery+ and HBO Max.
Beast Industries hosted its own invite-only gathering for brand and ad executives, where CEO Jeff Housenbold shared plans to launch a membership program and expand into food content.
YouTube’s annual Brandcast event offered a new development for advertisers. For the first time, YouTube is allowing advertisers to buy sponsorship and ad inventory on individual creator shows, similar to network TV. Other ad programs include YouTube Select, which offers ad buys across the top 1% of channels in a category.
YouTube presented over 20 creator shows, including Kareem Rahma’s Keep The Meter Running, Julian Shapiro-Barnum’s Outside Tonight, and shows from Dude Perfect, Morgan Jay, Quen Blackwell, and Alex Cooper.
Unlike YouTube Originals, which shuttered in 2022, YouTube isn’t financing these shows, but acting as a liaison to help creators get ad dollars and sponsors. Other platforms, like Amazon and Netflix, are paying creators for shows upfront.
Our own Samir Chaudry was at Brandcast, and shared his thoughts on YouTube’s evolution on CNBC’s Squawk Box →
"There's been a significant shift on YouTube from people making videos to people making shows,” Samir said. “More people watch YouTube on TV than mobile. When people are watching on the couch, it changes what we want to make.”
“YouTube is now supporting and packaging those shows [...] The difference from a creator perspective right now is ownership.”
Big picture: More linear TV advertising is making its way to streaming—where YouTube has dominated the last three years. Will these new slate of creator shows help make the case that YouTube can command more of those ad dollars?
Why Creators Are Turning Down $100K+ Deals
Creators including (left to right) Dean Lauer, Jett Franzen, and Noah Rolette say they've turned down large brand deals from gambling sites / Dean Lauer, Jett Franzen, Noah Rolette
This week, several sports and comedy creators revealed that they turned down massive brand deals from gambling sites, some as large as $33K per month.
Here’s what they said →
“I firsthand experienced the effect of what an addiction like [gambling] can do to somebody, and I wouldn’t want anybody else to have to go through that themselves,” fitness creator Dean Lauer said on Instagram.
“People look up to me, and I think that comes with a responsibility, and as such, [I can’t] sell out,” comedy creator Jett Franzen said on Instagram after turning down a $30K per month deal.
"I decided that I did not want to use my influence in a negative way,” fitness creator Noah Rolette said on Instagram, turning down a $33K per month offer from Stake—a deal that was set to increase after 3 months.
Zoom out: Last year in the US, sports betting generated almost $17B in revenue, and brands like Stake and DraftKings are some of the biggest sponsors in streaming and comedy. Even so, many creators are walking away from an industry that TBPN’s Jordi Hays called the “universal basic income for people that are funny online”, prioritizing the relationship with their audience over a paycheck.
➕ Community Tab
This week we shared a Subway Take that YouTube was the new home for premium TV shows. 68% of you said “100% agree.”
Subway Takes creator Kareem Rahma seems to be on the same page. Rahma told us via email why he’s taking the long-form reboot of his TikTok show Keep The Meter Running to YouTube—not a streamer.
“I am always in touch with my community, and I dislike the idea of putting a show out into the universe without having a two-way conversation with my audience. I truly believe this is a show for the people, by the people—and YouTube is the people’s platform,” Rahma said. “Finally, the fact that it’s free goes a very long way in today’s economy.”
Want to hear more of Rahma’s takes on video formats and making a short-form show that is actually memorable? Stay tuned for his interview on The Colin and Samir Show, dropping soon.
🔥 Press Worthy
TikTok and FIFA select 30 creator correspondents to capture the World Cup, including sport creators Axel Panameno and Fede Racchi.
Spotify expands video podcast tech so creators can distribute and monetize their podcasts on other platforms.
Comedy creator Curry Barker’s horror film, Obsession, opens in theaters today.
LinkedIn is looking to partner with creators to host up to 4,000 events each year.
Steph Curry launches a media production studio for NIL athletes.
📚 Thank You for Pressing Publish
The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.
Read: For Science, writer Kai Kupferschmidt profiles Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at UC Berkeley who is working to fight against deepfakes.
Watch: What is this, a crossover episode? Dropout CEO Sam Reich goes on Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals.
Listen: Music creator Zay Dante’s debut album “Taste” is out today. Stay tuned for our review (and a conversation with Dante) next week.
