Good morning. Track Star creator Jack Coyne just launched a music review website with the same name, allowing users to rate albums from 1–10.

The site also keeps a user-voted Top 100 list, with Abbey Road by the Beatles at #1 (for now).

— Hannah Doyle & Syd Cohen

Today’s lineup:

In the great Streaming Wars of 2026, it seemed like nothing could rattle YouTube’s grip on the #1 spot. That is, until Bloomberg reported that the platform has been offering top creators millions of dollars to post on YouTube first—and avoid releasing on Netflix at the same time.

Inside the deal: 

Though no deals have been confirmed yet, the reported offers are YouTube's most defensive move yet against Netflix's growing roster of creators. And for good reason: since the start of the year, Netflix has brought several of YouTube biggest creators to the streamer—including Rhett and Link, Alan Chikin Chow, and Salish Matter.

How we see it: This isn’t just about keeping creators on YouTube. It’s about ad dollars. If a creator’s biggest project lives exclusively on YouTube, the platform has something advertisers can’t reach anywhere else. We initially read YouTube Premium’s bundle with Peacock as YouTube declining a creator bidding war. These reported offers suggest it may be joining one.

Worth noting: Only 0.13% of YouTube channels reach 1M subscribers (and only 0.005% reach 10M), according to social data company VidIQ. These behind-closed-doors deals will only affect a few dozen creators—but any dent in YouTube’s standing with its top talent could have an outsized ripple effect.

Who actually wins when platforms pay for exclusivity—creators or advertisers? Hit reply and give us your hot takes. 

YouTube’s TV viewership dominance is undeniable (see today's top story and Nielsen’s streaming data from the last three years)—and as more people watch on the living room screen, creators are rethinking how they hold attention.

This week, YouTube strategist Paddy Galloway, who’s generated over 10B views with brands like Red Bull and the Philadelphia Eagles, went on The Colin and Samir Show to break down what’s working on YouTube and his rules for making videos optimized for TV. 

Here are the highlights →

Galloway is known as a view maximizer, but as YouTube view counts become more inflated, he says creators should cater to their core audience.

“We [creators] got so obsessed with maximizing views that we forgot how important a returning viewer is,” Galloway said. His advice: experiment and make videos you can’t wait to make, even if they don't follow your typical format.

For example, a personal video from Colin and Samir sharing how they were affected by the 2025 California fires drew an audience that was 80% subscribers, far above their norm.

A format is a video with a set formula, while a show is something people return to. Galloway recommends building a format around high-performing videos, then adding consistent packaging and branding to turn it into a show. It can also tee up creators for syndication—like Jesser’s YouTube videos becoming Ball Or Nothing on Hulu.

Galloway said YouTube videos are getting longer and slower-paced to match TV viewing—but still need a strong intro. For example, Man Made’s 51-minute build of a tiny office under the stairs opens with a 16-second intro that reveals several plot twists.

“You can still take some of the lessons that made the retention-editing era of four or five years ago special,” Galloway said. He recommends that creators capitalize on the first 15 seconds, showing personality and unexpected surprises to hook people in—then let it breathe.

For more of Galloway’s insight on YouTube, AI, and video strategy, check out the conversation with Colin and Samir here.

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Gaming creator Felicia Day, the creator behind comedy web series The Guild, just raised over $6.1M with 40K backers for the channel’s 20th anniversary reunion film.

Over the past month, Day broke four Kickstarter records, including most funds raised for a film, dethroning Veronica Mars’ 2014 fundraiser 

Behind the project: The Guild ran for six seasons on YouTube from 2007–2012, following a friend group as they played a fantasy video game. The channel gained 375K subscribers and over 100M views over the course of 20 years. The reboot film will reunite the original characters, adding sci-fi actors Nathan Fillion, Misha Collins, and Will Wheaton to the cast.

The power of fandom: As we reported at Cannes Lions this year, fandom is a reflection of audience depth, and has been proven to convert. With roughly 10% of The Guild’s audience contributing to the Kickstarter—and each donation averaging over $100—this campaign speaks to the quality of audience Day has been able to maintain over time. 

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