It's Wednesday and Netflix says 50% of its subscribers (or roughly 300 million viewers) now watch anime. So go ahead: give into your Beastars obsession. Everyone else is doing it.

Today’s News

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

Quackity says his new app will let streamers speak “any” language

The app: Quackity is back with an unexpected project: a real-time translation tool aimed at helping streamers reach international audiences.

After a nearly three-year hiatus, the Minecraft YouTuber and former Dream SMP member has announced Dababel, an app that can translate conversations in real-time while copying the original speaker’s voice.

Real-time translation apps are nothing new, so Dababel’s claim that it’s the “first ever universal text and voice translation tool” is a bit dicey—but its voice replication feature does set it apart. Quackity’s marketing tactics are pretty unique, too: to promote his app, the creator brought together Breaking Bad actor Luis Moncada and his son (who speaks only English) to have their first conversation in Spanish.

The details: Those kinds of heartwarming translations don’t come cheap. Each of Dababel’s different modes cost “credits” to operate. There’s Conversation Mode (which allows two people to chat), Universal Mode (which enables translation of both livestreams and VODs), and Play Mode (which gives users the ability to hear their own voices in different languages). Users get credits to access those modes by paying for subscriptions, which start at $9.99/week for individuals and up to $139/week for businesses.

The app also offers a plan “tailored” for creators, which “includes all Dababel services, with higher limits and content-focused features.” Interested parties will have to reach out directly for more info about that option; as of now, there’s no pricing listed publicly.

That could be because Dababel isn’t quite ready to roll out wide for streamers yet. The app reportedly supports PC integration with communication platforms like Discord and Zoom, but not with OBS (aka the most-used streamer broadcasting software). Another drawback: while the app’s website claims to let users “speak any language instantly,” it currently offers translation in only English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, or Korean.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Bytedance reportedly plans to launch a U.S. version of its editing app, CapCut, alongside its upcoming divestiture from TikTok. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Federal filings obtained by Business Insider have revealed the base salaries for software engineers at Meta, which range from $120,000 to $480,000. (Business Insider)
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• After losing multiple employees to Meta, OpenAI has reportedly poached four “high-ranking engineers” from xAI, Meta, and Tesla. (Wired)
  
  

• Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced earlier this week that the Fortnite developer has dismissed its antitrust case against Samsung. (TechCrunch)

TIKTALK

TikTok is yanking funding from Canadian tentpoles

The funding cuts: TikTok may be on the verge of a White House-approved sale in the U.S., but its problems in Canada are just beginning.

In the aftermath of an investigation by the federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Industry in Ottawa, the platform has been ordered to shut down Canadian operations over national security concerns.

In response, TikTok has yanked sponsorship funding from several Canadian cultural institutions and events, including the Toronto Film Festival, the Juno Awards, and education charity MusiCounts. It’s also ended the National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, which has worked with nearly 400 creators from Canada’s First Nations. TikTok had been sponsoring both the Juno Awards and TIFF since 2022, and had provided $500,000 in funding to MusiCounts.

According to TikTok Canada’s Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs, Steve de Eyre, the termination of that funding is “entirely due to the federal government’s order to shut down TikTok Canada’s local operation”:

The context: TikTok is currently challenging the Canadian government’s cease-operations order in court, and de Eyre says it’s already offered to address security concerns with things like increased transparency about data handling.

As of now, however, TikTok is slated for Canadian shutdown, an outcome that would lead to the closure of offices in Toronto and Vancouver. The only bright spot in that potential situation: while TikTok wouldn’t be able to have local employees/offices/data centers, the app itself would remain accessible to Canadian users.

PLATFORM HEADLINES

Meta is giving some creators free verification

The origin story: Unpaid verification was one of the first casualties of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. The platform’s original process—which used checkmarks to signify that accounts belonging to public figures were, in fact, operated by the person in question—was gutted to introduce paid verification. The new system, which allowed anyone to buy a checkmark, was one of the most-hated elements of Musk’s early reign.

So, of course, Meta decided to get in on the action.

The system: Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant launched its own paid service, Meta Verified, in March 2023. And while Meta admittedly did amp up security by requiring photo IDs, the offering was similar to X’s. Users could pay around $12/month for a verified checkmark, “proactive account protection from impersonation,” “dedicated account support,” exclusive Instagram stickers, and 100 Stars a month to give to other creators on Facebook.

Meta hasn’t publicly revealed how many users pay for Verified, but the number is estimated to be around ~7 million (or less than 1% of the company’s overall user base). Based on data from Meta’s quarterly earnings, that subscriber pool would drive ~$93 million in additional revenue per month.

The offer: Nearly nine digits in additional monthly revenue is nothing to sniff at, but it seems Verified hasn’t quite attracted the target audience Meta was hoping for—because it’s now offering some “valued creators” one year of the service for free.

The company likely hopes that choice creators will like Verified enough to keep paying after 12 months. It’s also possible that Meta plans to count free users among its total Verified user base, making the service look more in-demand than it actually is. Either way, the tech giant says creators who accept its offer will not only receive a checkmark, but also “enhanced support” and protection from impersonation—an increasingly valuable service in the age of genAI.

WATCH THIS

Is this the strangest hotel vlog on YouTube—or just the starchiest?

The genre: From Ryan Trahan to Brent Rivera, hotel vlogs have become a massively popular category on YouTube. That level of virality means we’ve seen some pretty wacky places pop up on our feeds (many of which come with 1-star ratings).

A recent video from Daniel Ferri, however, might be the strangest hotel stay we’ve seen yet. Between an actual tornado, a very persistent stalker, and some spud-themed digs, the creator’s stay in a potato house will have you craving tater tots before the video’s twenty-minute runtime is over. Check it out here.

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