James Hale

• Podcast listening on TVs has doubled. What can YouTube do with that growth?
• TikTok’s new biz? Selling hotel rooms–and paying creators who help fill them

  We're guessing, based on the low barrier to entry, that these tasks won't pay out nearly the same amount as a traditional creator/brand sponsorship would--but they do represent a kind of broader TikTok Shopification. Almost anyone can earn affiliate cash by hawking products from TikTok Shop; with TikTok Go, almost anyone can get a little travel money by filming what's essentially custom-tailored ads.

  
• Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: Here be dragons

  Our latest Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report looks more like an evening on early 2000s MTV than a day on YouTube in 2025. We've got MrBeast and Druski making next-gen reality shows, a true crime documentary reminiscent of The First 48, and a Love Island post-mortem that would make a Real Housewife proud. Then there's the requisite Travel Channel content with a look at seerasan's life in Tokyo.

  
• YouTube memorializes Roblox’s trillion views with a metaverse-y museum

  
• A new game on Roblox has half a million interested players–and it’s not even out yet
• Creators like the McCarty family are poised to take over Hollywood. Viral Nation wants to help them get there.
• YouTube is giving some channels a Netflix makeover
• Amazon’s reshuffling from its podcast prime, putting more oomph into creator shows
• YouTube might card you to prove you’re over 18. VTubers are worried.
• TikTok wants its fact-checking to be user-generated, too
• Swearing’s back on the YouTube menu, boys
• Sorry, kids: No more lying about your age on YouTube