TOGETHER WITH

It's Tuesday and creators should keep an eye on Hyper if they want to find out why tech giants like Amazon are investing big bucks in the VTuber-friendly avatar startup.

OFFBRAND EXPANDS

Ludwig’s special events company is leveling up with new hires and a planned investment

Big things are happening at Offbrand. The events company—which was launched nine months ago by Ludwig and a group of co-founders—is expanding to encompass new hires and fundraising options.

One of those hires is an obvious choice for a company intent on revolutionizing creator events. Jerma—a Twitch streamer known for innovative specials like fantasy-themed baseball games and a real-life version of The Sims—is coming aboard as Offbrand’s Chief Creative Officer. Given the national media attention and massive viewership generated by those streams, Jerma’s new position could mean big things for Offbrand’s upcoming events.

Still, the company isn’t leaving anything to chance.

Offbrand is tapping into the knowledge of other industry vets with the hiring of former Beyond the Summit execs David Gorman and Daniel Najarian. Kelby May (who previously worked at the gaming management firm Loaded) will offer another expert perspective as the company’s new Chief Revenue Officer. Those hires will give Offbrand plenty of brainpower as it doubles down on its mission to “create content for creators who haven’t had the opportunity to do so” (per co-founder Nick Allen).

In order to maintain that balance and remain accessible to a variety of creators, Offbrand has developed a flexible revenue-sharing model that provides monetary benefits for both itself and its creator partners. The company also plans to explore multiple fundraising options: according to Allen, he and his business partners are considering institutional VC firms as well as the possibility of a creator round.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Spotter has invested $775 million in creator careers. Here’s how the internet’s top stars spent their new funds:

Over the last year, Spotter has supported more than 1,500 channel partners with exclusive data insights, innovative optimization resources, and over $775 million in capital. And since Spotter is all about empowering creators, every single deal has been designed to fit YouTubers’ exact needs.

Because when you partner with Spotter, you can ​use your new funds to grow your channel or business​.

So, how do top stars like MissDarcei, Dude Perfect, and MrBeast spend their Spotter funds? YouTube icons Colin & Samir teamed up with Spotter to find out. Here’s what they discovered:

• 25% of Spotter investments go to producing new videos 🎥

• 21% are allocated to studio purchases 🏬

• 13% supports brand-building initiatives and creator products 👕

• And finally, 9% of Spotter payouts go towards hiring editors 👨‍💻

What would you do with ​an investment from Spotter​?

There’s no time like the present to find out. In fact, when you partner with Spotter, you’ll receive your funds immediately—meaning you could start revolutionizing your channel in a matter of days.

Fund your future with Spotter →​

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Streaming star Ninja has made his debut on Twitch’s up-and-coming rival, Kick. (Tubefilter)
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• According to The Wall Street Journal, Netflix’s first-ever live-streamed sports event is likely to feature a celebrity golf tournament. (The Verge)
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• Fox News has reportedly sent former pundit Tucker Carlson a “cease and desist” letter in response to his newly-launched Twitter show. (Gizmodo)
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• Moderators on Reddit have set more than 7,000 subreddits to private in a collective protest against the platform’s recent API changes. (The Verge)

DATA • GLOBAL TOP 50 📈

From cat videos to shark slashers, this channel is all about the animals:

If you watch Life of Pi for the tiger and religiously tune into Shark Week, then Oye Facts is the channel for you. The Hindi-language Indian hub has combined two of YouTube’s favorite subjects—good movies and animal companions—to create an addictive library of uber-viral videos.

Oye Facts’ cinematic Shorts cover everything from Bollywood hits to Hollywood classics, but its top videos all share the same key characteristic: animals are the stars of the show.

That focus on film and fauna has earned Oye Facts a huge viewership over the last few months, but it’s worth noting that the channel doesn’t only feature the cuter, cuddlier members of the animal kingdom. Visitors to the India-based hub are more likely to stumble across a video of a blood-thirsty shark than they are to see a sweet clip from Marley & Me.

Oye Facts’ fans don’t seem to mind that animal-based drama one bit—in fact, it’s safe to say the channel’s 3.8 million subscribers are pretty obsessed:

• Over the course of just seven days, Oye Facts received 269.7 million weekly views.

• That massive total skyrocketed the Indian hub to #33 in our Global Top 50 chart.

• We wouldn’t be surprised to see Oye Facts’ rank continue to rise. In a little over a year, the channel has already scored more than 1.4 billion views.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

It turns out Netflix’s ban on password-sharing might be a good idea

Earlier this year, Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters warned investors that the streamer’s crackdown on password-sharing would not be “universally popular.” We know now that Peters’ phrasing was a pretty massive understatement—but as it turns out, the streamer is weathering the resulting fallout just fine.

In fact, fallout might be too strong a word for the response to Netflix’s updated policy. Although the streamer’s password-sharing prohibition has triggered plenty of online vitriol, it’s been a clear success for Netflix’s bottom line.

Antenna, a television analytics company, tracked the streamer’s signups and cancellations in the days after its new password-sharing policy went live in the U.S.

The resulting data is a little surprising:

• After introducing its new policy to the U.S. on May 23, Netflix effectively doubled its daily signups.
  
  

• In the four days after bringing its crackdown to the United States, the streamer averaged 73,000 new signups—about twice as many as its previous 60-day average.
  
  

• Netflix’s ratio of signups to cancellations rose by 25% over the equivalent pre-crackdown figure.
  
  

• Those stats have had a big impact on Netflix’s market value: since implementing its password-sharing policy, the streamer’s share price is up about 18%.

All that data is good news for Netflix—which means it’s probably time for serial password sharers to start considering their options. As of now, account owners can add additional users outside their households by paying $7.99 a month per profile. Viewers willing to tolerate commercials can also subscribe to the platform’s ad-supported tier, which costs $6.99 per month.

WATCH THIS 📺

OTK is getting into the game with its very own publishing company

One True King (OTK) is launching “a game publisher powered by content creators and their communities.” In addition to a more detailed press release, the gaming org introduced Mad Mushroom to YouTube viewers through a video posted Saturday.

That initial post has already garnered an overwhelmingly positive response, with commenters chiming in to congratulate OTK on the establishment of its new creator-focused company. Other viewers likened Mad Mushroom to Bigmode Publishing, a game publisher founded by longtime YouTuber Dunkey. For more info on OTK’s latest venture—and its similarities to Dunkey’s publishing biz—check out our full article 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.