The New Gatekeepers

Formerly Open Tech Companies Now Tightly Control Access to the Latest Breakthrough Media Technologies

Hi, I’m Jim Louderback and this is my weekly creator economy newsletter. If you’ve received it, then you are either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.

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This Week: Our liberators have become gatekeepers – and why that’s bad for the creator economy. Plus pondering dopamine squirts, long shorts (board shorts?) and read to the end for our new weekly focus on niche fandoms you need to know about.

META ENTERS CROWDED AI VIDEO MARKET

Meta unveils its new AI video generator, Movie Gen which delivers up to 16 seconds of 1080p video at a paltry 16fps. The demo videos are impressive, and Meta has released a number of posts and papers explaining how this will be the future for creators, and wonky details on how the technology works. The ability to edit existing videos and put yourself into the movie offers a compelling new frontier for these services. But like OpenAI’s Sora video model, only a lucky few have been granted access. Video generation is VERY compute intensive and opening it up to everyone would likely deplete even Meta’s impressive coffers. But until actual creators can wield these models, they remain a fascinating bauble, guarded by gatekeepers and locked away behind closed doors. Hey Meta, OpenAI, etc: if you really want to democratize content creation then FREE THE MODELS!

CAN AI CAUSE DOPAMINE SQUIRTS?

It’s a serious question. New app SocialAI (ht. @Ankur Mehra) delivers a twitter-like social network, but instead of real people, every user has potentially millions of AI followers. I gave it a try but found it much like decaffeinated coffee – some of the flavor but none of the kick. Ultimately it couldn’t compete with the juice of connecting with real people – even if it did give my AI followers cute names like “Joyful Jinny” and “FlirtyFiona”. It’s similar to Butteflies.AI, where you create your virtual friends and then hang out with them – also in a feed-like experience – but Butterfly has images too. I’m not sure a 100% AI social following will work. But interspersing AI with real people? Perhaps that’s the next step towards more rewarding social experiences and positivity. Or a spiral into dystopia.

SHORTS GO LONG

On October 15^th, YouTube will remove the onerous 60-second limit on Shorts videos. FINALLY! It’s no coincidence that this move comes 103 days before the US government shut-down of TikTok, as Big Red prepares to woo double-T creators. Shorts once was just a way to blunt TikTok’s rampant success, but now it looks like YouTube is leaning in. In addition to increasing the length, YouTube announced more Shorts updates, including a new player design and a way to remix long-form clips into Shorts. And unlike Meta, YouTube will make its VEO AI video generator available to all creators – so they say. Finally, they announced an ability for users to temporarily deprecate Shorts in their feed. Huh? Just temporarily? Users should be able to permanently tweak their experience and preferences on all platforms.

INSIDE THE FANDOM ECONOMY

Welcome to a new weekly section in ICE, with a new contributor too. Back in July, YouTube’s “Culture and Trends” report found that 47% of GenZ belong to a fandom that none of their friends share. This is new and profound. Niche fan communities offer tremendous value to brands, creators, and more. Each week Morgan Ward will close out ICE with an introduction to a fandom you NEED to know about, but probably don’t. Quick bio on Morgan, she’s a long-time TikToker, lives and breathes niche and geek fandom, and writes and podcasts on film, fandom and more. Read to the end for this week’s fandom focus.

GIVE THIS PODCAST A LISTEN

I’ve been playing with Google’s NotebookLM feature for a while, dumping this newsletter in and querying it. But a new feature lets you turn any PDF into a podcast, with two AI hosts talking about the content. If you don’t want to read this newsletter, give the audio podcast a listen. If you like it, I might keep doing it each week. It’s not hard!

SPONSOR: Content Creator and Whalar Talent Tiffany Yu is launching her first book “The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World.” It’s been endorsed by Amy Cuddy, Ali Stroker, and Liz Plank and was named one of Audible’s Most Anticipated New Releases and Library Journal’s Editor’s Picks for Fall 2024. Preorder your copy and get your exclusive companion guide!

