- Tubefilter
- Posts
- iShowSpeed goes pro ⚽
TOGETHER WITH
It’s Friday and an online beauty pageant is taking heat after crowning three AI-generated influencers. Are you one of Miss AI’s 200,000 Instagram followers?
GOING PRO ⚽
iShowSpeed just signed a contract with a top Italian soccer club: A.C. Milan
The contract: iShowSpeed is going pro. The streamer (aka Darren Watkins, Jr.) has signed with 125-year-old soccer club A.C. Milan.
That contract—which grants Watkins a spot on the team’s under-23 ”Futuro” squad—was announced shortly after his meeting with soccer legend and A.C. Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The context: Watkins’ signing likely has more to do with his streaming cred than any standout soccer prowess. Fans who’ve seen the creator play in annual Sidemen charity matches know he isn’t exactly bending it like Beckham—but that doesn’t mean they won’t vie to watch streams about his athletic adventures.
The 19-year-old creator has built up an impressive audience since earning the title of Breakout Streamer at the 2022 Streamy Awards. That online reach will be a major asset for A.C. Milan, especially as it seeks to woo younger sports fans.
The bigger picture: Watkins’ contract with A.C. Milan is part of a larger wave of creators who have broken into the world of pro sports. Prime co-founders Logan Paul and KSI have inked deals with Arsenal F.C., the UFC, and the L.A. Lakers, while creators like MrBeast, Mark Rober, and Deestroying served as prominent NFL partners during this year’s Super Bowl.
Those relationships represent the rapidly expanding influence of the creator economy, which now extends into everything from pro sports to skincare and consumables.
🔆 SPONSORED 🔆
Transform your video content into a profitable membership community with Uscreen
Your fans already share a love for your content. Now, you can bring them together with subscription-based communities personalized to fit your creator brand.
Uscreen is an all-in-one platform designed to help creators build and generate revenue through membership-based communities.
Uscreen is the only platform focused entirely on helping committed creators like Yoga with Adriene, Filmmakers Academy, and 4,000+ others earn a combined $150M+ per year with video memberships.
Ready to find out how creators like Studio Bloom generate $1M+ per year through subscriber-based communities? Hit the button below to watch a free demo:
HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰
A new Illinois law requires parents to give 15% of video revenue to children who star in at least 30% of their social media content. (Tubefilter)
Artificial text-to-speech voiceovers, Minecraft effects, and a host of other creator-friendly features are coming to YouTube Shorts. (The Verge)
Twitter owner Elon Musk announced earlier this week that he "has no choice but to file suit against the perpetrators and collaborators" who participated in an advertising boycott on X. (Ars Technica)
With investors like Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian on its side, Gen Z-led app noplace hopes to recapture the feel of early 2000s social media. (Engadget)
COLUMNS • MILLIONAIRES 📈
Hannah Stocking made it big on Vine, YouTube, and TikTok. Now, she’s ready for OnlyFans.
The Millionaire: Hannah Stocking is an unstoppable force. In just under a decade, the creator has found success on Vine (RIP), YouTube, and TikTok, appeared on shows like iCarly, and scored a starring role in the horror film Skill House. Oh, and she also claims more than 50 million cross-platform followers.
Tubefilter: I’d love to dive in and talk about why you chose to go with that platform over a Patreon or somewhere different where you could paywall.
Stocking: “Well, basically it all started with a really close friend of mine, Whitney Cummings…She asked me to host her roast on OFTV, so The Roast of Whitney Cummings, and I was so honored to host the show. That also gave me the opportunity to meet with the OF and OFTV teams….From there, we came up with the idea to create and potentially collab on an OFTV show and launch my channel, which was so exciting.”
Tubefilter: What’s the plan for the launch?
Stocking: “I have some really fun and collaborative content that I shot…and I think I came up with a couple really funny videos to promote it, but also a lot of incredible and fun content that’s also super wild. ”
Tubefilter: What’s the thing you’re most looking forward to about debuting?
Stocking: “I think this is just a project that’s definitely taking me out of my comfort zone, which is something that I’ve always loved. I’ve always loved taking a new step forward and stuff like that.”
Check out our full chat with Stocking here.
WATCH THIS 📺
The physics of Up might not be movie magic after all
The stunt: If fans don’t want MrBeast to leave the atmosphere, they’d better hit the ‘subscribe’ button. The YouTuber’s latest plea for followers came as he floated up, up, and away—with a little help from a [redacted] number of balloons.
We won’t spoil the guessing game behind MrBeast’s latest Short, but we are a little suspicious of his balloon-fueled flight. After all, it’s only been a week since MrBeast and Kai Cenat teamed up to fool millions of fans with a Fourth of July-themed prank.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.eC