TOGETHER WITH

It's Tuesday and a former TikTok employee is giving content creators a dedicated platform to “spill the tea” without revealing their true identities.

MOVING ON

YouTube revenue “just isn’t cutting it” for Rooster Teeth anymore

Rooster Teeth is pulling some of its most popular shows from YouTube—including the longest-running web series in internet history, Red vs. Blue. On October 5, showrunner Kerry Shawcross confirmed that fan favorites like Camp Camp and Red vs. Blue will now be available exclusively through Rooster Teeth’s website. The logic behind that change is simple:

Although Rooster Teeth’s primary channel claims 9 million subscribers, Shawcross says the corresponding revenue “just isn’t cutting it.” In a recent X post, the showrunner explained that ads on Rooster Teeth’s website generate “five to ten times” more value compared to ads on YouTube. Increased site traffic could also drive viewers to FIRST, Rooster Teeth’s paid subscription service.

The success of Rooster Teeth’s new website-oriented strategy depends in large part on the loyalty of its current viewership—something that the company has struggled to maintain in recent months. In 2022, Rooster Teeth received criticism from former employees, who called out poor working conditions and abusive treatment from staff. Although Rooster Teeth released a statement apologizing for “hateful and hurtful behavior,” it has not yet recaptured its peak viewership.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Mexico City’s YouTube Music museum closed its doors earlier this week after a buzzy 10-day pop-up. (Tubefilter)
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• Shell is facing criticism after reportedly partnering with several influencers to advertise its gasoline-themed Fortnite map to young users. (Gizmodo)
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• According to leaked screenshots, Threads appears to be developing a “trending topics” feature. (TechCrunch)
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• X is reportedly preparing to roll out three paid tiers, which will affect the number of ads seen by subscribers. (Engadget)

DATA • MILLIONAIRES 📈

Embracing the “cringe” has earned this couple 6 million followers in a single years

Kay and Tay Dudley have always been fascinated by social media. The two creators both developed interests in photo and video editing long before they ever met and got married. The only catch: neither of them ever actually posted anything.

That all changed on the last day of 2021.

The Dudleys were returning home from visiting family, and decided to make a video of their road trip. It was more fun than they’d expected—so Kay and Tay decided to post a video on TikTok every day for the next year. At the time, Kay says “it was really just to make memories together.” Their first few videos were “a little cringe” (according to Tay) and mainly reached family members. The couple didn’t mind; in fact, Kay says they “leaned into it” and just enjoyed the process.

Then Tay decided to wear a pair of oven mitts as shoes.

The silly prank cracked Kay up—and successfully charmed around 1.8 million TikTok viewers. After that, the couple’s growth was meteoric. Since posting their first lifestyle video a year and a half ago, the Dudleys have accumulated nearly 6 million TikTok followers and another 1.3 million Instagram followers.

Their next target: YouTube.

With Kay working on content full-time and Tay hoping to go remote in the near future, the couple hopes to “dive into longer form content” and take “that step into the YouTube style content creation.” To learn more about the Dudleys’ social media journey, check out our full interview with them here.

TARGET PRACTICE

Candle Media spent billions on acquisitions. Now, the company could miss earnings targets by 50%.

Since 2021, Candle Media has allocated billions to the acquisition of big-name media properties like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Moonbug (aka the owner of CoComelon). Now, Bloomberg says Candle could fall 50% short of yearly financial projections.

Those findings suggest that Candle’s yearly profit will shake out to between $140 million and $170 million—a big drop from both a previous $330 million estimate and a lower projection supplied by banking firm Blackstone (which is Candle’s biggest backer).

Subsidiaries and strikes have a lot to do with that dramatic drop.

According to Candle co-founder and former TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer, “unprecedented” obstacles like the recent WGA strikes and flagging YouTube ad revenue have led to “a disappointing year.” Hello Sunshine and Moonbug are responsible for a significant chunk of those financial woes; the former company is projected to deliver just 10% of its expected yearly earnings, while Moonbug is only expected to reach 30% of its projected earnings.

Nevertheless, both Mayer and Blackstone remain optimistic about Candle’s future:

WATCH THIS 📺

Hi, IShowSpeed: it’s October 2023

Three years ago, IShowSpeed was a kid with 5,900 YouTube subscribers and a dream. Nowadays, the gamer is a Streamy Award winner with closer to 20.5 million subscribers—but all that success didn’t stop Speed’s former self from making an appearance over the weekend.

On Saturday, younger version of the streamer charmed fans with a video entitled “Hi Me in 3 Years.” In the (presumably scheduled) clip, Speed wondered aloud about the size of his future fanbase and gave a shoutout to whoever he’d be talking to in the far-off year of 2023.

Check out the full video 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.