TOGETHER WITH

It’s Friday and after a very public breakup with TikTok, UMG is on the rebound. The label’s first fling: an expanded Spotify partnership that covers everything from music videos to “enhanced fan experiences.”

MONEY MAKERS

Over 25% of YouTube Partner Program channels are making money from Shorts

The one-year anniversary of Shorts ads has come and gone, and creators seem to be enthusiastic about YouTube’s short-form monetization option.

The update: In February 2023, YouTube invited channels with at least 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts viewers over 90 days to take part in its revamped Partner Program. Now, YouTube Director of Product Management for Creator Monetization Thomas Kim says “more than 25%” of Partner Program creators are currently earning revenue from Shorts.

• The vast majority of those YouTubers are taking a multiplatform approach to monetization—something YouTube has actively encouraged since 2022. According to Kim’s recent blog post, 80% of the creators who qualified for the Partner Program via Shorts have also utilized at least one of the platform’s other revenue streams.

The statement:

Industry context: Last March, creators like special effects guru Zach King reported receiving better rates through Shorts ads than TikTok payouts.

• At the time, TikTokers were earning revenue through the app’s notoriously problematic Creator Fund. Now, however, TikTok has shifted gears to reward long-form creators through a new-and-improved Creativity Fund—meaning YouTube isn’t the only platform incentivizing creators to embrace a multiformat content strategy.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Are you ready for the content industry’s most anticipated event of the year?

No matter where you fall on the content continuum—from creation to distribution, management to monetization—NAB Show is the place to be from April 13-17.

NAB Show is the ultimate marketplace for next-gen audio and video technology.

NAB Show is one of the fastest growing shows in the U.S. Thousands of creators, broadcasters, and entertainment professionals converge for NAB Show every year—and this year’s Las Vegas event promises to be the most innovative yet.

Whether you’re looking to drive listeners, engage larger audiences, or create uncommon audio and visual experiences, NAB Show will inspire you with awe-inducing tech and visionary industry insights.

Here’s what to expect from the 2024 NAB Show:

🛠️ Creator Lab: A groundbreaking show floor experience invites attendees to explore interactive exhibits, expert panels, and networking events focused on creators, equipment, distribution channels, and monetization techniques.

💡 Exclusive Education: Core education sessions deliver exclusive insights into AI, immersive tech, podcasting, virtual production, the creator economy, live sports programming, OTT, and more.

🎥 Hands-On Workshops: Score one-on-one training from certified instructors in subjects like AI, filming equipment and drone use, cinematography, broadcast media, and more.

Ready to explore the future of the content industry?

Register Today →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• The Creators Guild of America has launched Mosaic, a new database that describes itself as “the IMDb for everyone.” (Tubefilter)
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• LinkedIn is the latest platform to experiment with a TikTok-style video feed. (Tubefilter)
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• A new policy issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget will require all federal agencies to designate Chief AI Officers who will “coordinate the use of AI.” (Ars Technica)
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• YouTube has launched Members Only Shorts, a subscription-based offering that allows creators to share exclusive short-form videos with paying viewers. (TechCrunch)

DATA • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

This Next Level Chef competitor is changing the way people see plant-based food

How it started: Gabi Chappel was already gearing up for a change of pace when COVID-19 hit. She’d been working in production for years at that point, and had fallen in love with cooking while making videos for Epicurious.

• The pandemic gave Chappel a chance to switch gears, so she enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Education in the hopes of breaking into the “underground pop-up restaurant scene in New York.”
  

• Then she got a phone call. A friend from college was casting for the Fox cooking series Next Level Chef and offered Chappel (who had recently graduated from ICE) a chance to join the show—an opportunity she promptly declined.
  
  

• At the time, Chappel says her culinary experience still felt “very fresh.” It wasn’t until Next Level Chef aired that Chappel realized the show was a perfect fit for her career goals. When her friend called with another casting offer, she said yes.

How it’s going: Chappel is now a fan-favorite cast member on Next Level Chef. When she isn’t battling it out under the mentorship of Gordon Ramsey, she focuses on sharing plant-based recipes via Reels—a format that has helped grow her Instagram fanbase to over 50,000 followers.

What’s next: Chappel is making culinary education a top priority in 2024. At the end of the day, the creator says her goal both on and offline is to teach people “about plant-based cooking and about how beautiful the abundance of the produce we have, and different foods they may have never tried.”

DOWN TO A SCIENCE

The publisher of Fortnite has paid creators $320 million over the last 12 months

Last month, a company filing revealed that Roblox had paid creators $741 million in 2023. Now, Epic Games is reminding devs that Fortnite can make millionaires out of map developers, too.

The payout: At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), Epic revealed that creators have earned a collective $320 million through its Unreal Editor for Fortnite program over the last 12 months. That number might not match Roblox’s annual sum (in total, it comes out to around 40% of the sandbox’s $741 million), but it was enough to provide dozens of creators with seven-figure payouts.

The breakdown: According to Epic, 40 Unreal Editor partners earned at least $1 million since March 2023.

• Serial minigame builder Pandvil (pictured above) topped that list by raking in a whopping $20 million.
  
  

• Fortnite fans will recognize another name among Epic’s top 40 devs: TypicalGamer. The streamer (aka Andre Rebelo) scored the #15 spot on Epic’s list after earning over $3 million.

The context: The growth of Roblox and Fortnite’s thriving creator communities signals an important opportunity for brands. As Gen Z and Gen A players flock to new islands—of which Fortnite reportedly claims 80,000—Hilton, Lionsgate, and other global companies are throwing their hats into the sandbox in the hopes of reaching young consumers.

• Fortnite’s rapidly expanding list of crossovers now includes well over 70 brands and media properties, including Coachella, the WWE, the NFL, and Ferrari.

WATCH THIS 📺

Rooster Teeth is wrapping up its beloved Red vs. Blue series with an 87-minute film

The grand finale: As Rooster Teeth prepares to close its doors, the 21-year-old media company is giving Red vs. Blue fans something to remember it by. A full-length feature film called RvB Restoration will drop on May 7, marking the end of the show’s 19-season run.

• According to Gizmodo, the movie—which, like the rest of the series, is set in the Halo universe—will be available for purchase (and eventually for rent) on streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, and Google Play.
  
  

• Fans can check out the newly-released trailer for RvB Restoration 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.