Good morning. What does it take to be a career creator? In Yes Theory’s new book Talk to Strangers, cofounder Matt Dahlia gives an honest account of his nine-year journey:

“Becoming a full-time YouTuber comes with certain obligations. It requires crafting the story of your life over living it. It means having your personality subjected to the opinions of people you’ll never meet,” Matt wrote. “And most of all, in order for it to work, it demands a constant, obsessive attention.”

Let us know your thoughts in the replies.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Twitch Exits Streaming in Korea

Twitch is pulling out of Korea. Starting February 27, streamers will no longer be able to monetize their content and viewers won’t be able to make purchases. It’s unclear whether viewers will still be able to access the platform at all.

“Our network fees in Korea are still 10 times more expensive than in most other countries,” Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said in a blog post. South Korea has charged higher network usage fees to foreign content providers, including streamers like Netflix (which has led to legal action).

The remaining options for Korean creators: Stream on another platform or (as some streamers have suggested) move to another country.

• Yummy_2, a Twitch partner with a mostly English-speaking audience of 30,000 followers, expressed frustration over her options. “I lost my job, my career…just everything will be gone,” she said in a Twitch stream. 

• South Korea is a key region for esports like League of Legends, which means that major publishers like Riot Games will have to rebuild Twitch streams from their South Korea office elsewhere.

• Twitch says it’ll reach out to competitors to help streamers transition. The company will also let streamers simulcast and share external links to other platforms.

Big picture: South Korea has a thriving gaming community that draws millions of views from both in and outside the country—like gaming streamer Handongsuk, who gained over 4 million hours in Twitch views in the last month. In addition, Twitch attracts 300,000 South Korean viewers a day, according to the NYT.

Looking ahead: Twitch’s loss could be another platform’s gain. Competitors like Kick are publicly welcoming Korean streamers, though it’s uncertain how these platforms’ can avoid Twitch’s fate.

Jack Coyne on Finding Short-Form Success

The New York City skyline at Squarespace’s HQ made for a fitting backdrop as we hosted an IRL conversation with Public Opinion co-founder Jack Coyne Wednesday night.

He shared insights with 70+ Publish Press readers about finding success in short-form, building a media company in NYC, and when to take creative risks.

Context: Coyne became Casey Neistat’s intern when he was 19 and worked with the legendary vlogger for seven years before launching his own YouTube channel in 2018.

Alongside his brother Kieran and frequent collaborator Henry Kornaros, Coyne started Public Opinion last year, a creative agency that works with brands including Gucci and Adobe and produces original series such as the short-form music trivia show Track Star.

Three creator lessons from our conversation with Jack…

1. Put yourself in a position to succeed so that you can take risks. Building a strong agency by offering creative services not only helps support Public Opinion’s original content, but also allows them to hone their craft and make “really good commercials.”

2. Start with format, then work backwards. Public Opinion found its stride in short-form by first creating repeatable formats (trivia shows) that appeal to a large audience, then figuring out a consistent filming and editing style from there.

3. Original content can act as a “billboard.” Public Opinion can’t control how many people watch a video. But, Coyne noted, posting consistently means that the right person just may see one—like a New York Knicks employee, leading to a game-changing brand deal.

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Once your community is in full swing, then start thinking about revenue. Launch a Server Shop and offer exclusive subscriptions, digital goods, and roles with special access to craft a product for your most dedicated members.

Build your community into a thriving business. Launch your Discord server and Server Shop today.

Another Veteran Minecraft Creator Retires

Longtime YouTube creator Jordan “CaptainSparklez” Maron announced on Tuesday that after 13 years of uploading Minecraft gameplay videos, he’s retiring to focus on other content genres, joining veteran peer Joseph “Stampy Cat” Garrett (who recently made a similar decision).

Zoom out: Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time, is still immensely popular among creators and fans. YouTube videos related to the game have been viewed more than one trillion times as of 2021.

So what’s next for Maron? Thirteen years is a long time to do something. His audience has grown up with him, and he plans to adjust his channel accordingly.

“[I] like the idea of doing more of these direct-to-camera vlogs covering what I see as an interesting topic…that’s the sort of content you guys find more compelling these days anyway,” Maron said in his announcement video.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Ice Spice and Doja Cat chat on the first episode of Instagram’s “Close Friends” podcast (produced by Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network). 

• Pinterest predicts that “badminton aesthetic” will replace pickleball style in its 2024 trends report.

• Aussie tennis pro Nick Kyrgios starts an OnlyFans.

• Emma Rogue and Karo are hosting a pop-up in NYC tomorrow.

• TikTok creators in Mexico are working as digital strategists for politicians—and encouraging them to lean into BTS and Swiftie fandoms.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: Gaming journalist Mikhail Klimentov questions whether truth is necessary for entertainment with uncanny comedians and “fake podcasters” Built By Gamers. 

• Watch: What does it mean to “be your own boss” in 2023? Commentary creators Some More News offer their perspective on the state of the creator economy.  

• Listen: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sits down for an interview with Trevor Noah on the comic’s What Now? podcast, diving into the recent saga at OpenAI.

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