It’s Monday and we have a catch-up on all things creator economy, from video creators finding that journalism is harder than it looks, to DrDisrespect’s longtime editor calling it quits, and a podcast that will talk tuah about anything.

Today’s News

SPOTIFY SPLASH

Spotify is “ready to play”

The deals: Spotify is splashing out more cash on podcasts—and this time, that cash is reportedly going straight into creators’ pockets.

Back when Spotify first began testing video podcasts in 2020, YouTube creators and their content were at the forefront of its push. It paid a cool $100 mil for The Joe Rogan Experience and tapped in Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar to bring video episodes of their shows to its platform. Fast-forward four years, and Spotify now has 250,000 shows with video content on its platform.

But it wants more—and to get more, it’s going back to YouTubers. According to Bloomberg, Spotify is offering creators lump sums up to seven figures if they agree to upload their YouTube content onto its platform, too. There’s no exclusivity or extra content production involved in these deals; Spotify simply wants creators to make their videos available on its service, so its users will watch them…and give it the ad revenue YouTube would usually make.

The ads: Spotify has been selling brands hard on video ads. In a pitch deck leaked last month, it told marketers their ads “are only served to your audience when we know they’re engaged with the app and looking at the screen.” It and YouTube have been competing in the podcast space for a couple years now, and both have seen that listeners tend to be more engaged with video podcasts. No doubt Spotify is hoping to turn that engagement into ad dollars.

The context: We’re not surprised that, after pitching marketers on marquee video ads, Spotify is now approaching marquee creators to provide the content for those ads to run against. But with this move, it’s fully stepping onto YouTube’s turf, asking creators to upload not just podcasts, but the sort of standalone VODs YouTube has hosted since 2005. We’ll see if that move pays off.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Elon Musk wants X to be the new Kick. The platform’s new gaming affiliate program has already snapped up big (but non-exclusive) deals with creators like Dream, Sapnap, MrSavage, and Hikaru Nakamura. (Tubefilter)

• Sleep streamers like FaZe Ronaldo and FaZe Lacy got an unwelcome wake-up when a 4.7 magnitude earthquake struck LA. (Dexerto)

• Scientists of all sorts, from glaciologists to geochemists, epidemiologists to exobiologists, are sharing their expertise on social media—and becoming a source of hope and truth for viewers. (Los Angeles Times)

• TikTok and Sephora are teaming up for an inclusive beauty initiative that matches cosmetics brands with some of the platform’s musical artists. (Adweek)

• Twitch is banning “waiting room” streams, where fans rebroadcast creators’ content without adding any valuable commentary. This content niche (if you can call it that) is now considered impersonation under Twitch’s TOS. (Dexerto)

PLATFORMS UNITE

TikTok, Meta, and Snap are joining forces to make the internet safer for underage users (and protect themselves)

The team-up: We don’t typically see rival platforms buddy up, but in this case, TikTok, Meta, and Snap—all of which face regulatory pressure over whether their services are safe for teen users—are joining forces as founding members of Thrive, a program launched with the nonprofit Mental Health Coalition. And they aren’t just all members; they’ll actually share information with one another, using cross-platform “hashes” that can be used to identify individual pieces of problematic content.

Basically, if a user posts something encouraging self-harm on TikTok, gets the post deleted for violating TOS, and tries to repost it on one of Meta’s platforms instead, the Thrive hash will flag that piece of content and alert Meta’s systems to delete it. The idea is that by pooling resources, these three platforms can help one another contain harmful content more quickly, and can cut off bad actors who would normally be able to violate TOS multiple times on multiple different sites, exposing more users to their content.

The issue: Despite these cross-platform efforts, the effect of harmful content on youth mental health is still a major issue for big tech firms, parents, and lawmakers. By coming together for Thrive, the founding companies are acknowledging that more work needs to be done while also placating watchdogs.

Meta has a long history of moderation problems, TikTok has frequently been targeted by European regulators for issues related to child privacy, and Snapchat is currently facing a potential ban in Australia, with the country’s Prime Minister saying its platform is ripe for “sexploitation” of young users.

The context: Thrive is keeping a particular eye on content related to suicide and self-harm. Numerous studies have shown that teens who see this content are at higher risk of self-harming and suffering other negative effects to their mental health, so this crackdown could do a lot of good.

WATCH THIS 📺

Ever want to eat deodorant, glue, or shampoo just like you’re in the movies?! Now’s your chance.

The man: Meet Scott Reeder, who’s been a Hollywood prop master for decades. He’s worked on movies like Pitch Perfect, Grindhouse, and Friday the 13th, and TV shows like Walker, Texas Ranger (both the original and the remake!) and Friday Night Lights. When COVID closed sets in 2020, Reeder started uploading content about his job to YouTube, and now, four years later, just hit a million subscribers.

The content: Reeder’s videos are punny deep dives into prop secrets. He’s taught viewers how actors get bottles smashed over their heads (breakaway glass), go through windows (breakaway glass) and walk barefoot on crushed glass (are you sensing a theme here?). OK, jokes aside, he teaches about a lot more than breakaway glass, including sharing his recipes for making things like non-melting ice cream and edible dirt.

His latest video is a recipe smorgasbord for anyone who wants to make their actors eat realistic household items like dish soap and deodorant—or wants to eat ‘em themselves for fun. Hey, we don’t judge. Check out the video here.

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