Maker Studios will soon have new content available for smartphone users. The Disney-owned multi-channel network has inked a deal with Verizon’s newly-launched go90 mobile video service to produce at least eight original series for the platform, including Marvel and Star Wars-themed shows and coverage of live events.

Under the content pact, Maker will create original programming for go90 across genres like dance, comedy, and gaming. The Maker series Geekenders, featuring YouTube gamers Jesse Cox and Brooke Lawson (aka PressHeartToContinue) as they travel the U.S. to find geeky tourist spots, is already available on go90. Maker will also launch Marvel’s Off the Rack, where traditional and digital celebrities will explore the world of Marvel Comics through what a release calls “discussions and re-enactments with special cameos from Marvel creators.” Go90 will also be home to Maker’s In a Galaxy, a collaboration series from Lucasfilm and Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets that explores the lives of 22 Star Wars fans.

Here’s a list of the other upcoming Maker programming for go90:

Defining Beauty (Season 2): Four African-American beauty influencers (Shameless Maya, SimplyBiancaAlexa, Nik Scott, and Taren Guy) examine how society defines beauty.

Fantasy Quest: A cast of characters explore fantasy and imagination powered by Minecraft. A related 3D animated DIY series will explore the arts, crafts, and cosplay side of gaming from inside the RPG Fantasy Quest fan community.

Polaris Grand Prix: An obstacle-strewn, video game-inspired go-kart race, featuring talent from Maker’s Polaris network such as Yogscast, LDShadowLady, CinnamonToastKen, and UberHaxorNova.

Prank School: YouTube prankster and magician Rahat takes on apprentices and teaches them the magical art of pranking, from how to construct props to unleashing the gags on an unsuspecting public.

Untitled Jabbawockeez Project: A dance competition series featuring young hopefuls from across the country who hope to become part of the Jabbawockeez, the winners of America’s Best Dance Crew season one.

In addition to new original series, Maker will bring more than 100 hours of live event coverage from worldwide fan events to go90. Verizon’s video platform will also house thousands of short-form video content from Maker’s library. This selection will be refreshed and changed out on a monthly basis.

“Creative and compelling content creators like Maker continue to seek go90 as the leading platform to bring millennials and younger generations exclusive, live and on-demand content in ways that they prefer – and that’s mobile-first,” said Verizon’s VP of Content Acquisition and Strategy Terry Denson in a release, as reported by Variety. “Through our commitment with innovative content partners like Maker, Go90 is pairing rich exclusive content with a new emerging video viewing experience.”

“Maker is committed to expanding our premium programming offering and finding audiences wherever they consume content,” added Sam Wick, Maker’s EVP of Business Development and Operations. “With the wide range of programming being shared on the go90 platform, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”

Maker Studios joins an ever-growing list of digital networks and brands adding original content to the go90 mobile video service. Verizon originally teamed with AwesomenessTV and DreamWorksTV for over 200 hours of content. Later, the telco giant inked deals with Vice, Machinima, and New Form Digital (which just launched its first series, a supernatural thriller The Fourth Door with Joey Graceffa, on go90 on October 27). Go90 is also the home of the FailFive Fail Army-based series from Jukin Media.

If you want to check out Maker’s upcoming programming, download the free go90 app here.

Filed under: Articles, Branded Entertainment, Maker Studios, News by Bree Brouwer
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Netflix will soon have a new original series executive produced by none other than Selena Gomez. The streaming platform has ordered a series adaptation of the young adult novel 13 Reasons Why with 23-year-old Gomez on board as executive producer.

Written by Jay Asher and published in 2007 by Penguin Books imprint Razorbill, 13 Reasons Why tells the story of late high school student Hannah Baker, who sent cassette tapes to twelve classmates explaining how they gave her 13 reasons to take her own life. Hailing from Paramount TV and Anonymous Content, Netflix’s adaptation of the New York Times-bestselling novel will follow a young man named Clay, a classmate of Hannah’s who had a crush on her, after he receives a shoebox of these tapes and must deal with the consequences of his actions and his role in Hannah’s death.