QUIBIS:

YOUTUBE

• EU Scrutiny: The EU continues to lean in on YouTube, Snap and TikTok, asking for more info on how their algorithms work. Screws tightening?
• Problems in India: In the aftermath of an apparently successful Indian YouTube Brandcast – and visit from CEO Neal Mohan – it’s worrying that YouTube’s managing director Ishan Chatterjee jumped ship to OTT and streaming service JioCinema, owned by Viacom18.
• YouTube Cancels Thousands of Channels: Due to a tech bug, last week YouTube wrongly terminated thousands of accounts and deleted videos. Luckily it only took a day to fix, and all channels are now back online. It’s a reminder to all creators, though, that YouTube is rented land. Make sure and have backups of EVERYTHING.
• YouTube on TV: Here’s what happened over the last three months – from YouTube’s TV team.
• Indonesia Shopping: Shopee and YouTube team up in Indonesia – and around Southeast Asia – to blunt TikTok’s Tokopedia acquisition.

META

• Facebook Redesign: In a move to hopefully appeal to more GenZ, Facebook refreshed its design to focus on local communities, video and groups.
• AI Content Generation: Meta’s new AI content plans for Instagram and Facebook raise concerns.
• Streamlined Ad Programs: Meta streamlines Facebook ad programs under one integrated banner and promises more opportunities to earn. Hopefully it leads to higher payouts for everyone. Not holding my breath. Even some transparency would be nice. As of now the program is invite only.
• Creator Payouts: @Avi Gandhi reflects on how $2B paid to creators is actually just a drop in the bucket for Meta.
• Best Practices: New advice coming for creators as part of Instagram’s Professional Dashboard – although it hasn’t rolled out to me yet, so I can’t comment.
• IxNay on the OllowerFay EedFay: Not for the first time: Mosseri says no to a Follower Feed.

TIKTOK

• Holiday Spending Playbook: It’s a new guide to help businesses spend more on TikTok during the holidays. Spend, spend, spend!
• Flip Stories: Oh look. Flip Stories. It’s fun but still won’t compensate for the third of my feed now dedicated to ads and shop-slop.
• Search Ads: The “Google Killer” is finally live – but brands are wary.
• Life after TikTok: Great to see Charli D’Amelio acting and dancing in a Broadway play!
• #Open Source: TikTok shares its open-source efforts, from contributions to SDKs and beyond

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Jumping Ship: Congrats to @taylor Lorenz for leaving big media and launching her own independent company User Mag. Subscribe today and see her speak at 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai in January.
• Snap and Child Safety: New Mexico Attorney General says Snap knew about child safety issues.
• Dude Perfect Hires CEO: NBA exec Andrew Yaffe now running Dude Perfect, previously ran social, digital and original content at the league.
• Creator Predictions: Interesting set of predictions from creator Epic Gardner on what’s up with the Creator Economy.
• Building Breakr: Great story on what @anthony brown is building at Breakr, and how they are inspiring others to realize their dreams. Can’t wait to talk about it with him on stage in Dubai in January too!
• Skibidi Toys: Need a gag gift for that Secret Santa or bachelor/hen party? Pickup up a Skibidi Toilet!
• AI Ad Tools: So many new AI advertising tools were announced last week, including those from Pinterest, Microsoft, Reddit and Meta.
• Snap and Omnicom: New partnership between Snap and Creo aims to help drive brand campaigns to Snap Stars.
• VTuber Tops Twitch: Last Monday I told you Anime was going to be a huge deal, then just a few hours later a VTuber – Ironmouse – became the most active Twitch streamer. Nyah, nyah, nyah, told ya so!
• Free Sound Effects from the Beeb: I don’t often need the sound of a Peregrine Falcon in distress, but when I do the BBC’s free library is a lifesaver (HT Benedict Evans).
• Fire Your CMO: And then hire a Chief Entertainment Officer, says Sir John Hegerty.
• Big Losses: X may have lost 80% of its value post Musk purchase, but I’m hearing that Jellysmack may take a 95% haircut when all is said and done.

