It's Friday and TikTok might be preparing to compete with its own creators. The app’s (alleged) new development: AI-driven virtual influencers designed to read ads for brands and Shop sellers.

CONVENTION INTERVENTION

Paramount is reportedly gearing up to sell VidCon

VidCon could soon be changing hands.

The report: According to Adweek, Paramount Global has hired the bank Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips to explore a sale of its annual event series. Neither partner has commented on those claims, but—if Adweek’s source is correct—Paramount hopes to sell to a strategic buyer.

The context: Since launching in 2010, VidCon has risen to become the most prominent online video convention in the world. The Anaheim event series grew steadily under the supervision of co-founders John and Hank Green before reaching peak attendance in 2019 (one year after its acquisition by Viacom).

• Then COVID-19 hit. After hitting an all-time high of 75,000 attendees in 2019, VidCon suffered several years of pandemic-driven cancellations. The convention hasn’t yet recovered from that interruption; last year, VidCon’s Anaheim-based event drew 55,000 attendees.
  
  

• Despite that bump, VidCon has expanded to encompass new global and U.S.-based creators gatherings, including last year’s inaugural Baltimore event. Both that East Coast edition and VidCon Anaheim are set to return in 2024, with the California event kicking off on June 26.

The motivation: AdWeek’s report noted VidCon isn’t seen as a “distressed asset”—but it’s also not Paramount’s top priority. As Progress Ventures senior director Sam Thompson told Adweek, selling VidCon would allow the multinational media conglomerate to “focus resources internally in more important areas.”

• Paramount+ is likely one of the brands in need of those additional resources. While other FAST and OTT services have thrived over the last few years, Paramount’s own contribution to the rapidly growing streaming industry has yet to achieve profitability.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Sports creator and San Antonio Brahmas player Deestroying has been placed on the injury reserve list after sustaining multiple vertebrae fractures during his first game of the season. (Tubefilter)
  ​

• A new integration will allow Substack users to distribute free and paywalled podcasts on Spotify. (Tubefilter)

• A freshly-launched app from FameBit co-founder Agnes Kozera matches writer-submitted stories with animators. The result: multimedia stories that users can read and watch. (Tubefilter)
  ​

• Taylor Swift isn’t letting a music industry tiff keep her off TikTok. The artist’s newer songs have returned to the platform 10 weeks after being removed amid UMG’s battle with TikTok. (TechCrunch)

COLUMNS • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

This interior designer is turning her tiny home into “a little slice of heaven”

How it started: Bri Macdonald has always loved interior design. Instead of playing with Barbies as a kid, she rearranged furniture in Barbie houses. Now, the creator has a cabin of her own to renovate—and 200,000 TikTok viewers eager to watch her do it.

• Macdonald came across the listing for that cabin last year, but she’s been sharing her interior design projects on TikTok since 2020. Getting started on that platform was a no-brainer: Macdonald had worked behind-the-scenes on TV shows as an apprentice in the past, and knew she would love capturing the design process on camera.
  
  

• When COVID hit, she “saw a window of opportunity.” It wasn’t long before one of her projects (a redesigned headboard) went viral.
  
  

• Then Macdonald discovered Bluebird Cottage, a tiny cabin in Northern Ontario. She knew she could turn the site into a “little slice of heaven,” so she snapped it up and began filming the renovation process.

How it’s going: One year later, Macdonald is gearing up for “Bluebird Cottage Season 2.” (The creator’s goal for social media has always been to turn her projects into “mini little TV shows,” a format her followers absolutely love.)

• Macdonald is currently “renovating a house in the countryside in Ontario” and sharing the process with fans across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

What’s up next: Macdonald is “really excited for everything this year has to offer.” In addition to bringing viewers back to Bluebird Cottage, the designer plans to collaborate with Habitat for Humanity and other creators over the next few months.

• For the most part, Macdonald says her main goal is “to just keep doing what I’m doing”—but eventually, she dreams of “going into TV and venturing off into that space for sure.”

UNDER SUPERVISION

YouTube is giving parents more control over what kids see on its platform

YouTube is giving kids a peek at the comment sections of their favorite videos—as long as their parents agree, of course.

The update: According to an email sent out to users who manage parental controls on YouTube, a new “read-only” setting will shake up the platform’s policy of turning off comments for all children who browse in supervised experiences.

• That toggle is designed to give kids the ability to see—but not write—comments. Parents can choose to apply the read-only option to two types of accounts: those set to “Explore More” (which shows only videos appropriate for kids aged 13 or younger) or “Most of YouTube” (which shows everything not designed as “adult-only”).
  
  

• YouTube’s new comments toggle isn’t available for accounts set to “Explore,” an experience aimed at kids aged nine and up.

The context: YouTube’s recent description of comment sections as “a much-loved part of the YouTube experience” might raise some eyebrows, but its new control setting fits neatly into its mission of offering parents flexibility without compromising the security of underage users.

• YouTube has been especially vocal about its commitment to child safety over the last few months. While other social media giants have taken heat from Congress, the Alphabet-owned platform has taken steps to strengthen its own security protocols while publicly reminding viewers (and, by extension, legislators) of its existing safety tools.

WATCH THIS 📺

Prepare to feel the burn: Bridgerton Season 3 is almost here

The trailer: After months of anticipation, the trailer for Bridgerton’s third season has finally dropped. The show has proven to be an enormous hit for Netflix, even spawning a beloved TikTok musical and several viral videos related to themed balls held in cities like Los Angeles.

• Bridgerton Season 3 won’t premiere until May 16, but it’s already shifting subscribers’ viewership habits. The show’s first two seasons—both of which hold spots on Netflix’s list of top ten Most Popular TV (English)—are once again trending on the service.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.​

Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.