TOGETHER WITH

It’s Tuesday and 2023’s official “words of the year” seem to embrace two key themes: the rise of AI and the internet’s undying dedication to rizz.

THE ULTIMATUM

Ludwig Ahgren is giving YouTube one more year to make things right—or else

Yesterday morning, one of YouTube’s top streamers posted a video with a provocative title: I’m Going Back to Twitch. The first few minutes of that clip raised and answered one key question:

Why would Ludwig Ahgren leave a platform that made him “feel more appreciated” and offered “more money” than Twitch ever had?

In short, Ahgren isn’t leaving YouTube just yet—but he is unhappy with the status quo. Despite the title of his latest video, the creator says he’s giving YouTube one more year to fix several livestreaming issues. At the top of that list are time caps: as of now, YouTube-based streams can’t run longer than 12 hours, and VODs over six hours can’t be edited.

In Ahgren’s estimation, those issues weren’t addressed over the span of his two-year contract because YouTube “doesn’t care” about keeping up with other streaming platforms—it’s too busy competing with short-form rivals like TikTok.

If YouTube doesn’t redirect enough resources to its live product over the next year, Ahgren will (presumably) reclaim Twitch exclusivity. But for now, the streamer is still using YouTube in order to capitalize on his renegotiated contract and rising viewership stats.

Despite his concerns, Ahgren hit the highest viewership peak of his career on YouTube (at 303,000 concurrent viewers). Now that his contract has been amended to allow simulcasting of events—and only events—on Twitch, Ahgren hopes to bring “the biggest cultural events” to “the most amount of people.” His first hurrah: a “creator dodgeball world championship” scheduled for December 10.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

2024 is only one month away. Take the new year by storm with a lucrative funding deal from Spotter.

Since 2019, Spotter has been on a mission to empower creators with millions in funding, exclusive YouTube data insights, and full creative freedom. In fact, Spotter has now invested more than $850 million in 1,100 channel partners—including top creators like MrBeast, MissDarcei, Deestroying, and Airrack. 

2024 marks Spotter’s fifth year as a leading creator company.

That big anniversary means big things are happening at Spotter. Last year, their funding experts teamed up with YouTube icons Colin and Samir to discover where creators need the most support. The answer: video production, studio purchases, brand-building, and team expansion. 

Spotter plans to meet those needs in 2024 by providing flexible funding deals ranging from $100,000 to $50 million—with the ultimate goal of investing $1 billion in creator careers. 

What could you do with Spotter funding?

​The possibilities are limitless. When you team up with Spotter, you’ll have 100% control over your new capital—meaning you can spend your Spotter funds to reinvest in yourself. Plus, you’ll always stay in total control of your channel and receive all earnings from future uploads.

Ready to discover what you could do with Spotter funding?

Visit the website to learn more →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Bytedance—TikTok’s parent company—is launching a public platform where users will be able to develop their own AI models.(Tubefilter)
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• Spotify will cut 17% of its workforce in a round of layoffs affecting roughly 1,500 staff members. (Gizmodo)
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• TikTok has extended access to its in-app Ticketmaster feature to users in 20 countries, including the U.K., Ireland, and Australia.(TechCrunch)
  
  

• After nearly four years, Meta reportedly plans to discontinue a feature that allowed users to message and call Facebook friends through Instagram. (Engadget)

DATA • GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top Branded Videos of the Week: Would you rather dig up bones or be impaled by a sewing needle?

The latest edition of Gospel Stats’ Weekly Brand Report is in—and a MrBeast video is still at the top of the list. The YouTuber’s latest “this vs. that” odyssey joined clips on sewing machines and first-class flights in this week’s ranking of most-viewed branded videos.

Keep reading to learn more about those viral videos (and the savvy sponsors who backed them).

🥇 MrBeast x Immortals of Aveum: $1 vs $10,000,000 Job!
Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) continued his two-week reign with a sponsored video exploring low-paying gigs and lucrative positions. The result: Donaldson’s journey through the job market brought in roughly 87 million more views than any other video in Gospel’s seven-day ranking. Here’s hoping all those views give Immortals of Aveum a boost. After a lackluster August debut, the EA-produced game could use a win.

🥈 Veritasium x KiwiCo: The Surprising Genius of Sewing Machines
Veritasium’s 18-minute deep-dive into the history of sewing machines was both educational and oddly satisfying—a perfect mix for KiwiCo’s target audience (or, at least, for the parents of KiwiCo’s target audience). Thanks to Veritasium, the STEM-focused toy company scored the attention of 6 million viewers just in time for the holidays.

🥉 Trek Trendy x Magic Travel: Flying First Class to Every Continent in 7 days
Economy flyers got a taste of the sweet life by following Trek Trendy’s seven-day journey across the world. The creator boarded first-class flights to every continent on Earth in just one week—with a little help from Magic Travel’s AI trip planner, of course.

Want more details? Check out Gospel Stats to discover which brands are sponsoring top creators and rising stars.

MERRY THANKMAS

Jacksepticeye’s Thankmas streams have raised a whopping $25 million

Jacksepticeye’s yearly Thankmas event has hit a major milestone. Since 2017, the YouTuber’s annual charity livestreams have raised a grand total of $25 million dollars for causes like Red Nose Day, New Story, and World Central Kitchen.

Jacksepticeye (aka Sean McLoughlin) first introduced Thankmas six years ago as a stream from his YouTube channel. Later on, he partnered with fundraising platform Tiltify to put on a bigger live event with notable guest stars—including beloved celebs like Jack Black and top creators Markiplier and Valkyrae.

Thankmas has raised millions every year since 2020.

McLoughlin’s latest holiday stream ran from December 2 to December 3 and brought in $6 million for World Central Kitchen ($380,000 of which came from the YouTuber himself). During the course of that 24-hour show, co-host Ethan Nestor presented McLoughlin with a plaque commemorating Thankmas’ multi-million-dollar contribution to charity.

McLoughlin followed up Thankmas’ six-year milestone with another exciting accomplishment. The first digital issue of his comic series, The ALTRVERSE, dropped yesterday.

WATCH THIS 📺

The first teaser for Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout series has arrived

Fallout fans rejoice: the trailer for Prime Video’s adaptation of the award-winning video game series has arrived—and it actually looks pretty legit. Based on the two-and-a-half minute clip, viewers can expect an abundance of violence, a sneak peek at life in the Vaults, and (unfortunately) a fair number of radroaches—aka the bane of every Fallout player’s existence.

Check out the teaser here to get a sneak peek at the show ahead of its April 12 premiere.

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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.