It's Sunday and here’s a handpicked selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

But first, Columbia Sportswear wants flat-earthers to prove it. The apparel brand is promising to pay up if someone photographs the end of the world. Of course, if said photographer accidentally falls off the edge of the earth, how will they make it back home to claim their prize? For Columbia, the dare is a win-win.

CREATOR COMMOTION

Creators snag Grammy noms, movie release dates, and $30M in funding

The nominee: PlaqueBoyMax is the first streamer to go from Twitch to the Grammy nominee list. The 22-year-old New Jersey native is nominated in the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category for a track he co-created alongside British DJ Fred Again.

The horror film: Markiplier’s horror movie finally has a release date. For years, the YouTube gaming star has been working on a film adaptation of the horror title Iron Lung. Now, we know the film will get a limited theatrical release during the final weekend of January 2026.

The family biz: Logan Paul is the new General Partner at the funding firm co-founded by his little brother. Anti Fund has also raised a fresh war chest of $30 million, which the Pauls have earmarked for the “next generation of American innovation.”

The farewell: Noel Miller is saying goodbye to the Tiny Meat Gang podcast. For years, Miller and his partner Cody Ko co-hosted one of the most-listened-to podcasts on YouTube. After allegations against Ko caused him to step back from the show, Miller kept Tiny Meat Gang running, but he recently admitted that the “fundamental change” to the podcast’s personnel has been hard to get past.

The agent: CAA just added an internet veteran to its creators division. For two decades, Greg Goodfried has been an innovative operative in the creator world. After co-creating lonelygirl15, joining UTA, and helping the D’Amelio family launch brands, Goodfried is now joining CAA as an agent.

AD WORLD

Brands are celebrating the holidays with minidramas and creator campaigns

The holiday drama: Maybelline is the latest brand to embrace the microdrama. Sparks fly between actors Lacey Chabert and Dustin Milligan (aka the stars of Netflix’s 2024 rom-com Hot Frosty) in Maybe This Christmas, a makeup-oriented microdrama that gives off serious Hallmark vibes. Viewers are flocking to short-form serials, so we’re not surprised to see brands following suit during a competitive holiday season.

The creator campaign: Pepsi MAX is leaning on creators to share a message of holiday season mindfulness. The sugar-free beverage line teamed up with agency NewGen to add a creator-led series to its global “it can wait” campaign. The initiative invites consumers to prioritize togetherness over day-to-day drudgery during the holiday season, and more than a dozen “ambassadors” are checking in to support that mission.

The Santa standoff: Stavros Halkias and Daniel Thrasher are helping Patreon go on the offensive against…Santa Claus? The stand-up comedian and the musician star in a spot that emphasizes Patreon’s supportive communities at the expense of raw consumerism. Santa may not like that shift in consumer behavior, but Patreon sees itself as a beneficial asset for creators. Even so, the creator economy hub is definitely going on the naughty list for this one.

THE ACQUISITION

Netflix just acquired Warner Bros. for $82.7B. Here’s the tldr:

The acquisition: Netflix’s Warner Bros. acquisition is an $82.7 billion deal. The streaming platform led by Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters announced its Warner Bros coup through a triumphant blog post. The bidding war for the legacy studio was fierce, but Netflix came out on top. Its reward is that it will have to contend with theatrical chains.

The challenger: Paramount is hoping to stop that acquisition with a hostile takeover of its own. Netflix’s Warner Bros deal includes a mix of cash and stock, and it will require certain cable channels to be spun off. Paramount is positioning its all-cash offer as a stable option that is more likely to receive regulatory approval, though Netflix execs don’t seem to be worried about the possibility of their deal being nixed.

The partisan contender: Paramount might still be gearing up for a fight, but another losing contender—Larry Ellison—will just have to settle for the massive role he seems to have secured in relation to the spun-off version of TikTok. The Oracle boss/Trump ally’s own plan for Warner Bros. would have been nakedly partisan anyway, since he was primarily hoping to force out certain CNN personalities.

WATCH THIS 📺

Is watching someone trip the key to longevity?

The live trip: As part of his relentless efforts to conquer death, venture capitalist Bryan Johnson hasn’t exactly shied away from unorthodox measures—even when that meant swapping plasma with his then-teenage son.

Comparatively speaking, Johnson’s latest stunt seems a little tame. In a series of recent streams on YouTube, X, and Instagram, the entrepreneur consumed psychedelic mushrooms while his followers watched from afar. Hearing people describe their trips is infamously dull, but there’s something oddly compelling about watching Johnson embark on his spiritual journey.

Check out his trip down psilocybin lane here.

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