Have you heard? 20 years of Super Simple Songs, AMP in the Club, and Shyamalan’s next twist.

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, an enduring family favorite achieved a YouTube milestone, a new platform got an assist from a top creator group, and YouTube is getting a twist ending?

Creator commotion

Happy 20th birthday to the Super Simple Songs YouTube channel. Since 2006, more than 46 million subscribers have tuned into Super Simple Songs, which has rolled up over 63 billion lifetime views. The channel’s teacher-centric approach is more relevant now than it was 20 years ago, and with more new content on the way, Super Simple Songs is set up for a bright future.

Who needs Hollywood? These creators are crowdfunding a horror movie. You don’t need to be Kane Parsons or Curry Barker to bring your creator-led tale of terror to the big screen. The team behind the Cinema Therapy YouTube channel has turned to its fanbase to support a planned project called The Vessel. At the time of this post, The Vessel was a little over halfway to its $100,000 goal.

The biz

Shortly after its launch, Club premiered a trailer that stars AMP. Kick has used splashy creator signings as a form of promotion, and its sister platform is adopting a similar strategy. The creators of AMP have starred in a trailer for the community-building hub Club, which comes from the same team that brought us Kick. The resulting video is one part Kai Cenat Subathon and one part Janet Jackson ‘Rhythm Nation’ music video.

Best Buy enlisted Marques Brownlee to run through 60 years of tech. The retailer has been around for six decades, and who better than YouTube’s premier tech reviewer to recap the products that have been sold at Best Buy over the years. The spot is a nostalgic blast from the past, though I wish I could still find cassette players or CD jewel cases at my local Best Buy.

Media personalities on YouTube

Plot twist! M. Night Shyamalan has his own YouTube channel. If YouTube stars are going to make Hollywood horror movies, then Hollywood horror directors should become YouTube stars, right? That rationale would explain why M. Night Shyamalan is uploading vlogs now (and seemingly drawing inspiration from the thumbnail design of Ryan Trahan videos).

Just in time for back-to-school season, Ken Burns is on YouTube. Through PBS LearningMedia, content from a time-honored documentarian will be available in classrooms via YouTube. Burns’ YouTube initiative will star with his doc on the American Revolution. “I’ve always thought that our shared history should be accessible to everyone,” he said.

Ina Garten’s ‘Happy Hour’ brings her to YouTube. Whether she’s cooking for husband Jeffrey or imparting “foolproof” recipes for an upcoming house party, the woman known as the Barefoot Contessa is a lifeline for amateur chefs. Her move to YouTube will come in the form of a show called Happy Hour with Ina Garten, a Vox Media podcast that will feature intimate dinner party conversations between the host and her guests.

Platform headlines

YouTube’s million-dollar offers haven’t stopped Netflix’s creator spending spree. As one platform reportedly pays beaucoup bucks to keep its biggest stars from signing deals, the platform that wants to sign those stars is keeping the creator pipeline flowing. Netflix has struck a deal with Kevin Langue, whose comedy channels will become available on the SVOD service.

TikTok’s “legacy contacts” can preserve the accounts of dead users. The question of what happens to your social accounts after you pass is a complicated question. TikTok is hoping that a new policy — which designates legacy contacts who manage the accounts of departed creators — will add an important layer of continuity.

Need a Substack collaborator? Try the “creator match” feature. Newsletter creators on Substack can now try out a host of new features. One addition is a tool that matches creators with others who share their interests and audience sizes. Platforms are all about community these days, and this feature is another example of what that paradigm looks like.

Sports and games

It’s been a tough week for the YouTube golfers. First, Good Good lost a plethora of deals and programming opportunities after receiving backlash for an insensitive Callaway ad. Now, Grant Horvat — arguably the most popular of the YouTube golfers — has been criticized for the price of his product line. His golf clubs are aimed at kids, but is $199 a fair price for a junior sports product?

Jamie Vardy is the latest person bringing live pro soccer coverage to YouTube. First, he led Leicester City to an iconic Premier League trophy. Now, Jamie Vardy is kicking off his post-playing career by broadcasting the German Bundesliga on YouTube in the U.K. and Ireland. The 2026 FIFA World Cup effect is in full swing, and you don’t have to be CazéTV to benefit from it.

The internet is a strange place

Influencer marketing of the 18th century hits different. In 1765, Josiah Wedgewood sent a tea set to the queen, and she named him “Potter to Her Majesty.” That made Wedgewood one of the first retailers to benefit from a transactional relationship with a public figure who received no direct payment for her endorsement. Translation: The queen was an influencer, and Wedgewood would have done well in our contemporary economy.

Doja Cat supported a streamer with almost no views (the streamer’s mother might have other ideas). Nitro Camden was averaging very few Twitch viewers until streaming star Stable Ronaldo came through with thousands of fans as part of a raid. An incident between Nitro Camden and his mother showed that the streamer could use more support, and celebs like Doja Cat provided it.

Gen Z loves birds. Sources say that the #BirdTok hashtag is booming. But what will the aviary fanatics of TikTok do when they find out that birds aren’t real?