$250 billion on the line 😰

Onion pickling isn't *that* important, right?

Author

Emily Burton
October 30, 2023

It’s Monday and an AI-focused startup aims to give reading enthusiasts the bookish best friend they’ve always wanted.

BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

Why does the U.S. Census care more about pickled onions than the $250B creator economy?

If you’re reading this newsletter, then you probably already know a thing or two about the enormity of the creator economy. Here’s a refresher:​

  • The global creator economy carries a $250 billion valuation—a figure that’s projected to double by 2027.

  • In 2021, YouTube’s share of the creator economy accounted for 425,000 full-time-equivalent jobs in the U.S.

  • In 2022, the GDP contribution from U.S. YouTube creators added up to $35 billion.

Altogether, those stats add up to a substantial impact on the U.S. economy—and yet, according to The Washington Post, the U.S. Census Bureau’s occupation index doesn’t even mention the phrase “social media.”

While the Bureau recognizes a number of extremely specific fields (including “pickled onion manufacturing” and “canary raising”), social media creators are sorted into ill-fitting career categories like “online video game playing” and “data processing.” The result: despite encompassing influencers, agents, managers, producers, and many other professionals, the financial impact of the creator economy and its effects on the job market are undercounted.

“Historically, as innovation has taken place and as society has modernized, you’ve seen the more traditional, cemented-in-space roles look at new roles and say: ‘This makes no sense, it’s not serious, it’s not real.’ But it really hurts us as a society if we don’t understand the health of this part of the economy.”

Misty Heggeness, Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Economics, University of Kansas (via The Washington Post)

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

DATA ‱ MILLIONAIRES 📈

This TikTok-savvy dad always knew his family was destined for fame

For many creators, fame comes as a shock. A sudden flood of views is exhilarating on its own, but what comes after (i.e. the sudden onslaught of comments, requests, DMs, and followers) can be difficult to prepare for.

Salem Furrha didn’t have that problem. He was ready to be famous.

In fact, he’d been waiting for it all his life.

Furrha, his wife Samah, and their eight kids are all incredibly talented, and he always hoped that one of them would become a breakout star. Social media seemed like the best way to foster that future celebrity, so Furrha “tried doing videos and Instagram way before COVID days.”

Those initial efforts didn’t gain much traction. In fact, Furrha mostly turned his attention to other pursuits—until the pandemic rolled around. With TikTok on the rise and so much talent within the family, it wasn’t long before one of Furrha’s daughters began pulling in hundreds of thousands of views.

Furrha took it as a sign to post a few TikTok videos of his own (featuring his wife and kids, of course), and fame followed soon after. Over the last three years, The Furrha Family’s joint TikTok account has grown to more than 10 million followers. Individual family members (like daughter Fifi and her husband Kareem) have found success, too, with millions tuning into their separate accounts.

The family has even bigger plans for the future. Now that they’ve teamed up with Viral Nation, the Furrhas have their sights set on TV—including a potential reality show of their own.

FULL SEND

The Nelk Boys just signed an exclusive streaming deal with Kick

Nelk has joined forces with an up-and-coming Twitch rival. According to Sportskeeda, the creator group known for their popular Full Send podcast has signed “an exclusive contract solely with the emerging livestreaming platform Kick, with no other platforms involved.”

The Stake-backed site confirmed that signing on X, where it announced that the Nelk Boys—including Kyle Forgeard, SalimTheDream, and SteveWillDoIt—would be hosting their first Kick-exclusive stream on October 27. If that debut appearance is a sign of things to come, Nelk fans can expect plenty of drama from the group’s alliance with Kick. Forgeard encouraged the boys’ 5 million YouTube subscribers to tune into their Friday stream by promising a “live prank” and a party “with all the craziness”:

❝

 â€œWe don't know what's going to happen. We might get canceled.”

Kick is likely betting that all that hullabaloo will attract a significant portion of Nelk’s broad fanbase. In addition to their millions of YouTube subscribers, the creators currently claim 597K Twitter followers and a highly engaged podcast audience.

This isn’t the first time Kick has signed big names in hopes of drawing fans from other platforms. In the year since its initial launch, the platform has already inked six- and seven-figure deals with big names like xQc and Amouranth.

WATCH THIS đŸ“ș

Spoiler Alert: The FNAF movie included this crucial YouTuber cameo after all

If you’re aiming to walk into your local theater knowing absolutely nothing about the new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, stop reading right now.

Still with us? Here’s the big reveal: after months of feigning ignorance about this year’s FNAF movie, MatPat stunned fans on Friday by appearing on-screen during the film itself. The Game Theorist creator makes an unexpected cameo as a waiter in Sparky’s Diner, where he delivers his signature catchphrase: “That’s just a theory.”

It’s a perfect full-circle moment for the creator’s fans—even if they might be a bit ticked off by his months-long deception. Find out more about MatPat’s Hollywood debut in his long-overdue confession video 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.