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, a controversial creator is getting his access to the money faucet restored, an it girl is bringing back an old trend, and China’s latest tech success story is already facing bans.
YouTube restores Dr DisRespect’s account. The fallout that occurred after Guy “Dr DisRespect” Beahm sent inappropriate messages to a minor has left him barred from most major social platforms, including Twitch. YouTube is a little more lenient and is letting Beahm make money from his videos again. It’s not all good news for the streamer — the game studio he co-founded, Midnight Society, has shut down.
Fanum hits the cover of GQ. The creator who inspired the slang term “Fanum tax” is now building an empire that extends to “much more than video games,” according to the GQ cover story. Not to be outdone, fellow AMP member Kai Cenat showed up on the front cover of Billboard.
The creator behind Demolition Ranch is riding off into the sunset. Across 14 years, firearms enthusiast Matt Carriker uploaded more than 700 videos and attracted nearly 12 million subscribers. If you want to continue his work, you can purchase the deed to the ranch in question. It will only cost you about $15 million.
Alix Earle has the skinny on the new fashion trend. The “skinny jeans vs. cargo pants” debate that has captivated Millennials and Gen Z for so many years may be coming to an end. Even TikTok it girl Alix Earle is now embracing skinny jeans by launching a “comeback” line with retailer Frame. Moral of the story: Wear whatever pants feel comfortable to you, because fashion is just going to change course again in a few years.
Moriah Elizabeth is getting all misty. The enterprising creator has added a body mist brand called ME Scents to her product line Moriah Elizabeth Beauty. Forget looking like creators — now you can smell like them too.
Turbo Tax offers filing tips for creators. If you’re getting ready to declare the income you made from your content, check out this guide first. You don’t want to miss any of those deductions for self-employed individuals.
Italy bans DeepSeek. The Chinese generative AI model that sent stocks into a tailspin is facing the same regulatory scrutiny applied to other companies from its home country. Italy has already taken action against the chatbot
, and it probably won’t be the last nation to seek action against DeepSeek.Is OpenAI worth $300 billion? Investment firm SoftBank is reportedly exploring that level of valuation as it looks to back the ChatGPT maker. So I guess DeepSeek won’t put every U.S. generative AI company out of business.
Looking for excitement on YouTube’s Inspiration tab. Over at Aftermath, reported Nathan Grayson wrote about the “boring” advice he received when he sought guidance from YouTube’s AI-powered video prompt tool. If Grayson wants to know who the Inspiration tab is for, he might want to ask Gemini itself.
Nelk’s NFT sales draw ire from buyers. Did the creator group operate as “snake oil salesmen” by selling blockchain products that possessed no real value? That’s what a new lawsuit alleges. There’s certainly a lot of money at stake here, as the Nelk boys grossed $23 million from their initial NFT drop in 2022.
A former TikTok exec has accused the company of retaliating against her. Brand exec Katie Ellen Puris claims that ByteDance terminated her employement because she spoke out about age and sex discrimination at the company. Her retaliation suit just advanced thanks to claims filed in New York.
The Alphabet Workers Union is looking for a path forward in its battle against Google. YouTube Music contractors who want to collectively bargain with Google have earned some favorable decisions, but a D.C. Circuit Court now seems skeptical that the suing workers have a path forward, at least from a legal perspective.
An Italian TikToker brought chaos to a ski resort. The Italian getaway of Roccaraso is clamping down on day trippers after local creator Rita De Crescenzo visited the slopes. De Crescenzo’s fans showed up in droves, creating an overcrowded environment. This seems like it creates a perfecft opportunity to cast De Crescenzo in the next season of The White Lotus.
A viral star’s zoo lets you be the animals. Toco turned heads in 2023 with a hyperrealistic dog costume. Now he’s bringing that concept to a zoo that will allow visitors to dress up as animals. Something tells me there’s gonna be some weird stuff going on at that zoo.
A lion cub doesn’t make for a great wedding gift. That’s what Rajab Butt, one of Pakistan’s top creators, found out when police came to his home and confiscated his lion cub after his nuptuals. Did the cops even know that the lion was going to be in so many fun videos?
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