TOGETHER WITH

#ThrowbackThursday has arrived just in time for the return of Spotify Wrapped—complete with a sandwich-themed diss from Weird Al.

OFF THE MARKET

Fanfix’s new Chief Marketing Officer is a seasoned Twitch vet

After paying out $11 million dollars to creators and bringing in a reported $40 million in total revenue, Fanfix is doubling down on its quest to supercharge creator monetization. The fan funding platform has tapped Loren Piretra—a Twitch and Playboy vet who helped build OnlyFans rival Centerfold—to serve as its Chief Marketing Officer.

Prior to joining the team at Playboy, Piretra worked in positions related to influencer marketing at Twitch, Red Bull, and the NFL. That industry experience will come in handy as the exec transitions to her new role at Fanfix, where she’ll be charged with overseeing global marketing campaigns, media strategies, brand positioning, and creator engagement initiatives.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

This revolutionary AI tool makes it possible to create viral TikToks, Reels, and Shorts in just one click

Klap makes it easy to turn any video into a viral short-form clip—and all it takes is a single click. Klap’s revolutionary AI technology automatically identifies the most interesting segments in a video and generates edited TikToks, Shorts, and Reels in seconds.

So all you have to do is hit the ‘generate’ button.

235,166 creators have already saved time with Klap by generating 933,518 clips in 52 languages. Best of all: Klap is compatible with videos across all platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Here’s how it works:

1. Paste a YouTube link or upload your video file. 🔗

2. Click the ‘Generate’ button.  🪄

3. Receive a ready-to-publish HD clip in seconds. (The first video is free!) 🎉

Once your new Short is ready, you’ll have the option to download the file as-is or customize everything from the caption font to the video framing. 

Ready to generate your first short-form clip for free?

Try Klap for free →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Substack has introduced a litany of new features, including support for video podcasts, AI-generated transcripts, and customizable paywalls. (Tubefilter)
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• Starting December 14, Netflix subscribers will gain access to three Grand Theft Auto titles. (Netflix)
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• Spotify’s top 10 podcasts of 2023 include The Joe Rogan Experience (#1), Call Her Daddy (#2), and Huberman Lab (#3). (The Verge)
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• CEOs from Meta, X, TikTok, Snap, and Discord will reportedly testify before the U.S. Senate as part of a July 31st hearing on online child exploitation. (The Verge)

DATA • ON THE RISE 📈

This real estate creator brings viewers into L.A.’s most luxurious homes

From the time he graduated college, Aaron Grushow knew he wanted to pursue social media strategy; he just didn’t want to do it for someone else. So, instead of searching for an office job, the creator decided to build a venture of his own.

There were only two problems with that plan: real estate was an incredibly saturated market, and Grushow wasn’t exactly playing on easy mode. After all, the creator wasn’t interested in filming just any old house; he wanted to make content about luxury properties.

That proposition required a lot of trust from homeowners, and Grushow says he was frequently told to “get lost.” But with a little hustle and some well-timed networking, it wasn’t long before the creator got his big break. He started showing off luxury homes on Instagram before making his way onto TikTok in October of 2019. By 2020, Grushow’s account had attracted 1 million followers.

The catch: “not a single person” knew who he was.

At that point, Grushow’s content was all about the incredible properties he toured. It wasn’t until COVID-19 hit that the creator finally stepped in front of the camera—and instantly “recognized a huge shift in my personal brand and in my business.”

Since then, Grushow has built up an impressive online audience, expanded his IRL clientele, and launched his own podcast. Find out more about that show—and Grushow’s next steps—here.

DATA • U.S. TOP 50 🇺🇲

This channel is sure to reignite your sense of schadenfreude

Let’s face it: the internet loves to laugh at outrageous fails. From over-the-top bloopers to dramatic trips and (usually non-fatal) falls, YouTube is a veritable smörgåsbord of schadenfreude—and when it comes to finding the most satisfying screwups, ViralSnare Rights Management has the goods.

ViralSnare partners with individual creators by inking licensing deals for their best, worst, and most embarrassing videos. Sometimes, those clips are as heartwarming as they come. But for every canine birthday party and family reunion, viewers are likely to find at least a few toppled toddlers and motocross wipeouts.

That combination of user-generated joy and hilarious human error has earned ViralSnare a legion of loyal fans. In fact, as of this week, the Shorts-focused channel claims more than 7 million subscribers and nearly 6 billion views.

It’s not hard to see where all those views come from.

Since September 2022, ViralSnare’s most popular Short has earned a whopping 677 million views—and it’s not the only clip generating staggering amounts of traffic.

• Over the course of our last seven-day count, ViralSnare snagged 128.2 million weekly views.
  
  

• That 14% week-over-week traffic bump vaulted the channel up six spots in the U.S. Top 50.
  
  

• The result: ViralSnare now sits at #29 in our star-spangled ranking.

WATCH THIS 📺

2007’s most iconic YouTube video has inspired a 13-song musical

In 2007, creator bryanfgarcia uploaded one of the most iconic YouTube videos of all time: a clip of 1,500 Filipino inmates performing the choreography to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

That video has since accumulated nearly 60 million views—and now, it’s also inspired the first musical fully created by a group of Filipino-Canadians (per CBC News). Romeo Candido and Carmen Leilani De Jesus’ Prison Dancer is beginning a limited run at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, with Julio Fuentes in the leading role. Find out more about the 13-song production here.

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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.