TOGETHER WITH

It's Wednesday and fans of Noodle the Pug will have a chance to celebrate the beloved “Bones Day” pup at an upcoming memorial service.

UNWELL BUT NEVER BETTER

The icon behind Call Her Daddy is launching a new media company—and she’s already signed 2 major stars

Alex Cooper is adding another venture to her growing media portfolio. The Call Her Daddy host has announced the launch of The Unwell Network, “a platform for this generation’s unique voices” that will function as a subsidiary of Cooper’s other Gen Z-focused media company, Trending.

Trending is a producer of scripted and unscripted content that also focuses on merchanding, podcasting, and live events. Its other head is Cooper’s fiance Matt Kaplan, the CEO of ACE Entertainment.

The Unwell Network will act as a producer of multiplatform projects, including Cooper’s influential flagship podcast. (Influential is probably an understatement—Call Her Daddy has become such a trendsetter that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek actually shouted out the podcast by name during the platform’s Q2 2023 earnings call.)

Now, Cooper is leveraging that influence to level up the careers of other creators.

The Unwell Network has already kickstarted its mission to produce content that will excite Gen Z audiences. Its first signings include TikTok stars Alix Earle and Madeline Argy, both of whom are on the rise in their home countries. Earle’s iconic “get ready with me” videos have spawned a namesake “effect” in the U.S. and beyond, while U.K.-based Argy has attracted a devoted audience through storytelling videos.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

From authentic reviews to well-edited product shots, Viral Nation’s UGC creators turn viewers into consumers

Digital audiences have an eye for authenticity—and they won’t accept anything less. That’s why brands turn to ​Viral Nation Talent​’s creative UGC creators. At Viral Nation, UGC creators work closely with companies to authentically integrate their products into social media-ready content.

Viral Nation’s UGC creators have built massive audiences that take their reviews and opinions seriously. That loyalty—combined with creators’ next-level editing skills—is exactly what brands need to turn viewers into consumers.

Meet a few of ​Viral Nation’s top UGC creators​: 

Kailin Chase 💅🏼 
Kailin is a beauty and lifestyle creator with a cool girl aesthetic. Her devoted audience and refreshing videos have led to partnerships with skincare brands like Dermalogica.

Justin Ellen - Everything Just Baked 🍰 
Beyond crafting cakes for celebrities like Mary J. Blige, Justin has a knack for editing videos into mouthwatering masterpieces. Recently, Justin was tapped by Meta to create a UGC video describing a new feature on their platforms.

The Blonde Brewer 😂 
Comedy duo Maggie & Jaron Clayton create relatable short-form comedy sketches. Gaming brands have flocked to the funny couple to create original sketches for their own social channels.

As the world’s #1 influencer agency, Viral Nation Talent is home to the largest UGC creator roster in the world.

​Learn more about Viral Nation →​ 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Management company Viral Nation is joining forces with the Harlem Globetrotters to help the team “build a robust digital presence.” (Tubefilter)
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• A new “Netflix Game Controller” app transforms iOS devices into video game controllers for users looking to play Netflix games on their TVs. (Engadget)
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• YouTube will begin disabling the YouTube home page and other recommendation-based features for users who keep their watch history turned off. (TechCrunch)
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• Google and Universal Music are reportedly discussing the development of a tool that would reimburse copyright owners for authorized deepfakes of their voices and tracks. (Ars Technica)

DATA • U.S. TOP 50 📈

This soccer-loving rapper lets his music do the talking

Hardcore fans of Myke Towers’ music will recognize him instantly—but many of the rapper’s YouTube viewers have never even seen his face on camera. That dichotomy comes down to Towers’ chosen promotional strategy, which centers his catchy beats rather than his celebrity persona.

The Puerto Rican musician has garnered billions of views on YouTube (7.99 billion, to be precise), but his most-watched videos of all time aren’t exactly music-related. In fact, most of them aren’t related to Towers at all—except for when it comes to the underlying soundtrack.

Like other pop stars, Towers is promoting his new music by adding it as a soundtrack for preexisting videos. His subject of choice: soccer. The rapper’s top Shorts—which consist primarily of reposted content—feature world-renowned players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé. That’s a smart approach for a musician hoping to spread his sound across the internet: by appealing to soccer lovers, Towers is tapping into a fanbase that has made Ronaldo the most-followed person on Instagram.

The musician’s sports-fueled strategy is paying off in a big way:

• During the first week of August alone, Towers scored 176.4 million weekly views.

• That seven-day total adds up to a 18% week-over-week increase.

• The result: Towers’s channel now claims a spot at #26 in the U.S. Top 50.

All that social media success comes at a crucial time for the performer. Towers just announced a U.S. tour to accompany his latest music drop—an album that could attract a fair number of soccer-loving listeners.

COVER TO COVER

Move over, BookTok: 32% of young adults turn to YouTube for reading recs

How do you find your next read? You might be a traditionalist, like the 41% of young adults who told Nielsen they turn to literary-minded friends or the 36% who visit IRL bookstores. Or, maybe you prefer to consult social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

That’s a popular choice, too:

• In fact, 34% of people between the ages of 14 and 25 told Nielsen that they find new books to read on YouTube.

• For comparison, 32% of respondents in that age group said they discover their next reads on TikTok.

• And 27% said they trust Instagram for book recs.

So BookTook isn’t the #1 digital destination for book recs?

That’s right: despite BookTok’s role in transforming bestseller lists and boosting book sales, more young adult users turn to YouTube when seeking their next read. According to Jaclyn Swope (a Senior Account Manager at Nielsen Book Research), YouTube’s edge in the literary world could come down to its overall “high general usage.” The platform currently claims 2 billion more users than TikTok (for a total of 3 billion)—plus a larger content library and a higher amount of watch time.

Superlatives aside, the number of readers who consult social media for book-buying advice gives platforms a significant influence in the literary world. Per Nielsen, U.K. residents between the ages of 14 and 25 purchased an estimated 61 million books for £496 million in 2022 alone—18% of the region’s total annual book sales.

WATCH THIS 📺

As the old saying goes, if you have to ask….

…then you’re probably about to get roasted on r/aita. The Reddit community has risen to fame by encouraging people to ask strangers whether they’re the aggrieved or the a**hole in personal conflicts.

Well, it’s Wednesday and sometimes a little schadenfreude is exactly what we need to get through the second half of the week. So, without further delay, enjoy this unhinged curation of r/aita posts (with a little creative commentary from the one-and-only Ooga Booga).

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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.