TOGETHER WITH

It’s Monday and California pedestrians got a jump-scare ahead of the weekend when several hacked crosswalk buttons began speaking in the deepfaked voices of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

TikTok made $39 billion outside China last year. How’s that ban looking?

The numbers: In its attempts to stave off a U.S. ban, TikTok has repeatedly talked up its economic impact in the U.S.—namely, the fact that its tools are used by 7.5 million American businesses. But what about the impact of TikTok’s U.S. operations on its parent company’s wallet?

A person familiar with the matter told The Information that Bytedance’s international revenue (most of which comes from TikTok U.S.) jumped 63% to $39 billion in 2024. That number accounts for a quarter of ByteDance’s total annual revenue ($155 billion), its highest proportion yet.

YouTube, by contrast, earned just over $36 billion in ad revenue last year (plus unspecified income from Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, movie/TV rental, etc.), while Instagram brought in an estimated $71 billion. YouTube’s actual profit is unclear, but we know Instagram owner Meta’s annual profit jumped up 59.5% year-over-year to end 2024 with $62.4 billion in profit out of $164.5 billion in revenue.

ByteDance, on the other hand, saw profits increase only 6% in 2024 (for a total of $33 billion in profit out of $155 billion in revenue)—in large part due to its heavy investments in AI development, data infrastructure, and ecommerce.

The ultimatum: With the deadline for a divestment of TikTok’s U.S. operations approaching, those slim profits leave Bytedance in a tough spot. If the company doesn’t divest and TikTok is banned nationwide, one of its biggest revenue sources will disappear completely. If it does divest, it’ll receive a lump sum payment—but will still miss out on future American earnings.

Luckily for Bytedance, that lump sum could prove to be a hefty chunk of change. TikTok’s list of potential suitors continues to grow, and some estimates have put its value at over $100 billion. Now, we’ll just have to wait and see how negotiations play out.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Fill out this survey from MIDiA Research to win up to $250

By providing trusted, data-driven insights, MIDiA Research helps companies throughout the online video industry understand the wants and needs of creators. 

That data informs which products are made and how they’re built—and that directly impacts you.

Now, by filling out this short survey, you can have a voice in that process—and earn up to $250 at the same time.

By taking MIDiA’s ten-minute survey, you’ll be entered to win rewards from a prize pool totaling $1,000. Two participants will take home $250, while another four will win $50. All participants also have the chance to earn $50 if they opt in to complete a short interview. Every participant will receive a short summary of the survey’s results.

Ready to make your voice heard? Submit your entry by Thursday, May 22nd, 2025:

Fill out the survey →

_{The fine print: Participants must be 16+ years old and are permitted to submit only one entry per person. Winners will be selected at random, after which prizes will be distributed via bank transfer using PayPal.}

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Netflix is reportedly testing out an OpenAI-powered feature that allows users to search for their next watch based on mood-related terms like “sad.” (Engadget)
  
  

• Meta has announced the election of Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and former Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell McCormick to its board of directors. (Meta)
  

  
  

• As DOGE-directed cuts continue, the U.S. Social Security Administration reportedly plans to stop issuing press releases and begin moving all official communications to X. (Engadget)
  

  
  

• YouTube says it is “exploring” a potential feature that would give users the ability to set a daily timer limiting the number of hours they spend scrolling through Shorts. (TechCrunch)

AD WORLD

Snap’s new ad format asks brands to pay for creators’ education

The workshops: From pre-rolls to mid-rolls to full-page takeovers, platforms launch new advertising formats all the time—and they’re pretty much always something we’ve seen before. Until now.

In a departure from the industry’s usual smorgasbord of ad products, Snapchat’s parent company has announced that it will give brands the opportunity to sponsor its series of IRL creator education/biz dev events.

Snap first launched Snap Schools in 2022, and to date has hosted over 50 installments in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, MENA, and India. Those workshops cover everything from the nuts and bolts of content creation to engagement strategies and audience-building—and before this year, they were put on solely by Snap.

But this past February, the platform partnered with Clinique as Snap Schools’ first sponsor. During that event, Snap says “over 75 creators participated in a Clinique-branded game show where they learned about Clinique’s dermatologist-guided approach to skincare, in addition to activities like candle making and (of course) networking.” The cosmetics brand went on to sign brand deals with Snapchatters Joseph Arujo, Zaina, The Odditty, Shannon Baker, and Ydelays.

The offering: Now, Snap is opening up another 22 sponsorship slots for 2025. The platform calls its new advertising product a “premium offering” that gives brands “a unique opportunity to engage directly with aspiring and established Snap Stars, helping build brand visibility and foster meaningful relationships and partnerships with creators.”

Based on the word “premium,” we’re guessing these slots are pricey—but so far, they seem like an effective way for brands to ingratiate themselves with the Snapchat community. And based on the number of deals Clinique signed after its Snap School installment, the new sponsorships seems like a boon for creators, too.

WATCH THIS 📺

This week on the podcast…

“Why Creators Should Go to Cannes”: The latest episode of Creator Upload features a guest appearance from none other than Marian Brannelly, Global Director of Awards for the Cannes LIONS Festival. Regular hosts Josh Cohen and Lauren Schnipper sat down with Brannelly to learn more about Cannes LIONS’ creator programming lineup and the many reasons creators should attend this year’s festival.

Also on the discussion board: Vimeo is helping creators launch their own streaming services, Netflix is firing shots at YouTube, and the creator economy is bracing for the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Check out the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to find out more.

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: James Hale, Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.