Here’s what’s new and what caught my eye last week:
Content ID Abuse Leads to 23M Rip-Off From Latin Musicians: It’s a cautionary story about how two shady producers partnered with a popular rights management company to steal YouTube royalties from unsuspecting musicians. But who’s really to blame here? YouTube *could* more widely open up its ContentID system so more creators can protect themselves, but according to Rian R. Bosak, CEO of rights management company SuperBam, that would likely lead to MORE cases like this, not less. “It’s powerful, it’s at scale, it’s easy to abuse”, Bosak said about ContentID. This is exactly why YouTube works with a small group of trusted partners like AdRev, who should have done more to vet claims. The creator takeaway here: work with a trusted company to ensure that your rights are being monitored and protected.
5 Marketers Explain Why Brand Dollars Are Shifting To TikTok: Instagram is still king, but you’ll find more and more brands activating on TikTok in weird and wonderful ways. 5 marketing experts explain why — from better reaching GenZ to increased focus on originality and creator partnerships. Even basic, boring, and unsexy products are finding ways to elevate and increase sales. Perhaps this is why it seems that every other platform wants to be double T.
Are Creators Recession-Proof? The answer is a resounding YES, according to Entrepreneur Media. They point to creators’ ability to monetize knowledge and ideas (through courses), and how brands will see creators as a more efficient avenue for marketing spend. Phil Ranta’s not sure it’s that easy, and provides a bunch of tips for creators to ensure that their revenue doesn’t dry up even if brands evaporate.
Twitch Drops Exclusivity Constraints: Historically Twitch’s creator partners were forbidden from dabbling with competitive platforms, but they’re now finally loosening the bonds. Creators can now stream to YouTube and Facebook, but are still barred from multicasting to those platforms and Twitch simultaneously (although you can simulcast to TikTok and Instagram Live). Their rationale is flimsy — “we believe engaging with two streams at once can lead to a sub-optimal experience”. I would expect companies like Maestro and Streamyard would vehemently disagree. StreamYard in particular already hoovers up comments from multiple live services and renders them in a single stream during live events. Perhaps those decisions are better left to creators though, who arguably know better than their platform overlords.
QUIBIS:
- Why journalists should adopt creator audience development tactics
- Oh no, long form content is not dead — especially if you’re obsessed with old TV shows.
- Brooklyn McKnight and Bailey McKnight (Brooklyn and Bailey) launch new Walmart skincare line following in their mom’s footsteps.
- New Apple charts highlight subscription-based podcast are dominated by Amazon.
- Speaking of podcasts — YouTube finally leans in to the popular media format.
- Cameo refines its paid meet-and-greet offering including group calls for up to 10 minutes.
- Rex Woodbury talks about how creators are poised to solve the CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) crisis.
- LinkedIn’s head of creators, Andrei Santalo, departs for a startup.
- We poked fun at Zuckerberg’s new avatar last week — now Fast Company thinks it’s a metaphor for a muddled metaverse.
- Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo is coming to America — a TikToker revolt might quickly follow.
- The D’Amelios will soon be Dancing With the Stars.
CRYPTIS:
- How token incentives can unlock dramatic growth.
- Reader’s Digest Association helps you explain Web3 to Grampy and MeeMaw.
- How blockchain will jumpstart the metaverse.
This Week at VidCon: We’re gearing up for VidCon Mexico September 22 – 25 in Mexico City. The industry agenda and speakers look amazing, and all the top creators will be there too. Get your ticket and plan your travel today!
Tip of the Week: Today’s tip comes from Fernando Parnes, CEO of cool new audience startup Super.Fans:
I’ve spoken with hundreds of creators and looked at hundreds of creative businesses. One of the biggest mistakes I see creators make is not thinking of themselves as a business. Many growing creators see a disconnect between providing authentic content to their audience and running a profitable business. But this simply isn’t the case based on my research into super-fandom. Running a business and being an authentic creator is not only possible, it’s the best way to make a lasting impact on your community.
What We’re Watching:
- OMG, Tony the Tiger is now a VTuber on Twitch — at least for a hot minute.
- If you visit Belle Isle, don’t ride the giant slide. It’ll hurt!
- Could “Doggyland” be the end of the world as we know it?
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