According to Variety, who first reported the story, Gomez read 13 Reasons Why and, along with her mother Mandy Teefey and producer Kristel Laiblin, brought the book to Anonymous Content to adapt. 13 Reasons Why was originally set as a feature film at Universal before Netflix picked it up for an aptly-chosen 13-episode season, with a pilot written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Brian Yorkey. Gomez will executive produce the series alongside Laiblin, Teefey (through her Kicked to the Curb banner), and Anonymous Content’s Joy Gorman Wettels, Michael Sugar, and Steve Golin.

No cast information or release date has been announced for 13 Reasons Why as of yet.

Filed under: Articles, Netflix, News by Bree Brouwer
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For those looking to educate themselves about the somewhat odd world of the online video industry, a new series provides a crash course. Multi-channel network StyleHaul and British production company Spirit have teamed up for How To Be Internet Famous, a six-episode series that has arrived on on-demand platform All 4.

Each episode of How To Be Internet Famous tackles a specific online video-related topic. Examples include “Frenized Fans,” which examines the relationship between “vlogging superstars” and their viewers; “Make a Million by Vlogging,” which explores the financial side of online video; and “World’s Biggest Vlogger Meet-Up,” which discusses VidCon. Creators who appear within the series include Joey Graceffa, Fleur de Force, and SprinkleOfGlitter. All six of its episodes can be viewed on All 4, a digital service run by UK broadcaster Channel 4.

For StyleHaul, How To Be Internet Famous introduces its network partners to an audience that might not yet know who they are. In that sense, it is similar to Follow Me, a collaboration between AOL and Fullscreen that also focused on digital celebrities.

“Spirit was thrilled to produce our second series of How To Be Internet Famous with global vlogger channel StyleHaul and give people a fascinating insight into the recent phenomenon of the online celebrity,” said Matt Campion, the show’s executive producer, in a press release. “We have worked with Vloggers for many years and being able to tell the story about the rise in influence that vloggers have in today’s world and share the secrets of how they connect with their audiences was an exciting project for us.”

If How To Be Internet Famous leaves UK viewers hungry for more documentary coverage of the online video, they will soon be covered. Rise of the Superstar Vloggers, a separate program related to the YouTube community, will premiere later this year on BBC Three.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, StyleHaul by Sam Gutelle
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When it first launched at the beginning of 2014, the Whistle Sports network looked to establish a home for sports content on the Internet. Having achieved that goal, the Whistle has now made the move to TV. On October 21st, it premiered Top Ten Trick Shots, a short segment during Nickelodeon’s NickSports block.

In Top Ten Trick Shots, host Mike Lockyer runs through a list of impressive tricks shots and sports challenges from the Whistle Sports network and beyond. As noted by StreamDaily, the show’s 12 episodes all run between three and five minutes in length, and they will play three times a week: They will premiere during Nicksports, which runs from 9-11 on Wednesdays, and will air again on Fridays and Sundays.

In showcasing trick shot videos for TV viewers, Whistle Sports is presenting one of its favorite YouTube subgenres. Many of the network’s top partners are known for their trick shots, and several of them–including  Florian Kohler and The Legendary Shot–show up during Top Ten Trick Shots.

“We really see ourselves as a cross-platform network now,” said Laura Fortner, Whistle Sports EVP of marketing and business development. “When we see where our views are coming from, and our creators, they are not restricted to YouTube alone. They’ve come up through Vine or through Instagram or some of the other platforms, and we’re seeing this across the board.”

Fortner’s statement could indicate more TV content from Whistle Sports in the future. At the very least, the network will create at least seven original series for Verizon’s new Go90 service.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Nickelodeon, The Whistle Network by Sam Gutelle
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Twitch has a new way for artsy types to broadcast their creative processes. The Amazon-owned live streaming platform has launched a category called Creative for the live streaming of fan art creation, painting, crafting, building, woodworking, and more.

Twitch teamed with Adobe to launch the Creative category and develop its own dedicated landing page, where audiences can discover new creative people and their live streams through the Featured Video carousel. Art-gifted broadcasters can tag their live streams using hashtags such as #watercolor, #animation, and #robotics to help viewers find their content. Twitch also updated its Rules of Conduct to include support and guidelines for broadcasters who stream their creative processes, though the live streaming site did note in a blog post what’s appropriate for the Creative category may change as the community grows.

