Hey YouTubers! Do you want to be rid of the pesky chore of actually appearing in your own videos? Well, good news: YouTube‘s latest AI feature is just for you!

A few months ago we covered that Google, which is absolutely determined to make fat dolla dolla bills before the gen AI bubble bursts, was experimenting with a fan-facing feature called Portraits. That feature, it said, would “let viewers conversationally interact with AI representations of participating creators.”

Basically, creators would no longer have to endure engaging with their adoring fans. Because who would want that?

Now YouTube is taking things a step further. Its next big idea is to have creators deepfake themselves so they never have to be on camera again.

Instead, their “AI avatars” will host videos for them.

“An avatar builds on existing ingredients-to-video features in YouTube’s creation tools, making it easier and more accurate to add yourself into your videos,” the platform explains in a YouTube Help Center post. “Avatars create a digital version of yourself so you can generate videos that look and sound like you, safely and securely.”

This feature is already rolling out to creators 18 and older around the world (except in Europe, possibly due to its more stringent regulations on both data privacy and generative AI). To make an avatar of themself, a creator has to enter the “AI Playground” section of YouTube’s app, then record a “live selfie” that will serve as training material for replicating their face and voice.

Once the avatar is done, creators can make Shorts with it or inject it into other people’s videos via Shorts’ Remix feature. All they have to do is type in a prompt explaining what they want the avatar to do and say. No one else will be able to use the creator’s avatar in their videos, and the creator can delete it at any time.

YouTube–which, by the way, is already under fire for the amount of AI slop it spits out at viewers—told 9to5Google that AI avatars “gives users an easier way to include themselves safely and securely in videos.”

Yes, we suppose it is easier to type a few words in a prompt box. But are viewers actually going to be into videos that are the YouTuber equivalent of ChatGPT holding up a life-size cardboard Mandalorian cutout, wiggling it around, and pretending to be Pedro Pascal?

Either way, they’ll at least know when a creator has used their deepfake instead of doing the work: YouTube says all videos generated with avatars will have YouTube’s standard AI disclosure, plus will “include visible watermarks and digital labels like SynthID and C2PA to disclose AI-generated content.”

9to5Google reports AI avatar clips are restricted to eight seconds long, but there’s no limit to how many individual eight-second clips creators can record and then sew together into one longer video.

What else is there to say here? For a platform that keeps insisting creators are its primary concern and AI should amplify human creativity, YouTube is sure bent on giving creators ways to remove themselves from the creative process–not to mention ways to automate their connections with fans.

Do creators actually want this? Do viewers? We’ll be keeping an eye on feedback as this feature goes out to more channels in the coming weeks.

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Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

This week, an esteemed video essayist is saying goodbye to his channel, a family-friendly educator is getting her kicks, and change is coming to TikTok’s ad division.

Creator commotion

Happy trails to the Gaming Historian. For more than 15 years, Norman Caruso has published video essays that tell the stories of the most iconic franchises in the gaming world. Now, as burnout takes its toll, Caruso is saying goodbye to his Gaming Historian persona. He left his million-plus subscribers with one last factoid: A run-through of the 1984 legal battle between Universal Studios and Nintendo.

iShowSpeed is set for his pro wrestling debut. At WrestleMania 42, the man who was born to be a heel will step into the squared circle for his official WWE debut. The event kicks off on April 18; will Speed’s Monkey D. Luffy-inspired stretchy arms be ready in time?

Is Manchester the U.K.’s hot new influencer hub? Inspired by pioneering creators like Molly-Mae Hague and Zoella, influencers have started filling up high-rise apartments in the third-most populous urban area in the U.K. This is your regular reminder that cities with less-expensive costs of living tend to find themselves on creators’ radars.

The biz

For Ms. Rachel, it’s gotta be the shoes. The kind-hearted educator, who shepherds a massive audience of “littles” on YouTube and Netflix, has announced her first shoe deal. Stride Rite shoppers can pick up the colorful, intricate designs for their own littles. The line will roll out across two waves: One in the spring and one in the fall.

