TOGETHER WITH

It’s Wednesday and Bluesky CEO Jay Graber brought the shade to SXSW. The exec poked fun at one of Mark Zuckerberg’s more memorable outfits—a shirt that played on the Latin phrase “either Caesar or nothing”—by hitting the stage in a top that read “a world without Caesars.”

Today’s News

BEAST MODE

MrBeast’s investor pitch deck shows why he’s focused on the whole of Beast Industries

The pitch deck: A leaked investor pitch deck may reveal MrBeast’s motivations for consolidating his ventures under a single holding company. The creator—aka Jimmy Donaldson—is currently seeking a funding round that would place a $5 billion value on Beast Industries, the parent company created to encompass all of MrBeast’s entertainment and retail ventures.

A pitch deck secured by The Verge shows that MrBeast’s three-year-old confectionary brand is now out-earning his YouTube operation. According to leaked information, Feastables generated $250 million in sales last year, achieving a profit of $20 million. Meanwhile, the MrBeast network of channels lost $80 million despite posting its own similar nine-digit revenue sum.

The business model: Donaldson has long claimed that he does not wish to turn a profit on his videos, preferring instead to imbue them with eye-popping cash prizes and as promotional vehicles for his various other products. As a result, Beast Industries’ profits have remained negative over the last three years (with a nearly $60 million loss in 2024), even as the company’s revenue has doubled year-over-year. The outcome of the first season of the Prime Video original series Beast Games demonstrates the financial downside of Donaldson’s grandiose approach:

The strategy: That business model explains why MrBeast is leaning into more reliable revenue streams in verticals like analytics (via his ViewStats platform), consumables (with his Feastables and Lunchly meal kits), and action figures and related properties that don’t require him to be on camera (by way of his toy line and upcoming animated series). To make these companies more sustainable, Donaldson has adopted various quality control measures. A 2024 recipe change, for example, was designed to improve the taste of Feastables, while Jeffrey Housenbold was recently tapped to establish stability within Beast Industries.

A fresh round of capital would bring even more security to the company. It would give Beast Industries a longer financial runway for the businesses around chocolate, tech, toys, and lunches to make up for the losses incurred by the main channel marketing videos that show no bounds in terms of production expenses and prize pools.

 🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Algorithms are reshaping content creation. Here’s how one streamer made YouTube’s algorithm work for them:

Gone are the days when creators could succeed with broad appeal and varied content. Instead, today’s algorithms reward niche content that speaks directly to specific audiences. 

This story is about how one creator took that new reality by storm—with help from the world’s #1 AI video search tool.

The problem: That variety format was actually working against YouTube's new niche-focused algorithm. Even with five live shows a week, the creator struggled to meet the demands of their 10-15 monthly advertisers. So, they decided to launch an entirely new channel focused on a single theme—and they turned to OpusSearch to get it done. 

The strategy:

1. Search: The creator used OpusSearch to scan their entire library for content fitting specific themes.

2. Test: They posted clips of that content at scale to test various themes, and identified "sportscasting" as the winner.
   
   

3. Create: They refocused their new channel on that niche, and turned archived content into mid-form clips with seamlessly integrated ad reads.

The result: Within 90 days, that new single-theme channel was raking in 400K monthly views and earning thousands in new ad revenue. 

Learn more about OpusSearch → 

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Best Buy plans to spruce up its website this spring by providing creators with dedicated spaces to recommend products. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• TikTok is introducing a new feature designed to “help teens wind down if they use TikTok after 10pm” by interrupting their For You feeds with calming music. (TikTok Newsroom)
  
  

• Media Matters—a nonprofit watchdog group based in the U.S.—has filed three lawsuits against X, which it says harassed the organization over unfavorable reports on its advertising practices. (The Verge)
  
  

• Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College has debuted a digital student showcase on Roblox after partnering with the platform and Dentsu Group to kickstart a Digital Fashion Program. (VentureBeat)

MONETIZATION MOVES

YouTube thinks a more human touch will cut down on demonetization mistakes

The context: YouTube‘s automated content review systems have the monumental job of helping to evaluate millions of videos for prohibited content every single day. As a result, they’re also a frequent cause of creator complaints.

YouTube’s system flags videos with a yellow monetization icon when it believes they don’t fully meet advertiser-friendly guidelines. Those videos may still get some ads, but only from a limited pool with a limited number of marketers. 

Historically, creators who thought their videos were unfairly labeled would have to file a dispute with YouTube. The resolution of those disputes could take days, a delay that could cut significantly into the video’s overall earning potential (since most ad dollars flow in right after upload).

The update: Now, however, YouTube says it’s experimenting with an updated system designed to “improve the accuracy of our yellow icon decisions and get your videos monetizing faster.” As part of that change, the platform will automatically send yellow-flagged videos to human reviewers, so they can be manually double-checked for any ad-unfriendliness—and potentially monetized more quickly if given the all-clear.

YouTube says monetization decisions with this new hybrid human-machine system can still take up to 24 hours. Now, however, creators won’t have to fight to have their videos remonetized unless the human reviewer also determines that a yellow icon is appropriate. In some cases, creators won’t have to do anything; the human reviewer can simply decide that YouTube mistakenly flagged a video and correct the decision.

That updated procedure is currently rolling out to only “a small percentage of creators,” but YouTube says it will keep the public “posted on our plans to expand it to all creators that monetize with ads.”

SPOTTER SHOWCASE

Creators are making premium shows, so Spotter is giving them their own upfront

The event: A new event is putting a digital twist on the traditional upfront model. On March 27, creators like MrBeast, Rebecca Zamolo, Kinigra Deon, Dude Perfect, Ryan Trahan, Jordan Matter, and Colin & Samir will tease their upcoming projects and give advertisers a chance to purchase inventory at the inaugural Spotter Showcase.

That NYC-based event will be put on by Spotter, a company that has already worked with creators in the areas of financing (by paying upfront fees to license YouTube libraries from creators in exchange for the ongoing ad revenue) and technology (through its Spotter Studio that helps creators optimize their YouTube channels, production processes, and earnings through personalized tools). According to The Hollywood Reporter, the showcase’s invite list includes CMOs and marketers from more than 150 major brands.

The context: If the format of Spotter’s upcoming event sounds familiar, it’s because the NewFronts—aka the original digital offshoot of the upfronts—has employed a similar model across more than a decade of annual pitchfests. The NewFronts once featured dozens of high-profile presenters, who shared previews of polished, high-quality shows headlined by YouTube stars.

Recently, however, many of the creator vehicles hyped at the NewFronts haven’t aligned with fan expectations, and major players like YouTube have started chasing TV upfront dollars rather than promoting creator-focused initiatives on digital platforms.

In response, many creators have begun taking on those projects themselves, with no high-profile third parties involved. As Colin & Samir noted in a recent statement, Trahan’s Penny Series and Deon’s Vampire Siblings are two notable originals produced and distributed by YouTubers. Now, the Spotter Showcase will give those enterprising creators an opportunity to show off their work directly to brands and advertisers.

WATCH THIS 🎙️

This creator transforms hair into sculptural art

The hair artist: Laetitiaky is combining fine art and beauty content in a new way. The TikTok creator has amassed a fanbase of 5.3 million followers by sculpting her hair into everything from the faces of historical women to the fruits in her favorite smoothie.

Laetitiaky’s artistic celebration of natural hair has earned her equal acclaim off-platform, including through a 2023 exhibition at Place de la Bastille in Paris, France. Check out her most recent video here.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.