Jessie Paegeis entering the literary world. The 18-year-old YouTube star, whose upbeat, varied videos have helped her emerge as a rising star on the internet, has landed a two-book deal with Sizzle Press, an imprint of Bonnier Publishing USA. For the first part of that partnership, she will release an activity book called Hey, It’s Okay To Be You, which will feature advice for her young fans and exercises for them to complete.
In her first book, Paege will seek to motivate and inspire readers by dispensing advice drawn from her own experiences growing up. Interspersed among those segments will be a series of games, writing prompts, and challenges, which will entertain Paege’s fans as they explore the details of her life.
Paege introduced Hey, It’s Okay To Be You in a recent video. The book is currently available for preorder, and will become available on November 7. It retails for $12.99.
Paege is represented by Clayton Santillo at Scale Management, United Talent Agency, and SGSBC.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on YouTube Star Jessie Paege Lands Literary Deal Led By An Activity Book For Her Fans
On the Clothes Encounters YouTube channel, Jenn Im shares some of her favorite styles with her fans. Now, she’s getting an opportunity to make a big fashion statement of her own. On August 22, Im will launch a clothing line called Eggie.
Eggie, WWD reports, will feature a combination of “cropped tops, bodysuits, hoodies, bomber jackets, tracksuits, jumpsuits and blazers,” all of which will be priced between $25 and $79. Much of Im’s style is inspired by trips to Goodwill and other thrift stores, so one would expect that her own designs will reflect her interest in that aesthetic. Im’s passion for thrifting is so strong that she was recruited by the Ad Council earlier in 2017 for a campaign that encouraged donations to Goodwill.
Im has hosted videos on Clothes Encounters since 2010. In addition to fashion content, she also shares her favorite makeup looks, some of which have received millions of views.
Beyond YouTube, Im also counts big followings on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. She is represented by UTA and is managed by Ashley Villa at Rare Global.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Jenn Im Is The Latest YouTube Star To Launch Her Own Fashion Line
People Are Awesome, a social video channel acquired by Jukin Media in 2015 that showcases extreme sports and other high-flying feats — including parkour, skateboarding, and fitness — has just launched its half-year wrap-up video. And it’s already gone crazy viral.
The clip, which features the most impressive user-submitted clips of 2017 so far, was posted on July 28 and has already amassed a whopping 351 million views on Facebook — and roughly 1 million views on YouTube. It was the most-watched video on the web for the month of July, according to video intelligence firm Tubular Labs, and is the 28th most-viewed video of 2017. Traditionally, PAA’s year-end, mid-year, monthly, and weekly wrap-up videos have been among themost-viewed in the video brand’s history.
Check out PAA’s latest Best Of The Year, So Far! clip right here:
And the viral power of the compendium clip has not only drastically increased PAA’s following — to the tune of an additional 1.4 million Facebook fans since the video went live last month, the company says — but it has also increased the visibility of featured creators. PAA accepts video submissions right here, and while it does not pay for content outright, it credits creators with their channel links on Facebook (16.5 million followers), YouTube (1.8 million subscribers), and Instagram (218,000 followers) — which often results in a flood of new followers in a matter of days. PAA also adds featured videos to Jukin’s vast library of user-generated content, and pays creators when their clips get licensed for use in a commercial or show.
For instance, after being featured on PAA’s Facebook page in July, the acrobat Jujimufugained 5,729 followers in 72 hours. Similarly, Michelle Smith gained 5,500 Facebook fans after PAA shared her IRL Catwoman! clip, which showcases her impressive staff-fighting skills.
Filed under: People Are Awesome by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on ‘People Are Awesome’ Adds 1.4 Million Facebook Fans Following Viral Round-Up Video
When car-focused producer Donut Media announced an $800,000 seed round back in May, it revealed its intention to launch Donut Originals, a platform for automotive content. Three months later, one of the startup’s biggest programming initiatives so far has gone live. Donut’s first web series is titled Up To Speed, and it features histories of well-known cars.
Donut has produced plenty of videos since its 2015 launch — its most popular clips have titles like “Two Grannies, One Lamborghini” and “Fast Driver, Slow Car vs Slow Driver, Fast Car” — but with Up To Speed, it is making use of a serial format. In each episode, host James Pumphrey traces the lineage of a popular model back to its roots. Up first is the Volkswagen GTI, which Pumphrey discussed in a video that has since received millions of views across Donut’s distribution network.
While Up To Speed is primarily driven (no pun intended) by its host’s automotive passion, Donut also sprinkles in clips from popular TV shows and movies to keep its viewers attentive. The startup is also taking suggestions for cars to feature in future Up To Speed episodes, and viewer feedback seemed to factor into the decision to highlight the Honda Civic Type R in the show’s second installment.
The launch of an in-house web series comes weeks after Donut signed with talent agency WME, a move that signaled its intention to expand its brand to new horizons. “We’ve had a lot of success creating one-off videos, but as we’ve grown fans have been begging us to do a series,” said Donut CEO Matt Levin in an article about the launch of Up To Speed. “We’ll continue doing the one-offs we’re known for, but now our fans will know exactly what they’re getting each week.”
