TOGETHER WITH

It’s Tech Tuesday and even mice are getting in on the metaverse now. How’s that for your 2023 bingo card?

GET YOUR GOAT

Twitch is giving everyone a chance to replay 2023

Twitch may not be the first platform to publish a year-end recap, but its spin on the trend is worth a trip down memory lane. The streaming giant has debuted The Twitch Recap Game, a side-scroller in which players help a dinosaur collect goat emojis while the year’s top clips, streamers, and stats fly by.

Twitch’s 2023 recap invites users to choose their own adventure.

Players can select one of three paths at the beginning of each game:

• The Creator Recap is for creators who streamed at least 10 hours this year. This path reviews the player’s growth metrics, including overall watch time, followers gained, and top content categories.
  
  

• The Viewer Recap is for fans who spent at least 10 hours watching streams in 2023. Those players will see info related to their most-watched streamers and the number of messages and emojis they sent in creators’ chats.
  
  

• The Community Recap is for viewers and creators alike. Users who play this version of the game will get a peek at the platform’s top clip of the year (a painful Mizkif incident) and meet its most-watched streamers (Kai Cenat, xQc, Tarik, HasanAbi, and summit1g).
  
  

  The Community version of the game also covers some stats related to Twitch itself. In 2023, for instance, the platform says its partner pool grew by 6,363 new streamers, while its three-month-old Stories feature generated 104.7 million views.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

From lucrative funding deals to exclusive data insights, Spotter gives creators everything they need to realize their dreams

Since 2019, Spotter has been obsessed with helping creators reach the next step in their careers. In fact, Spotter’s expert funding team has already invested more than $850 million in 1,100 channel partners.

Here’s why top YouTubers like MissDarcei, MrBeast, and Airrack turn to Spotter for creator-friendly funding:

100% Creator Control 🔥
At Spotter, creator autonomy is always a top priority—meaning you have the freedom to invest your Spotter funds back into yourself and your channel. Plus, you’ll always stay in total control of your channel and receive all earnings from future uploads. 

Flexible Funding Deals From $100,000 to $50 Million 💸
With Spotter, every deal is tailored to your exact needs—and your busy schedule. Here’s how Airrack described Spotter’s fast-paced process: “They were ready to give me the money that they had offered me within like two business days, and they understood that this industry moves quickly.”

Exclusive YouTube Data Insights 📈
Spotter’s support goes way beyond capital. They also provide exclusive YouTube data insights, leading community resources, and a dedicated support system. 

Check out Spotter’s website to start your funding journey:

Learn more about Spotter → 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Influencer marketing company Whalar plans to open dedicated coworking and education campuses for creators in Venice, CA and Brooklyn, NY in 2024. (Tubefilter)
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• TikTok is reportedly dedicating $1.5 billion to a “joint venture” with Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia. (TechCrunch)
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• Netflix is set to stream a live tennis event featuring Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz on March 3, 2024. (The Verge)
  

• Barbenheimer lives on. The hit films behind the viral sensation—aka Barbie and Oppenheimer—have collectively scored 17 Golden Globe nominations. (Gizmodo)

DATA • GOSPEL STATS 📈

This week’s top 3 branded videos were all about brainiacs, cybertrucks, and MrBeast

MrBeast is on a roll. After three weeks, the YouTube legend (aka Jimmy Donaldson) is still sitting at #1 in Gospel Stats’ Weekly Brand Report. Luckily, it’s not too lonely at the top: while Donaldson’s adventure-loving fans helped him score 108 million views, the STEM side of YouTube settled in for lessons on futuristic cars and the SATs.

Read on to learn more about this week’s most-viewed branded videos:

🥇 MrBeast x Kanga Coolers (via Shopify): $10,000 Every Day You Survive In A Grocery Store
Earlier this year, Shopify promised to give up one its MrBeast ad spots in order to shine a spotlight on a small business. The lucky winner was Kanga Coolers, a Shark Tank alum with a knack for keeping beverages frosty. Here’s hoping one of those bevs is champagne—because after this week, Kanga’s founders have a lot to celebrate.

🥈 Marques Brownlee x Ridge: Driving Tesla Cybertruck: Everything You Need to Know!
17 million viewers tuned in to watch Marques Brownlee take “the Tesla Cybertruck” for a whirl. The tech icon leveraged the combined appeal of flashy cars and Elon Musk to generate plenty of buzz for his latest sponsor, a luggage maker called Ridge.

🥉 Veritasium x Brilliant: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong
Veritasium decided to reignite school-induced nightmares for nearly 6.5 million viewers by creating a video about the world’s worst math problem. At least the “SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong” has secured one fan since stumping 1982’s most gifted mathletes: online course provider Brilliant.

Need more data on video sponsorships, top creators, and rising stars? Check out Gospel Stats for in-depth insights into YouTube’s creator economy.

HIT THE COURT

Basketball creators hit the court—and the NBA’s YouTube channel—for a first-of-its-kind Creator Cup

The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament may be over, but the action didn’t wrap up without giving YouTube ballers a place on the court. Mere hours before the NBA Cup final tipped off, the basketball association’s official YouTube channel uploaded a highlight reel from a different game: the first-ever In-Season Tournament Creator Cup.

The Ballers fought hard—but it was the Hoopers who won out in the end.

More than a dozen of YouTube’s top sports influencers faced off as members of two teams: the “Hoopers” squad, coached by 2HYPE‘s Kris London, and Chris Matthews‘ “Ballers.” The competition was intense, in part due to the participation of former college basketball players like Jeremy Jones and Anthony Hamilton, Jr. But in the end, it was the Hoopers—a group that included Tristan Jass, Bree Green, and Jesser (real name Jesse Riedel)—who took home the final victory.

The Creator Cup wasn’t the only influencer event to take place during the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. London and Green—both of whom are represented by Long Haul Management—also engaged with basketball fans throughout the quarterfinals by joining a Threads watch-along activation.

WATCH THIS 📺

LazarBeam has a nostalgic treat for longtime fans

Australian creator LazarBeam is hailing back to his earliest and most destructive years on YouTube. In honor of his new Cookd merch drop, the YouTuber has recreated his first-ever video: a ten-year-old clip in which he “smacked the crap out of a microwave” with heavy machinery.

Check out all seven minutes of chaotic nostalgia 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.