As part of the Creative category launch, Adobe created its own Twitch channel for viewers to check out a variety of programming featuring several top broadcasters. Audiences will be able to watch Geers Art digitally paint and draw art, EvilFX create props and costumes, and SceneofActionMusic compose new melodies. As of this writing, the Adobe Twitch channel was live streaming QuinnSimoesArt as he used Photoshop to digitally draw fantasy creatures.

Twitch already boasts a few categories outside of its usual fare of video game play streams, such as Poker and Game Development. While those topics have obvious ties to gaming, the Creative category may seem a bit out of place. However, Bill Morrier, head of Twitch Creative, said in a statement as reported by StreamDaily that for a while now, gaming broadcasters have been live streaming fan art creation during down time. With that in mind, it only made sense for Twitch to launch the Creative category.

“All along, the Twitch community has included a determined community of artists, crafters and builders, who have been using Twitch to broadcast their creative processes,” Morrier wrote in the company blog post. “These creative broadcasters share many of the same characteristics as all Twitch broadcasters: passion, engagement, and a community-centric worldview.”

In celebration of the new Creative category, Twitch teamed with Janson Media and BobRoss Inc. to broadcast the entire Bob Ross show The Joy of Painting. Twitch will stream 403 episodes of the culturally iconic PBS art show over the course of eight and a half days, starting at 2 PM PST on October 29, 2015. Fans can tune in and watch The Joy of Painting at twitch.tv/bobross.

Filed under: Articles, News, TwitchTV by Bree Brouwer
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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.

The world of video game music on YouTube is vast, but one of the people at the forefront of that scene is a 28-year-old violinist from the Midwest. Her name is Taylor Davis, and she’s distinguished herself with covers of TV, film, video game, and anime themes. Her videos feature strong production values and engaging choreography, and she’s no slouch when it comes to her violin skills, either. Here’s what she had to say about her work:

Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?

Taylor Davis: It doesn’t even feel real!  When I first started my channel over five and a half years ago I never would have dreamed that I would reach one million subscribers. I have such an amazing audience on my YouTube channel and I am so grateful for their support because I certainly wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without them! They’ve been so encouraging ever since I first started posting and their positivity and encouragement has really inspired me over the years to continue posting and increase the quality of my content. I just want to thank them so much for their support and let them know that it has truly been so inspiring to me.

TF: Where did you get the idea for your channel? What was your inspiration?

TD: I’ve always been a huge gamer and fan of game music, and when I was growing up there weren’t a lot of other people I knew who shared my interests and a lot of people thought that it was weird that I liked listening to game soundtracks. When I graduated college I didn’t have any plans to try a career in music and thought I would end up with a more normal business style job, and I became pretty sad that I didn’t have any plans to keep music in my life in a significant way any more. One day I was just checking out some game music on YouTube and came across some pianists who were posting videos of themselves performing video game songs and I was surprised to see how many people were interested in their videos because I thought I was one of the only people who was really passionate about this music! I figured there was no harm in trying to see if people would enjoy watching me perform game music on my violin as well so that’s kind of how it all started.

TF: How do you decide which songs to cover next?

TD: It all depends. If it’s a game cover sometimes I’ll choose songs from newer games that I’m excited about, or some of my personal favorite classic games. Whatever I choose to play, I’m always very emotionally attached to the music, whether it’s for nostalgic reasons because I’ve played the game/watched the anime/film, or if I just happen to feel moved by the music. I’m also starting to release more original songs on my channel now that I have a full original album out and that’s been so much fun to share with my audience!

TF: What is the arranging process like for the songs you cover? Is there a most difficult part?

TD: In the beginning and also now lately again I’ve been doing all the arranging myself, but I have also worked with arrangers in the past on some albums and videos. I really like arranging things myself and am happy to be doing it again though. I’ve never been formally trained in arranging or composition so it’s a constant learning process for me but it’s something that I really enjoy doing so it’s challenging but also incredibly fun.  

TF: How big is the team that works on your videos, and how long does it take to make one from start to finish?