New episodes of Up To Speed will arrive each Thursday.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Car Video Producer Donut Media Gets Viewers ‘Up To Speed’ With Its First Web Series
Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
Jess Conte (nee Bauer) is on a roll. The 21-year-old creator has found an audience for her vlogs, covers, challenges, and other videos, and her career is starting to move off the internet as well. Just yesterday, she and her husband Gabriel announced their second album of love songs, which they will support with a tour of the United States. Meanwhile, on her own channel, the Australian has gathered more than a million subscribers. Here’s what she had to say about that:
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have more than one million subscribers on your channel? What do you have to say to your fans?
Jess Conte: It doesn’t really seem real, to be honest! It’s hard to fathom a number so big. I’m truly so grateful and thankful though, I can’t imagine doing anything else and it’s all thanks to them!
TF: How would you describe the approach you bring to your videos?
JC: I think it’s important to just be yourself in your videos so that’s definitely the approach that I have. You could probably change a lot if you let the number of people watching get to your head (or it would probably freak me out if I thought about it too much!) so it’s important to stay true to the approach you had in the beginning, before people were subscribed. I think that’s the best way to stay humble and true to yourself in your videos.
TF: What is your favorite element of being a part of the YouTube community and collaborating with your fellow creators?
JC: I love seeing the passion people have to create and I love seeing so many creators coming together and helping each other out to create something special! It shouldn’t be all competitive — we’re all in the same game and so it’s important to help each other out and build each other up.
TF: Do you have a personal favorite video out of all the ones you’ve posted on your channel so far?
JC: My favourite video is one I did with my husband Gabriel and one of our best friends Jacko Brazier and it was “The Accent Challenge”. Every time I watch it back I laugh till I cry!
TF: Did you learn any important lessons about YouTube from the viral success of the “When Mama Isn’t Home” videos you posted?
JC: I didn’t really know anything about YouTube at the time those videos went viral — I didn’t even know about making money on YouTube or gaining a lot of subscribers — all I really knew was views. The whole experience was very eye opening for me!
TF: As a native of Australia, do you think the US government should offer financial and production support to digital creators the way Australia’s government has?
JC: I think that it’s amazing that Australia has that support for creators, however it would be so different if that was done here in the US. There are far less creators in Australia (the entire population of Australia is less than the population of California alone) so I think that’s something to really keep in mind — it would be a lot harder in the US to cater to such a large population.
TF: As one half of a high-profile couple, how do you ensure that you and Gabriel strike the right balance between your public and private lives?
JC: I think with any YouTuber it’s just really important to learn when to film and when not to film, and that’s something we have to keep in mind all the time. Often there are times when one of us wants to film something but the other isn’t feeling good about themselves and so it’s important to be aware of that and only film when we’re both feeling okay to. There are so many things that we love to share and post about, but it’s important for us to keep some things private and just between us.
JC: It was so much fun! We had both never really done any professional recording before so it was such a fun experience to have together. Not only that, but the response we had from all of our viewers made it so much more special. I’ve had people tell they’re using a song from our EP as their wedding song and that is so insane! I love it so much.
TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?
JC: My next plans are to continue creating more content that my viewers want to see – more beauty and fashion in particular – and constantly improving on myself, my filming and my editing to put out the best videos I can.
Filed under: Articles, Featured, Millionaires, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on YouTube Millionaires: Jess Conte Aims To “Stay Humble And True” To Herself
Twitter is making good on one of the programming initiatives announced at its first-ever NewFronts presentation in May — a live news show produced by BuzzFeed News called AM To DM.
The series will officially launch on Sept. 25 on the BuzzFeedNews Twitter account, and will air weekdays from 8 am to 9 am ET for both logged-in and logged-out users globally. AM To DM (‘DM’ being a wink to Twitter’s direct messaging feature) will be produced and directed by BuzzFeed News, and will feature both reporters and guests discussing the day’s top stories. A sweeping range of topics will be covered, including social media, TV, movies, and politics — with the focus being on real-time conversation.
BuzzFeed’s executive editor of culture, Saeed Jones, and books editor Isaac Fitzgerald (pictured above) will serve as hosts, while the series will be produced by TV veteran Cindy Vanegas-Gesuale. Additionally, AM To DM will have its own executive producer and bookers, and will be overseen by BuzzFeed News’ editors. BuzzFeed News, founded in 2012, is the viral news company’s division for investigative journalism, which counts 300 staffers across the globe.
“Twitter is the beating heart of news,” BuzzFeed editor in chief Ben Smith said in a statement. “The exciting thing about this show is that while much of television news now is basically explaining to you what happened a few hours ago on Twitter, we get to come to an informed and up-to-date audience from right inside the news cycle.”
Adds Twitter COO Anthony Noto: “AM To DM will be timely, insightful, and of course funny for viewers around the world.”
Initial sponsors for the series include Wendy’s, Bank Of America, and Toyota.
