Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry. This week, gun-loving creators are getting fired up, and experienced digital media execs are getting hired up.
Creator commotion
After YouTube’s latest firearm video crackdown, some creators have had enough. At least four channels in YouTube’s firearms community have announced moves to new platforms in response to a crackdown on machine gun videos and sponsored clips that market guns. This isn’t the first time YouTube has found itself at odds with firearms enthusiasts. Maybe this time, the aggrieved creators will take my advice and move to Pornhub.
Kurzgesagt speaks! Philipp Dettmer runs one of YouTube’s most popular channels but doesn’t give interviews too often, so we’re all over his chat with Forbes. One fun fact: Dettmer “didn’t know how to animate” when he started Kurzgesagt. Now it’s a leading animation hub on the internet. Go figure!
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Lunchly: Now with moldy cheese. Everyone thought Rosanna Pansino was unlucky or trolling when she found mold in her Lunchly, but she’s not the only one making that unsavory discovery. MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI will need to talk to their suppliers unless they want a major recall on their hands.
The latest tech
ByteDance has an AI saboteur on its hands. The parent company of TikTok dismissed an employee who “maliciously interfered” with the company’s AI models. Look, I’m not saying the ByteDance saboteur came from the future, but if he was, would you really be surprised?
A Fortune 500 company wants to do AI its own way. Mondelez owns some of the most familiar consumer goods brands on the planet, and it’s bringing AI in-house with a content creation platform that will start bearing fruit next year. If massive corporations don’t want to work with third parties on AI, then ChatGPT and Gemini might start getting awfully lonely.
NFTs and AI? Yuga Labs, best known as the firm behind the Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collection, is now embracing AI for a new creator platform called ApeChain. Yuga has never been shy about embracing futuristic technology, even in cases where the applications of that tech aren’t clear. The apes can always figure out the practical stuff later when they’re chilling on their yachts.
Agency dealings
TikTok’s “cucumber guy” gets representation. Underscore Talent has signed a deal with Logan Moffitt, the creator who wowed TikTok with his varied recipes involving cucumbers. A press release notes that “Logan’s impact extends beyond cucumbers,” which is good to hear. It’s about to be winter, and cukes will be out of season for a bit.
Donut Media vets rev their engines at UTA. James Pumphrey and Jesse Wood, who both held prominent roles at the automotive content company Donut Media, have signed with UTA. Pumphrey and Wood left Donut earlier this year to launch Speeed, a venture that blends vehicular videos with content in other categories. Looks like YouTube’s car guys are branching out.
Straw Hat Goofy signs with CAA. Juju Green, known by a handle that blends One Piece with Disney, has amassed millions of TikTok followers with his pop culture commentary. Straw Hat Goofy has already rubbed shoulders with celebs like Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, so a representation deal was a logical next step.
Hiring moves
Instagram’s new Global Head of Marketing comes from YouTube. In his previous gig, Jake O’Leary led marketing for YouTube’s Shorts and Music verticals. Now he has arrived at Instagram to up the Meta-owned hub’s appeal among Gen Z. As a Millennial, I’m sad that Insta isn’t catering to us anymore, but I get it.
Creator marketing firm MoreYellow taps an industry vet. MoreYellow VP of Talent John Carle worked with creators like Jon Cozart and Jack Conte at Studio71 before joining BEN in 2019. Now he’s bringing his expertise to a company that helps creators produce and execute brand partnerships. In a statement, Carle said he would recognize “the perspective of countless creators” as he settles into his new gig.
OpenAI adds a chief economist who has worked under two Presidents. Aaron Chatterji’s work experience includes roles adjacent to both the Obama and Biden administrations. Now he will help OpenAI make smart money moves as the Microsoft-backed company looks to diversify and expand its business.
The internet is a strange place
There’s a shot-for-shot ASMR remake of Shrek now. Gen Z’s favorite movie got the supersensory treatment thanks to the creator who goes by the handle Gibi ASMR. I’ve always wanted someone to whisper to me about how Duloc is a perfect place, so it looks like my wish has come true.
Happy trails, fake Blippi. Moonbug is going after an Orlando company whose employees impersonate Blippi, the orange-and-blue clad character portrayed by Stevin John. All they needed to do was palette swap his suspenders, bowtie, and cap while giving him a new name. Was Schlippi taken or something? This lawsuit feels like it could have been easily avoided.
If you’re going to use your YouTube channel to call out bad drivers, don’t get caught speeding. The host of a channel called “Really Bad Driving” was himself pulled over. There’s only one place where this confluence of bad driving could happen: Yup, it’s New England.