TD: Generally my videos are shot by only 1 person (Landon Donoho or Jimmy Bates from FifGen Films), sometimes it’s just me and the videographer out filming, and other times I’ll have up to 3 people on a set helping out so it’s usually a very small crew.  My latest video for the new Assassin’s Creed Syndicate game was by far my most elaborate video and we had a great team of extras and a stunt team, so that was a really fun new experience for me, to be on such a large set! The teams I work with are both incredible to work with and they can turn things around on pretty tight schedules so depending on how fast we need the video they’ve always been able to make it happen!

TF: What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen on tour so far?

TD: That’s a tough question! This is my first tour so everything has felt really new to me and I’m still getting used to the lifestyle, but I’ve had so much fun and can’t wait to get on the road again next year. I think the most unusual thing (in a very good way) for me has been interacting with so many of my fans in person for the first time. I am so used to performing to a camera or in my studio and a lot of the time I’m working by myself, so this has been such a different experience actually seeing a live audience each night, feeling their energy during the performance, and then staying after to meet with them at the end of the shows. It’s been a little hard to get used to, honestly, and so many of them have shared very emotional and inspiring things with me so I feel very privileged to be in the position I’m in right now and have the opportunity to be touring like this and to be performing for such a nice group of people every night. It’s really a dream come true.

TF: You must get compared to Lindsey Stirling a lot, given how similar your videos are to some of hers. Have you ever been confused for her?

TD: A couple of people have told me that they loved me on America’s Got Talent, but they’re thinking of Lindsey for that one because I’ve never been on TV before! I really have a ton of respect for what Lindsey does and from meeting her a couple of times I think she’s a great performer and person, but I do feel that we both have very different and unique styles of performing and playing the violin.  

TF: Going forward, how do you plan to balance your covers with original songs? Do you have a specific schedule in mind?

TD: I don’t have a specific schedule in mind for balancing covers and originals at the moment but I do want to release more original music in the future. I am going to start working on a new album of original music when I get back from my tour in November so I’ll definitely be posting more original music videos next year than I did this past year. I love doing the covers too so I’m excited for more of those as well!

TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?

TD: No crazy plans at the moment! I have a lot of new video ideas for next year, and I hope to continue trying some new things with my videos to see how my audience reacts and what they most enjoy seeing as well. My audience is so important to me so I always love seeing what they like about a particular song/video and I also really like seeing what the most popular requests are as well because those are always fun to do!

On Deck (channels that will soon reach one million subscribers): Bugatti Beez, Pinto Plays, Jazzghost

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Millionaires, News, Taylor Davis by Sam Gutelle
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Yousef Erakat (aka fouseyTUBE) hit some impressive milestones in 2015. The 25-year-old YouTube star known for his comedy and prank videos reached more than 7.3 million subscribers on his main channel, over 1.8 million subscribers on his secondary vlogging channel, partnered with Collective Digital Studio, signed with CAA, and won the Streamy Award for the fan-voted Show of the Year award.

But Erakat has more serious, important things on his mind for the coming year that go beyond analytical accolades and industry achievements. In preparation for an upcoming appearance at Stream Con NYC October 30-31, Erakat sat down with Tubefilter to talk about his recent rise to prominence and what plans he has in store for 2016.

Tubefilter: You’ve been making YouTube content for over four years now. What’s been the most rewarding thing to come from your digital career?

Yousef Erakat: The most rewarding thing that came from my digital career was showing everybody where I started and where I am now. When I go back to my first video and I tell everybody [watching], “Hey, guys, I’m going to be one of the biggest YouTubers and here’s some of my inspirations,” to now having more subscribers than some of my inspirations when starting out, I feel that holds as a testament to motivation, inspiration to everybody else no matter what their dream is. So it’s just amazing to show people that no matter how big your dreams are they are achievable.

TF: How do you continue to come up with new content ideas?

YE: I don’t sit around and come up with my content ideas like at a round table or anything. They actually just have to come to me randomly, so if I ever don’t have a video idea, there’s not much I can do about it because the video has to come from a source of inspiration that’s happening in my daily life. So sometimes I will have an idea, sometimes I won’t. I just have to go out and do new things, and through trial and error and just living my life, a video will present itself.

TF: What would you like to start making or doing next? For example, many other YouTubers are writing books and starting singing or acting careers. Do you have any goals outside of the platform?

