TOGETHER WITH

It's Wednesday and, as of this week, the OG Mickey Mouse (à la 1928) has officially entered the public domain. Let the memes begin.

SCOTT STEPS BACK

After a decade on YouTube, Tom Scott has decided “to stop making videos”

Tom Scott is calling it quits. After uploading to YouTube every single week for a solid decade, the Things You Might Not Know creator has announced that “it’s time to stop making videos.” This despite still netting an average of over 2 million views per video and 15 million views a month.

Hanging ‘em up: Over the last ten years, Scott has earned a loyal fanbase by teaching viewers about everything from water bottles to teleportation.

• But as the creator explained in a video posted on January 1, that “dream job” has evolved into something that “keeps getting bigger and more complicated”—to the point that Scott says “there’s nothing in my life right now except work.”

Moving forward: While viewers will no longer be treated to detailed lessons on helicopter crashes and space-bound garlic bread, Scott isn’t giving up content creation altogether.

• Fans will still be able to tune into Scott’s weekly podcast, Lateral, and the creator plans to upload occasionally on his other channels as well.
  
  

• Also on Scott’s agenda: the YouTuber says he aims to pursue new projects that are “experimental and weird and can fail, because I miss doing stuff like that.”

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Viral Nation Talent is signing 4 big stars just in time for the new year. Read on to meet the latest VN creators:

As the world’s #1 creator talent agency, Viral Nation offers 360° representation across all verticals—and that’s exactly why its roster includes 800+ online creators, athletes, and mainstream celebrities.

Meet the latest stars to sign with Viral Nation:

• Melissa Gorga has been a reality TV staple for 15+ years on Bravo’s Real Housewives of New Jersey. Now, the Gorgas are branching out with a popular podcast called On Display—and a little help from Viral Nation’s industry-leading Talent Representation team. 🎙️
  
  

• Jon Dretto is globally recognized for his unique guitar stylings. With over 2 billion views and 10+ million multiplatform followers, the singer-songwriter has gone viral for videos on melodic playing, music theory, and more. 🎸
  
  

• Jacksupertoast (aka Jackson Miller) is a TikTok star known for storytimes and comedy skits featuring original characters and imitations of creators like famous YouTuber Corpse Husband. 🤣
  
  

• The Muscle Sisters are two of North America’s top fitness influencers. Andreina and Patrizia’s passion for healthy living has attracted an extremely loyal fanbase—90% of whom are female viewers. 💪
  
  

• YOITZ_ISAAC (aka Isaac Alvarado) rose to fame on TikTok by portraying characters in hilarious skits set in classrooms, schools, and even his own bed! 🎭

Those stars are ready to expand their brands with Viral Nation. Are you?

Take your career to new heights→

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• MrBeast says he won’t be posting videos on X anytime soon. His reasoning: “My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn’t fund a fraction of it.” (Tubefilter)
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• Facebook has introduced “Link History,” a feature that allows users to save their “browsing activity”—and gives Meta another way to collect data for targeted ads. (Gizmodo)
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• Mutual fund Fidelity has valued X at 71.5% less than the $44 billion Elon Musk spent to acquire the platform in 2022. (Gizmodo)
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• A lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI asks the AI company to destroy any chatbots trained using NYT’s “uniquely valuable works.” (VentureBeat)

DATA • GLOBAL TOP 50 📈

The Grim Reaper is killing it on YouTube Shorts

If you’ve spent any time scrolling through YouTube Shorts, then you already know comedy is a big crowd-pleaser—especially when the jokes in question are heavy on props, light on dialogue, and appropriate for all ages.

Enter Yoeslan Alfaro: Since 2020, the 39-year-old Cuban-American creator has enchanted Shorts viewers by telling the story of a kid-friendly Grim Reaper that gets his nails done, plans surprise parties, and even indulges in the occasional Happy Meal.

Alfaro’s secret to success: The creator’s form of physical comedy is almost entirely nonverbal—meaning viewers of all ages and language groups can join in on the fun.

• Over the last four years, that strategy has earned Alfaro’s channel more than 26 million subscribers and 23 billion lifetime views.
  
  

• In the last 90 days alone, the creator averaged more than 12 million views per Short.
  
  

• Those numbers aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Over the course of our last weekly count, Alfaro’s channel brought in a whopping 218 million views.
  
  

• That seven-day total added up to a 34% week-over-week increase, bringing the Shorts star to #46 in our Global Top 50 chart.

WATCH THIS 📺

There’s a reason aliens don’t spend their vacation days on Earth

An outside perspective: If you’ve ever wondered what aliens think of humankind, look no further than goodbye galaxy.

• The TikTok account serves as a detailed guide to earthly customs, with videos explaining everything from the origins of shoes (aka the “amalgams of dead animal skin” humans wear on their feet) to the meaning of Christmas trees (i.e. the “corpses” of “light-eating organisms” that humans decorate for fun).
  
  

• Check out a clip or two, and you’re bound to understand why aliens don’t spend much time in the Milky Way.

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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.