Filed under: Buzzfeed, Twitter by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on BuzzFeed News To Debut ‘AM To DM’, A Live Daily Morning Show On Twitter
YouTube Red has greenlit another series for younger audiences, a Canadian magazine-style series featuring segments on music, fashion, DIY, lifestyle, and celebrities entitled We Are Savvy.
While YouTube acquired the first season of We Are Savvy — which was produced by B Minors Productions and which aired on the DHX Media-owned Family Channel in Canada — a second season of We Are Savvy is currently in the works to air exclusively on YouTube Red. Additionally, Annie LeBlanc from the popular Bratayley YouTube channel (4.8 million subscribers) has been added as a host for the second season, which will comprise 13 episodes, according to Variety. LeBlanc, 12, counts 2 million subscribers on her personal YouTube channel, 10 million followers on Musical.ly., and 3.7 million followers on Instagram.
“We loved the concept of We Are Savvy, and we’re excited to bring the first magazine-style show to YouTube Red,” said Nadine Zylstra, YouTube’s head of kids and learning originals. “We believe the inspirational girl power message will resonate with audiences.”
YouTube announced its first slate of family-friendly Red shows in February, including DanTDM Creates A Big Scene, animated series The Kings Of Atlantis, and Fruit Ninja: Frenzy Force — inspired by the popular mobile game.
Filed under: YouTube Kids, YouTube Red by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on YouTube Red Greenlights Kids’ Series ‘We Are Savvy’, Hosted By Bratayley’s Annie LeBlanc
A pair of identical twin brothers who have gained attention for their viral videos and worked with artists like Beyonce have added another accomplishment to their shared resume. Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois, known by their stage name Les Twins, have been selected as the winners for the first season of NBC’s reality competition series World of Dance. As part of their victory, they will take home a grand prize worth $1 million.
In World of Dance, which premiered in May, 38 individuals and dance groups showed off their best routines as they vied to earn the show’s lucrative reward. The competitors were split across three groups — Junior, Upper, and Team — and the winners of those divisions all faced off against one another in a “World Final” that aired on August 8. Les Twins, fueled by a spirited performance set to Kygo’s “Stole the Show,” ultimately emerged victorious.
Bolstered by their victory, Les Twins received the opportunity to perform on The Tonight Show, where they received an introduction from World of Dance Judge Derek Hough and showed Jimmy Fallon some of their best moves.
Before they were World of Dance champions, Laurent and Larry found an audience thanks to YouTube, where their videos have attracted more than 614,000 subscribers and over 31 million views. Their 2015 collaboration with YAKFilms has received more than five million views on its own.
With their World of Dance victory secured, it will be interesting to see where Les Twins next move takes them. The duo’s routines will surely remain creative and energetic, whether they’re found on TV or online.
Photo credit: Shawn Welling
Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle Comments Off on Les Twins, Known For YouTube Dance Videos, Win $1 Million Prize In NBC’s ‘World Of Dance’ Competition
Facebook has officially launched its long-awaited video platform, Watch, a separate tab intended to serve both live and recorded programming that follows a storyline or theme. Such videos could include, according to Facebook, weekly cooking shows or daily vlogs.
Watch will ultimately be available on mobile devices, PCs, and smart TVs, Facebook said. And given that the new tab will feature both short-form videos as well as television-style programming, Watch is at once Facebook’s answer to YouTube and traditional TV.
The service will suggest programming on an individualized basis, and will also feature a section called Watchlist where users can follow shows and receive updates when new episodes post. Content will be discoverable via sections like ‘What Friends Are Watching’ and ‘What’s Making People Laugh’ — or shows that have garnered a substantial number of ‘Haha’ reactions. Another chief differentiation that capitalizes on Facebook’s social networking expertise, the company said, is that viewers can comment or chat with friends while watching.
The aim of the platform is for creators and publishers to amass audiences and ultimately monetize their work. Watch is currently being piloted among a limited group of U.S. users, and will roll out to all users “soon,” Facebook said.
Additionally, Facebook will soon make it possible for all users to create shows on Watch. While this capability is currently limited to a small group of users, prospective creators can apply here. Shows are shared via a new kind of Facebook page called Show Pages, which feature descriptions, all episodes and related videos, and other community-building tools.
In time, creators will be able to monetize via Ad Breaks, Facebook said, as well as via sponsored shows using Facebook’s ‘branded’ content tag. (As on YouTube, creators will reportedly take home a 55% cut of any ad earnings, with Facebook pocketing the rest).
Some of the initial shows to be featured on Watch include: David Lopez’s reality series My Social Media Life; spiritual teacher Gabby Bernstein’s Gabby Live; master woodworker Tommy Mac’s live furniture-making tutorials; and the international travel vlog Nas Daily. Additionally, Tastemade’s Kitchen Little will see children try to recreate recipes by professional chefs, and Mike Rowe will host Returning The Favor, which will highlight extraordinary people in communities across the country as nominated by Rowe’s Facebook fans.
Filed under: Facebook by Geoff Weiss Comments Off on Facebook Finally Launches ‘Watch’, Its Video Tab For Episodic Shows
