Happy Thursday! Between Netflix’s live hot dog-eating contest and this AI-busting flamingo, it’s shaping up to be one heck of a week.

ON THE ROSTER

Roster is on a mission to meet creators’ hiring needs

The startup: A new platform aims to streamline one of creators’ most daunting tasks: hiring. Roster—which was founded by CEO Sherry Wong and entered a closed beta last year—has announced its official launch.

• That debut is good news for creators frustrated with existing hiring avenues. As it opens to new users, Roster aims to set itself apart from destinations like YTJobs.co and TikTok’s in-house resume builder by offering personalized, AI-driven recommendations and cataloging each listed candidate’s previous gigs.
  
  

• Roster’s database—which includes specialists who have worked with MrBeast, Dude Perfect, Preston, and other top channels—has already become a vital resource for creators like J.T. Casey. The YouTuber, who hired a thumbnail designer through Roster, says the platform’s recommendation engine freed up time otherwise spent searching for applicants.

The network: Creators and content specialists are involved behind the scenes at Roster, too. The company’s 2023 angel round included participants like Select Management Co-Founder Adam Wescott and Alex Dwek (the COO of Nas Daily‘s Nas Company).

• Wong, who is a creator in her own right, has also brought in Mark Vu (the first employee at Nas Company) to serve as Roster’s Head of Engineering and tapped Karat vet Alex Mostafavi for Creator Partnerships Manager.
  
  

• That network of seasoned pros will be a crucial asset as Roster navigates its big launch; the platform is already set to be discussed at a VidCon Anaheim panel featuring Casey and editor Hayden Hillier-Smith later this month.

The takeaway: If it proves to be the solution creators are looking for, Roster could easily become a transformative tool for creators’ businesses.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Creative Artists Agency (aka CAA) has signed ThinkNoodles host Justin Watkins, who reaches more than 11 million subscribers through his flagship Roblox-fueled channel. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• TikTok has launched a new feature that allows users to search for TikTok Shop listings by using their photos as references. (Tubefilter)
  ​

• Voodoo’s games have been downloaded more than six billion times as of 2022. Now, the mobile game publisher is betting €500 million on BeReal. (Tubefilter)
  ​

• In a recent study from Pew Research Center, 15% of surveyed TikTok viewers cited “keeping up with the news” as a “major reason” they use the platform. (The Verge)

COLUMNS • MILLIONAIRES 📈

These “Costco guys” want everyone to believe in the power of the Boom

The Millionaires: A.J. Befumo and Big Justice had been posting TikToks for about a year when they decided to drop by Costco. The father/son duo’s mission: picking up meatballs for dinner…and maybe filming a quick video along the way.

• Those meatballs did (presumably) make it into the cart. But like most Costco shoppers, Befumo and Big Justice left with a whole lot more than what they came for—including a new video that scored 10 million TikTok views almost overnight.
  
  

• Within months, Befumo and Big Justice had more than doubled their follower count, become Cameo’s top creators, established positivity-fueled fanbases across multiple platforms, and signed with Night Media. Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation with them:

Tubefilter: Can you talk a bit more about your multi-platform presence?

Big Justice: “Snapchat, we’re at 20,000. YouTube, we just hit 40,000, and TikTok we’re about to hit 1.2 million.”

A.J.: "The thing is we learned somewhere along the way what our audience wants, and we give it to them every day. We call it the Boom. It’s happiness. It’s laughter.”

Tubefilter: It seems very important to you guys to make positivity part of your content.

A.J.: “Oh, no doubt about it. We get asked very often how we deal with haters, and our answer to that is—”

Big Justice: "We’ll post another video tomorrow.”

Tubefilter: What are you looking forward to in terms of where things go from here?

Big Justice: "Keep bringing happiness to people, keep making the videos, and hopefully it never stops. I hope when I’m older, I keep making them. We’ll keep making them.”

A.J.: “I just want everyone to believe in the Boom.”

DATA • U.S. TOP 50 📈

The Simpsons never goes out of style

The subject: The Simpsons might be a few decades old, but the animated classic hasn’t had any trouble keeping up with the youth. America’s favorite animated family is still converting new fans after 35 seasons on the air—many of which have fallen in love with the Springfield crew via YouTube Shorts.

🥇The channel: Simpsons Factory has a lot to do with The Simpsons’ short-form success. By posting selected clips from oft-memed episodes, the channel taps into some of Shorts viewers’ favorite themes: family drama, workplace humor, and physical comedy.

• Simpson Factory’s most popular upload—which hails back to Homer’s toga-wearing roots—also lends credence to a two-year-old TikTok theory: as it turns out, people really do spend a lot of time thinking about the Roman Empire.
  
  

• After just over one month, that single clip has earned more than 55 million views—a whopping view count that adds up to less than half of Simpsons Factory’s latest weekly total.

The stats: Over the course of our most recent seven-day count, Simpsons Factory scored 111 million views—nearly 20% of its lifetime YouTube viewership to date.

• That enormous leap came out to a 5% week-over-week increase.
  
  

• The result: Simpsons Factory jumped from #47 up to #54 in our U.S. Top 50 ranking.

WATCH THIS 📺

Meet TikTok’s unofficial poet laureate

The creator: Davi Larbi finds joy in the little things. From picking chili peppers to celebrating his morning cereal, the Mindful Moments podcaster and poet is all about savoring small pleasures—but that doesn’t mean his content shies away from the darker sides of life.

• The creator’s TikToks have become a comfort to viewers who relate to themes like grief, fear, and sadness. Check out one of Larbi’s latest videos for a poetic perspective on the process of healing.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.