TOGETHER WITH

Happy Monday to Chipotle! The food chain ended April on a high note by doubling its “quesadilla business” during the launch of TikTok-inspired menu items.

WHAT’S TRENDING?

YouTube just added podcasts to YouTube Music with free background listening

YouTube is kicking off May with a boatload of fresh offerings. Alongside a new monthly series, the platform has announced the arrival of two long-awaited updates.

U.S. users can now peruse podcasts through YouTube Music—and gain access to a sought-after perk at the same time.

Background listening was previously limited to YouTube Music’s Premium subscribers. Now, the tool has been made available to YouTube’s U.S.-based podcast community for free—meaning users can access their favorite programs while browsing other apps, and toggle between audio and video versions from within YouTube Music.

That expansion is the latest of several strides YouTube has taken to encourage podcast creation. Over the last few months, the company has built podcast tabs into its channels, rolled out audio ads, and released guides for creators hoping to keep their shows on-trend.

Now, YouTube is introducing another way for creators to stay up-to-date on the latest industry happenings: Try A Trend.

YouTube’s new monthly series will be distributed in newsletter, video, and blog post formats and will unpack the internet’s latest trends. The inaugural edition of Try A Trend hit inboxes and YouTube’s Culture & Trends Blog on April 26, with topics covering VTubers, the NFL Draft, majorette dancing, narrative horror, and YouTube Shorts foodie Lisa Nguyen. (Each iteration of Try A Trend includes a “Creator Spotlight” that celebrates a rising videomaker—Nguyen was the newsletter’s first featured star.)

As YouTube’s Try A Trend Blog post points out, the series also offers creators advice on how to incorporate trends into their own content:

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Introducing Gyre: the multi-streaming tool bringing creators billions of views and millions in additional income

Love the idea of streaming but don’t have the time to go live? With Gyre, creators have earned 9 billion views and $4.6 million in revenue simply by continuously streaming pre-recorded content on YouTube.

Gyre’s 24/7 multi-streaming service helps creators on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook maintain channel activity, generate traffic, and encourage audience engagement. Another upside: creators can redirect viewers from their streams to regular videos—meaning an increase in watch time across the board.

Top creators are already seeing the benefits:

• Since joining forces with Gyre, Les boys tv2 has amassed over 14 million YouTube subscribers and increased their income by 24% in just 5 months. To date, almost 25% of all views on their channel have come from Gyre-supported streams.
  
  

• The life hacksters at Power Vision have attracted over 75 million views and more than 132,000 new subscribers since opting to team up with Gyre. The result: 43% of the channel's income in 2022 came from continuous streams.

Gyre is easy to use, fully compliant with YouTube Guidelines, and 100% free for 7 days. Ready to keep streaming after the week runs out? Just plug in the promo code TUBEGYRE20 for 20% off all packages.

Start streaming with Gyre →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Team Whistle has unveiled an original programming slate that will be distributed across formats like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok. (Tubefilter)
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• Per CEO Elon Musk, Twitter will allow media publishers to “charge users on a per article basis” starting next month. (The Verge)
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• Instagram’s latest test feature gives users the ability to add songs to carousels containing multiple photos. (The Verge)
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• Reddit is reportedly introducing live chat rooms connected to individual subreddits. (The Verge)

DATA • ICYMI 📈

Streamy submissions opened, YouTube made something new, and Cocomelon headed to Hollywood

​#1 - Top 50 Most Viewed U.S. YouTube Channels • Week Of 04/23/2023​​
CoComelon - Nursery Rhymes had an eventful week. In addition to holding onto the #1 spot in the U.S. Top 50, the kid-friendly brand sparked rumors about a feature film reportedly being developed by Universal’s DreamWorks Animation and CoComelon owner Moonbug Entertainment.

#2 - YouTube announces new ad products to help brands reach Gen Z through music​
YouTube’s latest ad products include Gen Z Music, an AI-driven offering that allows brands to stay in front of 18-to-24-year-olds as they listen to their favorite tracks across multiple formats. ​

#3 - Submissions are now open for the 2023 Streamy Awards​
Free submissions opened last week for the 13th annual Streamy Awards, which will celebrate the internet’s best and brightest on August 27 in Los Angeles. Creators can shoot their shot From April 27 to May 30 at streamys.org/submissions.

#4 - Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 04/23/2023​​
CoComelon - Nursery Rhymes might be #1 in the U.S., but the kid-friendly channel is no longer at the top of the worldwide chart. Korean channel KIMPRO claimed that honor last week, dropping CoComelon to second place ahead of CuRe, T-Series, and Alan Chikin Chow.

REPROGRAMMING

Facebook Watch is saying goodbye to its current original programming

Meta’s latest round of layoffs signals a major pivot away from Facebook Watch originals.

Facebook Watch first became a thriving hub for scripted and unscripted shows after the 2017 hire of MTV vet Mina Lefevre, who helped Meta assemble a varied programming library as Head of Development and Programming. Under Lefevre’s guidance, the Facebook Watch lineup included shows originally broadcast on MTV, a number of creator-centric vehicles, and brand-new originals like Red Table Talk.

Now, Lefevre has become the latest Meta executive to depart amid a three-part round of layoffs that will ultimately affect more than 10,000 employees.

Facebook’s original content lineup isn’t far behind.

Facebook Watch reached a whopping 1.25 billion monthly users in 2020 and Meta spent freely to achieve a varied programming slate—but the company’s priorities have since shifted. According to recent reports, Meta now plans to cancel its current slate of Facebook Watch originals in order to focus on bringing original programming to the world of VR. At least one current show has a good chance of surviving Meta’s Oculus-focused future. Per Deadline, the producers of Red Table Talk will shop the Jada Pinkett Smith-led show after its departure from its previous home.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

Host Lauren Schnipper recaps her appearance on Bloomberg TV, A24 snaps up creator talent, and Alphabet gets real about Q1 results. Oh, and did we mention that Creator Upload’s own Joshua Cohen is kicking off VidCon Industry Day alongside Colin & Samir?

Get the inside scoop on all those new developments in the latest episode of Creator Upload. It's all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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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.