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, YouTube is facing a fine that’s larger than the world’s GDP, and the “Sega Dreamcast election” is right around the corner.
Creator commotion
India’s hottest YouTube video is a MrBeast parody. 14 of the biggest South Asian YouTubers showed up on CarryMinati‘s channel for a MrBeast parody that already has more than 57 million views. In a comment on the video, the real MrBeast applauded the “insane” effort that went into Minati’s spoof. Is a cross-continental collab next?
Fuslie is back on Twitch. Leslie Fu returned to her original streaming home after her exclusive contract with YouTube expired. Fu’s initial move to YouTube was part of a wave of signings during the height of the streamer contract trend. Two years later, exclusive contracts have lost some luster, and streamer freedom of movement is the name of the game once again.
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‘Who TF Did I Marry?’ doubled Reesa Teesa’s income. Even though she’s one of the year’s breakout stars on TikTok, Reesa Teesa hasn’t quit her day job yet. Maybe she’ll reconsider that decision once those TV royalties start rolling in.
The court of law
Who wants to be a decillionaire? As retribution for multiple bans on state-affiliated channels, Russia has hit YouTube with a $20 decillion fine. Written out, that’s $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Even Russia has admitted that the legal action is purely “symbolic.”
YouTube Shorts 1, Shorts International 0. The distributor of the short-form nominees at the Oscars sued YouTube to challenge the legality of the “YouTube Shorts” name. A British court struck down the suit, ruling that there was no risk of confusion for consumers. Maybe if Shorts International starts distributing ridiculous YouTube Shorts memes, it can have a stronger case.
Apple tried to warn TikTok about its effect on teens. As part of a South Carolina lawsuit, legislators have revealed communications between Apple and TikTok from 2022. The former company advised the later to raise the age rating for its app to 17, since Apple didn’t think TikTok was appropriate for 13-to-16-year-olds. Don’t know where they got that idea.
Politics as usual
Raise your hand if you had Crazy Taxi on your 2024 election bingo card. During a stream with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, VP candidate Tim Walz outed himself as a Sega Dreamcast enjoyer. I’m always happy to see Crazy Taxi get the love it deserves, but is it wise for Walz to connect his campaign to one of the most infamous flops in video game history? And can he please play Soul Calibur next?
Is a marketing blackout coming on Wednesday? Depending on the winner of the 2024 presidential election, creators and brands may need to make some significant adjustments to their content strategies. Some risk-averse types are pausing activity until the election is decided. Who knows how long that will take…
Zoomers are discovering Trump’s ‘Access Hollywood’ tape on TikTok. Many Gen Z voters lacked political consciousness in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected to the White House. Eight years later, some TikTokers are learning about Trump’s most infamous soundbite for the first time. And if they think that’s bad, wait until they hear what he said yesterday.
The biz
TheSoul Publishing acquires Mediacube. After taking a majority stake in Underscore Talent two years ago, Cyprus-based TheSoul has scooped up Mediacube, a money manager for creators. TheSoul is a big deal in the Shorts world, and YouTube creators should be aware of the publisher’s increasing presence on the platform.
Creator billboards are back in Times Square (thanks to Patreon). Karat did it in 2022, and Patreon is doing it now. Billboard placements are a nice perk for creators, and Patreon will find the beneficiaries for its free real estate via an application process. It’s worth throwing in your name on the off chance you’ll get to see your friends’ reactions to the promotion.
Nintendo’s new music platform looks familiar. The Nintendo Music app looks and feels very similar to YouTube Music. Given how much Nintendo has been criticized for its strict policy on gameplay footage, its decision to get into the ever-thorny music business is…interesting, to say the least.
The internet is a strange place
¡Ay Caramba! The NFL meets The Simpsons. The NFL met SpongeBob two years ago. Now it’s saying “D’oh!” to Homer Simpson. Since a “pooch punt” is a thing in football, I’ll be disappointed unless Poochie gets to play special teams.
Somali TikTok battles are serious business. TikTok battles put creators face-to-face in a split-screen and invite them to debate one another. In the United States, that format leads to benign political debates, but in Somalia, TikTok battles are far more extreme. In some cases, more than 50,000 viewers tune in as creators from rival clans diss one another. I’d love to bring the “Big Tribal Game” to the States, but we’d need clans first.
If you fall out of a window, at least you can put your injuries in a tier list. League of Legends streamer No Arm Whatley nearly died after falling out of a window, but he bounced back by grouping his injuries into tiers. Ironically, No Arm Whatley’s arms were uninjured in the accident.
