It’s Thursday and OpenAI’s chatbot store might not be the best example of copyright moderation—but it sure comes in handy when you need an AI-generated Star Wars fanfic STAT.

GET CREATIVE

Roblox will pay Creator Fund recipients a minimum of $500,000 upfront

The update: Earlier this year, Roblox announced that it would begin giving developers 100% of the revenue generated by certain assets. Now, the sandbox platform is once again leveling up its approach to creator monetization—this time by revamping (and renaming) its Game Fund.

• The result is the Creator Fund, a program that will pay “approved” creators a minimum of $500,000 per project (plus “support” and “insights”) to fund content during the development phase.
  
  

• Multiplayer projects are the top priority, but Roblox will also pay attention to factors like mobile optimization, social mechanics, and in-experience avatars.

The impact: Roblox’s restructured monetization fund is already being put to good use. One promising Creator Fund-backed project is Clip It, a video editing tool developed by Neura Studios. Clip It gives users the ability to turn their Roblox content into short-form videos with dynamic backgrounds and animations—a feature that will lead to an app-based feed full of vertically-oriented clips.

• That outcome could give Roblox a fighting chance in the world of short-form video, where it already serves as the inspiration for top YouTube Shorts and TikTok channels.
  
  

• And that’s just one Creator Fund project. Given that Roblox has already demonstrated a willingness to spend huge chunks of money on dev innovations (including the $741 million it paid out to creators in 2023), sandbox competitors like Fortnite will want to keep a close eye on the platform’s upcoming Creator Fund investments.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Nebula has announced the launch of Nebula News, a joint venture between the creator-operated streaming service and Jack Kelly of TLDR News. (Tubefilter)
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• Spotter has named previous Chief Operating Officer Nic Paul as President and tapped Sam Rogoway to serve as its new COO. (Tubefilter)
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• YouTube TV is throwing a bone to March Madness viewers by bringing its multiview feature to iOS devices. (The Verge)
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• Threads is reportedly testing a Tinder-style “Algo Tune” feature that allows users to swipe left on content they don’t like and right on content they want to see more of. (Engadget)

COLUMNS • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

This creator does the impossible every day (with a little help from VFX)

How it started: ChelseaVFX has only been a full-time content creator for the last six months, but she’s been making videos since middle school. Back then, the VFX artist says she’d film “really awful things” with “one of those really old flip video cameras where it’s just a tiny rectangle.”

• Chelsea carried her love for video (if not flip phones) to NYU, where she earned her bachelor’s in film and TV production. That degree helped her snag a job in the film industry—but although she loved the work, she didn’t have a whole lot of creative control.
  
  

• So, the creator found a different “creative outlet": TikTok. Chelsea began posting videos as a hobby—something she could do to hone her VFX skills outside work. Six months later, she had a viral video on her hands and was embarking on a full-time career in content creation.

How it’s going: Fast forward another six months, and viral fame is no longer a foreign concept for Chelsea. Her videos regularly pull in tens of millions of views on TikTok (where she now claims 555,000 followers) and she also entertains growing fanbases on YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat.

What’s up next: Chelsea has big plans for the future. In addition to growing her channels and experimenting with 3D effects, she’s “building a beginner visual effects course that’s super comprehensive.”

• Check out our full interview here to find out more about Chelsea’s next steps.

DATA • U.S. TOP 50 📊

U.S. Top 5: Gen A viewers are in control (and they want more Roblox)

The charts: The influence of Gen A is slowly but surely reshaping the face of YouTube. The rising generation had an obvious impact on this week’s U.S. Top 50 chart, which was topped by a Roblox-themed hub and a flurry of kid-friendly channels.

🥇 The incumbent (590.8M): Rainbow Friends Fans’ Roblox-inspired name might draw young viewers in, but it’s the channel’s chaotic Shorts and brightly-colored memes that keep Gen A coming back for more.

👫 The star siblings (405.7M): Family-friendly content made waves this week. The sibling duo known as Vlad and Niki rose two spots in the U.S. Top 50 by securing 405.7 million views in just seven days.

💪 The challenger (373M): MrBeast might be particularly popular with Gen Z, but we’re guessing viewers of all ages tuned in for his latest challenge. After all, who can resist a sports car, a bright blue train, and a whole bunch of bullets?

🤣 The comedian (349.4M): Vlad and Niki aren’t the only YouTube stars teaching kids the difference between right and wrong. Earlier this week, Alan Chikin Chow used his comedy chops to deliver “powerful moral messages about love, friendships, and standing up for what's right.”

🧸 The pied piper (337.7M): Toys and Colors rounded out this week’s U.S. Top Five by reminding 53 million subscribers how to care for their teeth, recognize shapes, and play nicely with others.

FYI: This overview is just a sneak peek at our U.S. YouTube ranking, which tracks the fifty most-viewed YouTube channels of the week. Check out the latest U.S. Top 50 here.

WATCH THIS 📺

LeBron James’ podcast topped 1.3 million views in less than 24 hours

Mind the Game: LeBron James is getting into the podcast game. On Monday, the NBA legend delighted fans by dropping the very first episode of Mind the Game, a video podcast co-hosted by James and retired sharpshooter J.J. Redick.

• According to the channel’s description, the two basketball champs will “sit down weekly to discuss the state of the game, dissect X’s and O’s, and wax poetic about the game they love.”

The stats: Mind the Game is already shaping up to be an internet sensation. James and Redick’s first 40-odd-minute conversation attracted 1.3 million views and drew 227,000 subscribers to the podcast’s channel in a single day. Check it out 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.