Good morning. Sketch comedy creators RDCWorld recently wrapped their fifth DreamCon, and the gaming and anime convention brought nearly 20,000 people to Austin, TX.

The key to growing from 800 attendees to 20k in just a few years? Authenticity and consistency. “The last 10 years we’ve been making gaming videos…lately it’s become more cool to say you’re into anime,” RDC cofounder Mark Phillips told Black Enterprise.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

YouTube Will Remove Links from Shorts Comments

Starting August 31, YouTube will no longer allow clickable links in Shorts descriptions, comment sections, and vertical live feeds, the company announced in a blog post last week.

YouTube’s rationale? It wants to address the growing number of scammers who mislead users by linking to dangerous content like phishing or malware.

What creators are saying: The restrictions will make it more difficult to monetize content through popular revenue streams such as affiliate links and custom content (think courses or templates) not sold through YouTube Shopping.

• “This is like the YouTube policy equivalent of nuking a house because you saw a cockroach,” tech creator Hipyo Tech said in a video.

• “Viewers also ask for [custom content] links all the time, wtf are we going to do now,” gaming creator Thilsey tweeted.

Yes, but: Even as it nixes Shorts links, YouTube is introducing new features like 1) content links that can connect a creator’s Short directly to a related longform video and 2) space for up to 14 links on channel pages that will be displayed near the Subscribe button.

Big picture: YouTube Liason Rene Ritchie emphasized that the changes are an imperfect solution to balance “feature breadth with safety depth.”

“Link in bio has been standard behavior on Instagram Reels and TikTok for years, so I think people might get used to it on Shorts?” he tweeted.

Trend to Watch: Creators x European Football Clubs

Last week, Dude Perfect purchased minority ownership in the soccer (okay, football) club Burnley FC, and Logan Paul and KSI’s PRIME electrolyte drink became the official beverage sponsor of FC Bayern Munich following their sponsorship of Arsenal last year.

Why are creators so into football clubs? Call it audience development. The Premier League (of which Burnley and Arsenal are members) has more than 4 billion fans, and it’s the most widely-viewed sports league globally. It’s also the richest soccer league in the world.

And it goes both ways. Dude Perfect partnering with underdog club Burnley introduces Dude Perfect content to Burnley fans while Burnley earns exposure to new fans and a global audience, the group said in a recent interview. Already, the club reported an increase in sales following Dude Perfect’s announcement of co-branded Burnley shirts in July.

Looking ahead: Investing in a sports team isn’t all that different from investing in a startup, and creators-turned-investors are growing in number. Look no further than Ludwig or Josh Richards, both of whom have invested heavily in business ventures outside the creator space.

Sponsored by Breeze

The Funding Solution That Helped Double This Creator’s Views

David Hoffmann has been creating videos of his travels on YouTube since 2008. But eventually, he started to have bigger visions for his channel, Davidsbeenhere.

He knew what he needed to do. But self-funding bigger trips and hiring weren’t things he could afford. And borrowing money through traditional loans was practically impossible.

That’s when he found Breeze. They provided him upfront cash without taking control of his content. In return, David simply agreed to a straight-forward share of his future AdSense earnings, up until a fixed amount.

With the advance, David hired the right support team, expanded his travel and content plans, and transformed his channel. His monthly views soared from 3 million to 7 million, and his AdSense revenue quadrupled within a year.

See what potential Breeze can unlock for you. Discover your channel’s value with their instant funding calculator.

Who is Jynxzi, the Streamer Who Dethroned Kai Cenat?

Twitch’s most-subscribed-to streamer is now Nick “Jynxzi” Stewart, a streamer who plays the tactical shooter game Rainbow Six Siege. Earlier this month he surpassed previous top streamer Kai Cenat and reached 100,000 active subscribers.

Context: Cenat became Twitch’s most popular streamer in mid-October and set a Twitch record of 300,000 active subscribers. After facing an unexpected ban on the platform in April, he has since dropped to around 86,000.

Stewart is a 22-year-old based in the U.S. who streams exclusively on Twitch. He’s also known for his Just Chatting streams and posting comedic dance videos to his 2 million followers on TikTok.

👀 Creator Moves

• YouTube production company TBNR is hiring a gaming strategist to research Minecraft trends and generate video ideas.

• Mythical is hiring a part-time design intern to assist in ideation and execution of video graphics.

• Night Media is hiring a LA-based assistant to perform administrative duties and support an artist manager.

🔥 Press Worthy

• TikTok creators in Kenya are livestreaming government protests, sharing news while raising questions around monetization and misinformation.

• Roblox launches a virtual, in-game career center for recruiting candidates to explore the company.

• The Leap teamed up with Millie Adrian to create a free mini-course to help creators grow their email lists.*

• Controversial streamer Fousey signs with Kick after second Twitch ban.

• Instagram updates Collabs feature so users can invite up to three co-authors across feed and reels.

• Creators support the SAG-AFTRA strike with the Labor Over Likes initiative.

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