TOGETHER WITH

It’s Friday and ChatGPT has officially hit the playground. According to a new study from Qustodio, roughly 20% of kids took OpenAI’s chatbot for a spin last year.

MEET YOUR NOMINEES

Jynxzi and Kai Cenat will be triple threats at this year’s Streamer Awards

The nominations are in for the third-annual Streamer Awards and five creators have three chances each to walk away with a trophy.

The nominees: Across 28 categories, Twitch record-breaker Kai Cenat, gamer Quackity, Rainbow Six Siege icon Jynxzi, multiplatform star CaseOh, and OTK member Extra Emily brought home three nominations apiece.

• Those nods include Streamer of the Year nominations for Cenat, Quackity, Jynxzi, and CaseOh, who will join VTuber Ironmouse in competing for the overarching award.

The hosts: Extra Emily will also hit the award show’s red carpet alongside fellow hosts and nominees Will Neff and CDawgVA. A fourth nominee-slash-host, AustinShow, will cover the floor.

• Then there are the event’s two primary emcees. As co-host to Streamer Awards organizer QTCinderella, Pokimane will take up a role previously occupied by Maya Higa and Valkyrae. (And, as in previous years, neither QTCinderella nor her fellow emcee are on the list of nominees.)
  
  

• QTCinderella’s partner, Ludwig Ahgren, will also play a role in the 2024 Streamer Awards. Offbrand—the firm Ahgren co-founded in 2022—has teamed up with QTCinderella to produce the big show.

The event details: The 2024 Streamer Awards is set to take place at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on February 17. Public voting closes on February 7 (ten days before the big show), while in-person tickets are currently available on Ticketmaster.

The big picture: Events like the Streamer Awards aren’t just a big deal for creators themselves. Similar celebrations—including the newly-launched VTuber Awards and the long-running Streamy Awards (produced by Tubefilter and dick clark productions)—draw huge numbers of viewers, presenting a unique opportunity for brands and creator-centric production companies like Offbrand, WePlay Studios, and Mythic Talent.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

91% of creators expect to partner with more brands in 2024. Is your brand prepared?

As a leader in the field of creative technology, Artlist has built unshakeable connections with brands and creators since launching in 2016. Over 26M users—including creative teams at Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Calvin Klein—trust Artlist to help create their content thanks to unlimited use of 2M+ globally-licenced digital assets. 

Now, Artlist has launched a comprehensive, data-driven campaign to guide brands through the process of collaborating with influencers in 2024.

Artlist’s campaign presents several takeaways that brands should consider when working with influencers, from identifying the right creators to collaborate with, to forming holistic partnerships that are beneficial to all sides. Here’s a sneak peek at a few insights based on Artlist’s survey of 6,000+ creators:

1. 91% of creators expect to increase their collaborations with brands in 2024—a sign of creators' desire for additional exposure and revenue streams.
   
   

2. 40% of creators plan to collaborate with as many brands as possible, while 37% target companies that match their personal brand. (The takeaway: creators are eager to gain visibility, but authenticity is still a major priority.)
   
   

3. 37% of creators believe brands should provide influencers with more creative freedom.

Looking for more insights about how to build your brand with influencer marketing in 2024?

Visit Artlist’s blog to learn more →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• With the announcement of upcoming “RealBrands” and “RealPeople” designations, BeReal seems to be opening the door for more sponsored content. (Tubefilter)
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• GameSquare has announced Moonlight Studios, a unit dedicated to building custom experiences in game worlds like Roblox and Fortnite under the leadership of Kyle Rapozo (aka Kaz). (Tubefilter)
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• Instagram has launched “stricter messaging systems” designed to prevent underage users from receiving DMs from non-followers. (Ars Technica)
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• Rep. Emmanual Cleaver says he hoped for a “stronger response” from OpenAI, which failed to commit to increasing the diversity of its board in a letter addressed to the Congressional Black Caucus. (TechCrunch)

COLUMNS • STREAMERS ON THE RISE 📈

This Twitch gamer is ready to take on the wild world of multistreaming

After getting a degree in trumpet performance and landing a job in STEM education, a career in streaming was the last thing ChocoTaco expected.

How it started: Back in 2017, the creator had a “very cool job” at a company that taught engineering with LEGOs—and he wasn’t exactly planning to give it up. Then PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds came out.

• ChocoTaco had always been interested in competitive gaming, but this time was different. He climbed the leaderboards without really meaning to, and quickly found himself in Rank 1 .
  
  

• At that point, ChocoTaco realized he had a real opportunity on his hands. So, he took his talent for PUBG to Twitch. Within three months, ChocoTaco “was making more money from streaming” than from his day job. Within six, he’d handed in his notice to become a full-time creator.

How it’s going: Nowadays, ChocoTaco has 8,000+ hours of PUBG gameplay under his belt and a devoted audience of 1.3 million Twitch followers and 1.6 million YouTube subscribers—and he’s ready to expand his repertoire.

What’s up next: ChocoTaco isn’t taking Twitch’s new multistreaming policy for granted. Now that the platform allows streams to reach YouTube and Twitch viewers simultaneously, the creator is ready to unite his audiences (and add a few new games to his portfolio in the process). And after that?

• ChocoTaco says he “would love to do game development later in life” (especially if he can swing an early retirement).
  
  

• Find out more about ChocoTaco—and the hundreds of other rising stars we’ve interviewed over the years—right here at tubefilter.com.

THE BLITZ IS BACK

YouTube is back with another AdBlitz of can’t-miss Super Bowl commercials

After 18 years of collecting Super Bowl ads, YouTube is coming back for another round.

The AdBlitz: The approach of this year’s Super Bowl means that YouTube is gearing up to host all of the commercials that will air during the big game—including our current favorite, which stars a vindictive Pete Davidson and some delicious-looking Totino’s pizza rolls.

The stats: The results of YouTube’s annual tradition reflect its growing prominence in the evolving world of entertainment. A report from Comscore showed that YouTube reached 88% of adults 18-49 with a Super Bowl ad, compared to 68% on TV.

Why it matters: In addition to hosting AdBlitz, YouTube’s 2022 acquisition and ongoing promotion of the NFL Sunday Ticket has opened a myriad of new opportunities for its creator community. Creators Logan Paul and KSI achieved unprecedented visibility during last year’s AdBlitz by purchasing a Big Game spot to support their beverage brand, Prime Hydration.

• That multi-million-dollar purchase made Prime the first creator-led business to secure a Super Bowl commercial, while YouTubers like MrBeast and Airrack appeared in game-day ads for the NFL and Pizza Hut.
  
  

• More recently, YouTube teamed up with MrBeast for an NFL Sunday Ticket promotion that included an all-inclusive trip to this year’s Super Bowl.

WATCH THIS 📺

Good news, chinchilla lovers: Matt Storer has done it again

Back in October, we didn’t think Matt Storer could possibly top his iconic squirrel-themed rendition of Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red.” And yet, here we are.

Meet the musician: Since 2021, Storer has amassed nearly 8 million likes on TikTok by entertaining viewers with catchy parodies of trending tunes (including our favorite bushy-tailed banger).

• Now, the musical comedian has followed up his incredible squirrel-themed parody with another hit: this chinchilla-centric take on Jack Harlow’s “Love On Me.” Who knew it was possible to fit both a plethora of animal facts and the word “crepuscularly” into one song?

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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.