YE: I definitely have a lot of goals outside of the platform. One of my biggest goals is to be a motivational speaker. So if I were to create a book, I’d want it to be a self-help book. And although I go through many things myself that I actually need motivation to get through and I need to read self-help books to get through, I can practice what I don’t preach in a sense, because I know what it takes to get by my depression. I know what it takes to get by my obstacles every day, but it doesn’t mean it’s that easy to carry through with it and get them done.

So I feel like by taking the knowledge I’ve learned by going through what I do on a daily basis, and turning those [experiences] into self-help books and becoming a motivational speaker, that has the potential to help a lot of people, no matter their age.

TF: What happened to FouseyFitness?

YE: That’s kind of an awkward situation, because I was really out of shape and I showed everybody that I got into great shape in 90 days and got a huge motivational video out of it. I was expecting to start FouseyFitness, but just as life treats everybody, I got dealt the same cards that many people in my situation got dealt, and I’m going through the same path I’ve been through many times before where I get into great shape, I lose it, I get back into great shape, and I lose it. So although I got into great shape, I didn’t do what I needed to do to maintain it. It’s another obstacle life has thrown my way.

But I feel like whenever I’m ready mentally to get back into serious shape, I will do it, and if I decide to create content around it and call it FouseyFitness, I will do that. But most importantly, I think I just need to find a common balance between being healthy myself physically and mentally before I start preaching to anybody about why health is important.

TF: You recently won Show of the Year at the 5th annual Streamy Awards and gave a fantastic speech. How long have you been wanting to share that message with your fans? How big of a driver is sharing that message in your content and in your life?

YE: I actually didn’t know I was going to give that speech when I won the award. It’s something that just came out and lived in the moment, because that’s a message I preach every single day, whether you watch my vlogs, or read my tweets. So although my videos on fouseyTUBE are very comical and provide laughter, I actually live a very different life in my personal life. The speech I wanted to give I guess was deeply rooted inside me, and when the opportunity presented itself, it just came out at the perfect time.

TF: What advice can you give to creators looking to build a digital empire like yours?

YE: I really am not the best person to give advice, because there are so many different routes to get big now, it’s like [whichever] one that they choose to do. In 2011, when I started, it was a whole different ballgame than it is now in 2015 to start their own digital empire.

But the advice I would give to everybody is go in with the right reasons and don’t go in with the foresight of “I want to make that YouTube money” or “I want to be famous.” Have the right intentions going into becoming a digital creator and understand what it means to put your life on the line for millions of people worldwide to view, because with all the great reward comes not only a lot of responsibility, but also criticism and backlash you have to face for being a digital online creator.

TF: What’s next for your channel, or other future endeavors, for 2016?

YE: I have a lot of future endeavors coming for 2016. I definitely want it to be the year I make my transition into television and film. I also do see my motivational speaking tour starting, and I can almost guarantee I will have a book completed in 2016.

The most important thing in 2016 is I want to find happiness in my life and just true happiness outside of getting the new milestone of subscribers or the new milestone of views, because if anything I’ve learned, it’s that when I hit six million subscribers, it still didn’t feel right. When I hit seven million subscribers, it still didn’t feel right. Even if I hit 40 million subscribers, it wouldn’t feel right if I’m not feeling right on the inside and own happiness in my life. Most importantly, I’m going to be finding a balance of my personal life between who I am online and who I am in my real life.

You can see Erakat and many other digital stars at Stream Con NYC. Click here to pick up your tickets before they’re sold out.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, News, Stream Con NYC by Bree Brouwer
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Welcome to the Fund This column! Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

Project Name: The Songs That Saved Your Life

Asking For: $25,000 on Kickstarter

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $10,864

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 26

Description: The power of music is well-known, but every once in a while, it is refreshing to see a series that dives into the world of auditory bliss and attempts to explains what it is that makes us love our favorite tunes. That mission can be applied to The Songs That Saved Your Life, a planned web series seeking funds on Kickstarter.

The man behind The Songs That Saved Your Life is Drew Newkirk, and he wants to explore the powerful spark that emerges when we hear a resonant lyric or feel a particular melody affecting us. To best appreciate this subject, Newkirk will interview a series of guests and ask them about their lowest points. How did they feel then? Which songs raised them back up? These are topics we can expect to see in each episode.