BEAST WATCH

• New Beast Acquisition: MrBeast acquires creator economy jobs site Vouch to help accelerate internal hiring.
• Podcast Insights: KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast talk Lunchly, post-mortem career plans and a preview of Beast Games on Paul’s podcast.
• Lunchly Fallout: KSI continues to squabble with DanTDM and other haters over unhealthy Lunchly claims.
• AI Artist Backlash: This is what happens when you are under a microscope. Every little thing gets magnified. A Beast ad for an AI artist was roundly criticized – and then pulled.

CREATOR TECH – AI, WEB3, VR, MORE

• Local AI Image Generator: Tired of paying for MidJourney or other AI image generators? Now you can download and run Flux (based on Stable Diffusion) on your PC – with expensive Nvidia hardware, of course.
• OpenAI’s New Model: To compete with Anthropic, OpenAI now lets you have an interactive writing or coding session with its new canvas option. I gave it a shot, and it’s useful, but unfortunately doesn’t live inside my word processor. And reminds me again that Microsoft’s Office co-pilot is a useless fail (so far).
• Event Nerds Only: Superfly EVP @Lauren Guss shares the secrets of building festivals including Outside Lands, BravoCon and Bonnaroo.

RESEARCH

• Spotify’s GenZ Insights: New survey looks at how GenZ uses Spotify to connect with friends, discover niche fandoms and embrace mainstream as well. According to their research, brands should explore creating playlists and sponsoring events.
• TikTok Marketing: Linqia surveyed 200 enterprise marketers and found that 2/3rds haven’t changed their TikTok approach at all. Also, dedicated creator marketing teams are quickly becoming the norm at big companies.
• Gen Z Trusts Creators: New research from Morning Consult confirms what we already know, that GenZ trusts creators and seeks out their advice at far higher rates than the general public. Many are hungry for more.
• Music Creator Insight: New music creator research shows that musicians are apathetic about streaming platforms, instead preferring high value, smaller fanbases.
• Holiday Gift Buying: Mavely surveyed 1,000 US consumers about holiday gift buying and found that creator influence runs deep – more than half will buy based on creator recommendations. However, they aren’t easily sold, so don’t skimp on the budget.
• Media and Marketing Report: Investment bank Luma released its Q3 media and marketing report, finding an increase in M&A, but less VC investments in the sector.

INSIDE DROPOUT FANDOM

In a cluttered streamer marketplace, top dogs like Amazon, Netflix and Youtube, still dominate. But Dropout has slowly emerged as a top streamable content source for GenZ and Millennials. Founded by former CollegeHumor President of Original Content, @Sam Reich, Dropout made its mark in the streaming world through unscripted comedy in the vein of classic game and variety shows. Shows like Dimension 20, a table-top roleplaying series, and Game Changer, which offers a twist on the classic tv game show, feature diverse, personality-driven content and constant reinvention. Clips from the shows frequently go viral on platforms like TikTok, which has driven Gen Z interest. What keeps them engaged is the wide variety of talent and content without the big streamer baggage (ie. rising costs and ads.) This commitment has built a passionate fanbase that includes editors remixing and extending the content into viral fancams, “thirst” posts, and “Official Unofficial Dropout Reporters.” — Morgan Ward

Go Deeper

• The Dropout Drop-In —  Podcast Hosted by fans Liz Duff and Jordan Brown
• Jordan Brown  — Tiktoker and Host of the interview podcast, “Off the Dome” which interviews Dropout talent.
• “I Cannot Win” – Top Clip from Game Changer’s Tiktok Page
• “Max Damage” – Top Clip from Dimension 20’s Tiktok Page
• Sam Reich on “It’s Been A Minute” by NPR
• @aydasparamour – TikTok fan and editor, who specializes in the fancams that helped popularize the streamer

Wondering how many days TikTok has left in the US before it gets banned? My TikTok Countdown Clock has the up-to-the-minute answer.

100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).

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I’ve built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies – including Discovery and Paramount. Subscribe here on LinkedIn to get this newsletter every Monday. Oh and see you in Dubai in January!

Let me know what you think – email me at jim@louderback.com. Thanks for reading and see you around the internet.