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It’s Friday and this week’s YouTube rankings have raised an unexpected question: is Shiba Cat the new Doge?

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

Virtual creators are finally getting their moment in the sun (so to speak)

One of Twitch’s rising stars is teaming up with Mythic Talent to introduce a brand-new creator celebration: The VTuber Awards. Filian—a VTuber who claims approximately 600,000 followers on Twitch—announced the upcoming event in a tweet posted on Wednesday:

The virtual creator will emcee The VTuber Awards in December on her personal account, where she’s previously collaborated with big shots like Twitch CEO Dan Clancy. Filian’s latest partner—Mythic Talent—is an industry heavyweight in its own right. Since being founded by a group that includes OTK co-owners Asmongold and TipsOut, the full-service management firm has signed popular VTubers Shylily and Veibae, and worked with brands like Amazon, Sony, and Prime Gaming.

Although we don’t know yet which categories Filian and Mythic Talent’s production will include, it’s possible that The VTuber Awards won’t be the first rodeo for some nominees. Both the Streamy Awards and Streamer Awards honored virtual stars during their most recent ceremonies, with CodeMiko winning VTuber of the Year at the former show and Ironmouse earning the equivalent prize at the latter.

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Viral Nation is launching new machine-learning features that will help companies determine if creator- and user-generated videos contain copyrighted content. (Tubefilter)
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• Simon & Schuster is teaming up with content marketing agency Rocket to launch a Brighton-based creator house that will play host to six BookTokers. (Tubefilter)
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• Epic Games is changing the way creator payouts are calculated in order to “reward creators for the time players spend in their islands.” (Venture Beat)
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• Twitter head of trust and safety Ella Irwin has reportedly resigned from her position at the company. (TechCrunch)

DATA • YOUTUBE MILLIONAIRES 📈

This creator will turn your favorite show into a bone-chilling monstrosity

Freddie has always “had a fascination for monsters.” The animator—who runs a YouTube channel called Broken Finger Paradise—loves the lack of uniformity that comes with designing villains. Heroes are often portrayed with the same broad-shouldered, cookie-cutter look, but monsters…

That monstrous originality is exactly what Freddie captures on his channel, even when he’s riffing off of existing characters like SpongeBob and Garfield. It’s also why more than 1.6 million subscribers now tune in to watch his videos.

Freddie says he first “started meddling with animation and art” when he was just 12 years old, and continued studying both subjects all the way through college. By the time the pandemic rolled around, the creator had discovered the wonderful world of creepypasta-style fan art (and specifically creepypasta-style Garfield fan art) on Reddit.

Posting his work on TikTok was an obvious next step, but Freddie needed some convincing. He originally considered the platform “a waste of time” and went into it expecting next to nothing. Instead, his videos did so well that other users started cross-posting them onto YouTube. So, Freddie made his own channel—and things “took off from there.”

• Fast forward to 2023, and that animation hub has now generated more than 1 billion views.

• In fact, the creator’s Short alone claims over 82 million views.

• And on TikTok? Freddie’s account has attracted a whopping 1.2 million followers.

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE

XSET is joining forces with Glytch to set up its very own esports stadium

XSET is gearing up for a major collaboration. The gaming organization will embark on a 1-year partnership with Glytch—a company that plans to build 32 esports stadiums over the next eight years—in order to create an IRL entertainment destination of its own.

That co-branded XSET/Glytch stadium will offer much more than the occasional esports tournament. In addition to hosting live events led by XSET’s esports teams and other affiliated creators, Glytch Advisory Board Member Jordan Rambis says the stadium will function as “an immersive entertainment destination” with arcade games, food, and drinks.

Glytch’s partnership with XSET doesn’t end there.

The company also plans to sponsor both XSET’s esports squads and an eight-episode series that will spotlight members of the organization’s Apex Legends and Valorant teams. Those original videos will be promoted across XSET’s social channels, including YouTube, Instagram Reels, Twitter, and TikTok.

XSET CEO and co-founder Greg Selkoe expressed the org’s excitement over those upcoming sponsorships in a recent statement:

WATCH THIS 📺

Kick just poached a big-time Twitch streamer

After receiving his fourth ban from the Amazon-owned platform, BruceDropEmOff (aka Bruce Ray Condones) has declared his decision to leave Twitch in favor of Kick. The star streamer isn’t leaving quietly: Condones’ announcement video includes everything from creator cameos to an abominable snowman and a space-time vortex.

That flashy exit—and Cordones’ undeniable talent for entertainment—could be a major boon for Kick. According to Streams Charts, the streamer’s last Twitch broadcasts reached a peak audience of nearly 80,000 concurrent viewers.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.