TOGETHER WITH

It's Friday and Instagram is upping its music industry cred by bringing Spotify tracks to Stories and Notes.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

Markiplier is paying experts to find out if AI can help humanity

The origins: These days, “AI” is an omnipresent buzzword. The 2022 debut of ChatGPT took interest in generative AI to a fever pitch, and billions of dollars began pouring into development from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta.

The first rumblings of that rapid rise had caught the attention of Markiplier. So, to get a better understanding of generative technology’s real-world applications, the creator (aka Mark Fischbach) did an internship with production/VFX studio Corridor Digital and consulted with Dr. Amanda Muyskens, an accomplished data scientist with a PhD in statistics (and the spouse of creator Bob Muyskens).

Then, in 2024, Fischbach reached out to the Muyskens again—this time frustrated by companies’ use of AI and determined to explore how it could actually benefit humanity. Together, they founded Real Good AI.

The nonprofit: Mr. Muyskens says the 501c3 nonprofit is “focused on trying to ethically pursue ways to improve and new methods to make these tools work for humanity.” Real Good AI’s initial projects include:

• Using data analysis to help nonprofits learn from others in their area, examining best practices and funding histories to project running budgets
  
  

• Using data analysis to understand the impacts of public policy on homelessness among the elderly, in an effort to reinforce policies that aren’t seeing results, and to find policies that are especially effective
  
  

• Figuring out how to identify when LLMs are lying, and getting those LLMs to communicate to users if and when accuracy is in question

Those projects are led by Dr. Muyskens (who isn’t yet taking a paycheck) with the help of summer research fellows. Fischbach has been fully funding Real Good AI himself, and the team includes additional data scientists and an outreach director. Fischbach, Mr. Muyskens, Mr. Muyskens’ mother Diane Muyskens, and music teacher David Bell all sit on the board.

🌟 SPONSORED 🌟

In less than two months, dozens of industry insiders will unite for VidSummit. Will you be there?

Only one event unites the top 1% of industry insiders. Do you have your ticket to VidSummit 2025?

If not, it’s time to become an industry insider—and who better to lead the way than top influencers like HopeScope, Mia Maples, Jon Youshaei, and Linus Sabastian of Linus Tech Tips?

From October 7-9, VidSummit 2025 will bring together the leading experts in online video for an exclusive, industry-only event. Dozens of industry insiders will arrive in Dallas to unravel the truth behind success in the creator economy—all in one room, for creators’ ears only. That means no fans, no meet and greets, and no overrun panels. 

Just top creators and leading brands sharing the real details of what they do.

Tickets are on sale now. So, why wait?

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• The MD Foodie Boyz wanted to make a podcast for fun. Now, armed with tools like OpusClip, the four middle-school-aged creators are making content with Dave Portnoy and Lil Yachty. (Tubefilter - Partner Story)
  
  

• Instagram’s latest TikTok-style feature allows creators to link together multiple Reels to form a series. (TechCrunch)
  ​

• X is reportedly moving towards settling a class action lawsuit that was filed by workers who were let go shortly after Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. (TechCrunch)
  
  

• Apple TV+’s latest price hike ups the cost of new monthly subscriptions from $9.99 to $12.99. (Ars Technica)

MUSIC MILESTONES

YouTube Music celebrates 10th anniversary by showing you which bands are in town

The milestone: YouTube Music is officially ten years old. Since launching in 2015 as YouTube’s entry into the world of paid subscriptions, the audio streaming hub has become a key weapon in the battle against rivals like Spotify. After a decade, YouTube Music has attracted 100 million paying customers with features like a music video remixer and support for podcasters.

The feature: The latest addition to YouTube Music—an integration with digital concert database Bandsintown—will continue to add utility for popheads. The integration is described as an “exclusive partnership” that will bring upcoming concert dates to music videos, Shorts, and official artist pages.

To show off that feature, YouTube has teamed up with a diva who knows a thing or two about modeling social media products: Sabrina Carpenter.

Ahead of the release of her seventh studio album Man’s Best Friend, Carpenter is hitting the road—and YouTube Music is making sure subscribers have easy access to her imminent slate of shows.

The takeaway: Like TikTok, YouTube has positioned itself as a pop culture tastemaker by making popular hits available as the soundtrack for millions of short-form videos. YouTube Music is the epicenter of that effort, and when you add in the power of Google technology, the audio hub becomes a killer app—one that just got even more useful for music enthusiasts.

PUT A PIN IN IT

Pinterest just opened a Thrift Shop for Gen Z

The shopping hub: Pinterest is giving users a new place to hunt for spiffy secondhand finds. The virtual pin board has launched Thrift Shop, an ecommerce experience featuring pre-owned items from sellers across the platform.

“Thrift Shop” is admittedly a bit of a misnomer, since the new hub doesn’t include a single, centralized point of sale. Instead, Pinterest says it has aggregated vintage and secondhand items from its community by partnering with “top vintage and thrift retailers from around the globe.” The platform plans to work with “industry tastemakers for weekly closet drops,” so resourceful buyers should periodically check in with Thrift Shop while the experience remains active. It is slated to run from August 20 to September 26.

The context: The debut of Thrift Shop underscores a demographic shift that has seen Gen Z replace Millennials as Pinterest’s primary audience. The platform’s previous attempts to reach that cohort included a June 2025 partnership with iconic Gen Z creator Emma Chamberlain.

Now, Pinterest is turning its attention to Zoomers’ tendency to shop for sustainable goods. Today’s twentysomethings have stressed the importance of environmental conservation, leading to changes in the advertising and retail markets.

Of course, the launch of Thrift Shop isn’t just about conservation. By leaning into secondhand ecommerce, Pinterest is also acknowledging the widespread cultural impact of spaces like Facebook Marketplace. Meta’s secondhand store has become so beloved that it’s even getting its own IRL pop-up in Los Angeles. Now, Pinterest’s Thrift Shop will give social media-savvy consumers another ethical source for screaming deals on in-demand fashion items. 

WATCH THIS

Jack totally could have survived in Titanic…right?

The famous water scene: MrBeast and Mark Rober are pulling out all the stops when it comes to promoting #TeamWater, their $40 million fundraising campaign to bring clean water to millions of households.

The latter creator’s latest promotional stop brought him to the Sticks channel, where he helped dissect one of the most iconic water-based scenes in modern cinema. The goal: determining whether Jack actually could have fit on the floating door that saved Rose in Titanic.

Check out Sticks and Rober’s collaborative Short here to find out.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Want to introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience? Sponsor the newsletter.

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