The hope is to create a heartfelt series that goes deep with its subjects in a way other conversations cannot. “Before people go to a therapist when they’re hurting,” explains Newkirk in his project’s pitch video, “they often go to music.”

 Creator Bio: Newkirk is a licensed psychotherapist based in Manhattan. Throughout his series, he will bring in insights from his profession to accompany the stories of his guests.

Best Perk: To best appreciate this web series, viewers are going to have to listen to the songs it profiles, preferably over and over again in exhaustive detail. For that reason, the $30 perk–a CD featuring the first season’s soundtrack–is a worthwhile investment.

Why You Should Fund It: The word “heartwarming” gets tossed around a lot these days, perhaps without always being earned, but what better way to describe the emotion Newkirk and his team are trying to inspire within their viewers? This isn’t just a web series for music lovers; it’s a web series about depression, about what makes us feel down and what we can do to pick ourselves back up. On the surface, the stories of Newkirk’s subjects figure to carry plenty of emotional heft; below that, viewers who want to understand their own psyches can use this series–and the songs it brings up–as a partial guide.

Got a crowdfunding campaign you’d like to see featured in Fund This? Be sure to contact us here.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Fund This, Kickstarter, News by Sam Gutelle
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Grace Helbig is going to have a busy couple of days at Stream Con NYC 2015. The YouTube superstar, comedienne extraordinaire, and burgeoning feature film star will be in attendance for two days at the online video and streaming industry event to perform a stand-up show with fellow YouTube star Mamrie Hart and record an episode for her podcast Not Too Deep with professional thatcher and author Joe Sugg.

Helbig will perform with best friend and fellow vlogger Hart, whose You Deserve a Drink channel boasts over 1.1 million subscribers, in their two-woman show This Might Get Weird, Y’All on Friday, October 30, 2015. As a sneak peek of what you’ll see at This Might Get Weird, Y’All, check out this fan video taken of the show during its Nashville stop in 2014.

Additionally, Helbig will interview fellow vlogger Sugg (aka ThatcherJoe) live from Stream Con NYC for her Not Too Deep podcast (which launched at #1 in the iTunes Top Podcasts chart back in September 2014) on Saturday, October 31 at 12 noon EST. Topics of discussion will most likely include Sugg’s graphic novel, his new Raucous Productions company, and general shenanigans.  

Still need tickets to Stream Con? You can purchase those here and make sure to check the schedule to plan out your weekend.

Filed under: Articles, Celebrity, Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, News, Stream Con NYC by Bree Brouwer
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Kin Community is ready to celebrate the upcoming holiday season with a new production for linear TV. The female-centric lifestyle network teamed with fine arts TV channel and digital network Ovation to launch the multi-platform Holiday Entertaining with Kin Community holiday special.

Hosted by Kin creative partner Kelly Bryson Pearce, the half-hour Holiday Entertaining with Kin Community special will feature various creators from the digital network showing viewers how to prepare for a successful holiday season. For example, married lifestyle vloggers Rachel and Byron Talbott (who got their own web series through Mode Media in 2014) will teach viewers how to make egg nog, while Beth Le Manach of the YouTube channel Entertaining with Beth will create an egg frittata with roasted potatoes.

Holiday Entertaining with Kin Community will debut on Ovation TV on November 18, 2015 at 10 PM EST. The special will be available in various formats on Ovation’s YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and video segments will be edited for distribution on the participating creators’ social accounts and Kin’s digital network. Additionally, Canada’s Corus Entertainment will air Holiday Entertaining with Kin Community after its U.S. premiere across the company’s women-based channels such as W Network and CosmoTV.

“This year, we have been focusing on ways we can expand our digital footprint and bridge the gap between what we do on our linear channel with what creatives are doing online,” said Liz Janneman, EVP Network Strategy at Ovation, in a release. “The partnership with Kin Community helps us do just that. The holiday special has appeal for a multi-generational audience and helps us explore ways to reach new viewers via multiple platforms and across borders.”

“Kin believes that the holidays should be easy and stylish, no matter your age or life stage,” added Beth Lemenach, VP of Content at Kin Community. “Whether you are entertaining for the first time or have been hosting for 20 years, everyone needs simple solutions to make the holidays special.”

