The future of creator-led brands
Creators are the new execs
Welcome to all new readers!
In today’s newsletter:
Creators and brands continue to team up
How much revenue the top creator educators are making on YouTube
Lots of updates from our favorite platforms
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Creators are launching products
Since 2016, Ridge, an e-commerce brand, has spent close to $9 million sponsoring creators on YouTube.
Now, Ridge is partnering directly with creator Marques Brownlee as the brand’s chief creative partner, member of the board, and investor.1
Ridge is tired of static image ads on Facebook and hoping Marques can teach them how to be a content-first brand with better storytelling.
Marques wants to see his product ideas come to life and with Ridge, he can tap into an established brand’s manufacturing and distribution.
Marques joins the growing trend of creators and brands partnering to launch products:
Ryan Trahan joined JoyRide as Co-Owner and Chief Creative Officer to sell sour candies.
Ninja, a Twitch streamer, is partnering with Nutcase Milk to create a cashew-based chocolate milk.
How much are creators making on YouTube?
I looked at 5 channels to see how much creator educators are earning on YouTube.
Using Viewstats, I estimated revenue from Google-sold ads.2
Here’s what I learned:
Dr. Derek Muller talks about science and engineering
14.9M subscribers
Estimated Revenue: $1.2M - $3.4M/year
A doctor shares productivity tips
5.2M subscribers
Estimated Revenue: $200k - $500k/year
Destin, an aerospace engineer, shows how science works
11M subscribers
Estimated Revenue: $132k - $372k/year
Rachel teaches American English
5.2M subscribers
Estimated Revenue: $39k - $110k/year
Two teachers help teachers make lesson plans
218k subscribers
Estimated Revenue: $1.9k - $5.9k/year
People say there is no money in academia, but academics who can package their knowledge into video are building real businesses from their audience on YouTube.
Platform News
Reddit
Reddit is inviting 75,000 of its top creators to gain access to the company’s shares before its IPO in March.3
Reddit also signed a $60M deal with Google, allowing the company to train its AI models on reddit conversations.4
Pinterest
Pinterest has entered the chat.
Partnering with Tastemade, Pinterest is launching “Deliciously Entertaining,” 22 minute episodes with recipes, tutorials, and inspiration with shoppable boards.
YouTube
Morphle TV, a YouTube channel with over 11M subscribers, is launching a show on Disney+.5
Spotify
Peggy Gou is the first artist to sign a brand deal through Spotify AUX, a service matching artists with Fortune 500 brands.
Peggy signed a long-term partnership with Coca Cola to work on live concerts and events, social media content, and a branded playlist.6
TikTok
TikTok hopes in-house developed influencers can fire up engagement on TikTok Shop to make it more popular with major brands.7
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https://www.tubefilter.com/2024/02/23/marques-brownlee-is-ridges-new-chief-creative-partner/
https://developers.google.com/youtube/analytics/metrics#estimatedRevenue
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/reddit-stock-ipo-buyers-users-58744446