Kin Community has been working hard over the last few months to live up to its claim as “the global leader in women’s lifestyle.” The network launched its own branded content studio division in July 2015, and signed YouTube star Hannah Hart in August. Kin also recently launched Kin Network Distribution, a business which will help bring Kin’s videos to other platforms.

You can catch the premiere of Holiday Entertaining with Kin Community on November 18 on Ovation TV.

Filed under: Articles, Kin Community, News, Ovation Digital Arts by Bree Brouwer
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It’s been a hectic week since we first shared news of YouTube Red, YouTube’s $9.99-per-month, ad-free service. Red has now officially launched, and with a new era of premium users set to dawn, YouTube Senior Product Manager Matt Leske has authored a blog post clearing up a few questions about the new service.

Leske’s post hit on a few points we previously discussed when we debunked several myths related to Red; his post even links to ours (thanks Matt!) The most significant section of his post, however, concerns something we haven’t written about yet: The payout system related to Red’s free trials. In short, users who sign up for Red will receive their first 30 days for free. This is great news for potential subscribers, but it raised a big question about how YouTube would pay creators during the period when individual Red subscribers don’t generate any revenue.

This question escalated into a near-war when multi-channel network Fullscreen tweeted a bit of news that did not seem to bode well for creators:

YouTube has confirmed to us that creators will not receive revenue when a #YouTubeRed user watches your videos during the free trial.

— Fullscreen Network (@FullscreenNet) October 27, 2015

Other interested parties, such as outspoken YouTube gamer Boogie2988, commented on the perceived inequality of such a policy:

Google has now put its smaller creators into the unique position of DISCOURAGING their followers from trying YouTube red. Weird marketing.

— BOO! gie2988 (@Boogie2988) October 27, 2015

Don’t worry, everyone, we can put down the pitchforks. YouTube will pay creators during Red trial periods; as Leske explains it, the video site will transfer Google Play Music subscription revenue to creators as an “advance” of sorts. “Creators are the lifeblood of YouTube. So with Google Play Music subscribers instantly joining YouTube Red, we will pay a portion of the revenue we receive from these subscribers to our creators on day 1,” he writes. “Even with 30 day free trials, our creator community will make as much or more as they would have without YouTube Red.”

It would seem as if YouTube has averted this particular crisis, and with that, the stage is set for YouTube Red. If you’d like to be one of the first people to get a subscription, you can grab one right here.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, YouTube, YouTube Red by Sam Gutelle
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Lionsgate is turning to the world of digital stars for its next project. The movie studio behind the popular The Hunger Games film franchise has picked up the comedy feature film Dirty Thirty, which stars YouTube celebrities Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart, and Hannah Hart.

Directed by Andrew Bush (Roller Town), Dirty Thirty was written by Mamrie Hart and actress Molly Prather and tells the story of a birthday party gone bad. The comedy will reunite Helbig, Hart, and Hart and the production team who worked on the 2014 film Camp Takota. Michael Goldfine, who produced Camp Takota and the upcoming Fullscreen film The Outfield, will produce Dirty Thirty through his production company Michael Goldfine Productions. The three female YouTube stars will executive produce alongside their managers at Bleecker Street Entertainment, Vincent Nastri and Ken Treusch.

“As we build out our original digital offerings, we continue to look for projects that fit Lionsgate’s brand as a leader in supplying the next generation of global content and ‘Dirty Thirty’ perfectly fits that mandate,” said Jordan Gilbert, director of digital programming at Lionsgate, as reported by Variety. “Grace, Mamrie, Hannah, and the entire team have proven that they understand the digital audience and we are excited to be working with them on this long-form digital feature.”

“We wanted to expand off the success of Camp Takota by bringing in a major studio,” Helbig, Hart, and Hart explained. “Lionsgate is a perfect partner because they are a big player, but they’re a young studio who will support our creative vision and take chances. Plus, they approved our snacks budget.”

Executive produced through IMG Films, Lionsgate will distribute Dirty Thirty across multiple digital platforms and SVOD services. Pre-production begins this week, and fans will be able to follow along with the film’s progress at DirtyThirtyMovie.com. No release date has been announced as of yet, but the Dirty Thirty website notes it will be ready sometime in 2016.

Filed under: Articles, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Lionsgate, Mamrie Hart, News by Bree Brouwer
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