Alix Earle needed no time at all to sell out her latest skincare drop. The TikToker’s newest product is Reale Actives, a product collection focused around acne. Within five minutes of the initial launch, Reale Actives had racked up $1 million in sales. Seven digits is no problem at all when you’re one of the internet’s favorite it-girls.

Movers and shakers

TikTok’s Khartoon Weiss is moving on to pursue “a new opportunity.” Weiss, who was TikTok’s top ad exec in North America, hasn’t yet revealed what her next move will be. Thanks to her departure, TikTok will have to replace the operative who spearheaded the app’s recent presentation at the NewFronts.

An expert in influencer campaigns is venturing into the Open World. At gaming consultancy Open World, which is affiliated with talent firm Loaded, StreamHatchet and BENlabs vet Justin Smith has joined as the SVP of Marketing. Smith wrote about his excitement regarding “the future of consumer marketing in gaming,” which he is now in position to unlock.

Tuma Basa’s eight-year stint at YouTube is coming to an end. Basa joined the platform in 2018 as its Director of Black Culture and Music. Now, he’s ready to confront “my next chapter” as he closes the book on his YouTube tenure. Basa’s previous work experience included stints at MTV and Spotify.

Games and sports

MLB is inviting the next generation of fans to step into the Clubhouse. With a youth-focused YouTube channel, the MLB wants to turn more kids into diehard baseball fans. If the MLB finds a way to bring Scooter back, it will be moving The Clubhouse in the right direction.

Jynxzi’s budding chess career is bringing him to PogChamps. After getting tutelage from GothamChess, the Rainbox Six Siege streamer has thrown himself into the next edition of Chess.com’s creator tournament. The upcoming PogChamps is titled “6-7,” so I’m going to need to check my analysis engine to determine whether that name is a blunder.

Pop culture minute

Exit 8 has gone from streamer favorite to cinematic smash. The reviews for the new video game adaptation have characterized it as a shining example of its genre. The success of Exit 8 puts a little more pressure on the upcoming Backrooms adaptation, which will need to up the ante in terms of liminality and vibes.

Comedian Mark Normand is staging some Human Trials on YouTube. Normand’s upcoming show will put comedians in front of niche audiences like clowns or bald men. It’s not exactly a MrBeast-level challenge, but there’s an idea: What if Normand made his guest perform in front of 50 people who look like MrBeast?

The internet is a strange place

Are TikToker’s “catholicmaxxing” now? A recent trend piece claimed that the For You Page has filled up with videos that pay tribute to the father, son, and holy spirit. I would say the Pope is a little more likely to bless this trend than he is to publicly validate looksmaxxing.

Law and Order: SVU did a VTuber storyline. The long-running procedural loves its “ripped from the headlines” scenarios, and an episode centered around a VTuber who confesses an assault to her fans certainly fits that description. The SVU produces went deep into the VTuber world to pull off this plot, so let’s give them a (virtual) round of applause to commend them for their research.

The Bunch of Friends channel will end when one of its hosts get married. I do hope one of the friends finds love before any two of the hosts have a falling-out, because if not, this setup could turn 90-Day Fiancee real quick.

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Back in 2024, the National Association of Broadcasters recognized the importance of content creators by carving out a dedicated gathering place for them at its longtime annual trade event, NAB Show.

That place, called the Creator Lab, was designed as a “dedicated experience to foster collaboration, learning and networking through panels, workshops, fireside chats and more,” NAB Show told us.

Now, for its third year, the Creator Lab has expanded to fill a 14,000 square foot space with its own mainstage. NAB Show 2026, running April 18-22 in Las Vegas, expects to welcome creators for three full days of programming on topics like platform best practices, monetization, metrics, production equipment, and overall tips and tricks to help both newbies and pros grow their content businesses.

Some of that programming will be delivered in the Creator Lab’s new Adobe-sponsored classroom, which was designed as “an intimate setting for hands-on tips about products and techniques,” NAB Show says.

As for who will help anchor Creator Lab’s programming, this year’s emcees are…

• digital industry veteran Jim Louderback, who spent eight years as CEO of VidCon and is editor & CEO of newsletter Inside the Creator Economy
• and RJ Larese, president of Whalar’s creator agency Sixteenth

Speakers for this year include a wide range of creators, entrepreneurs, CEOs, industry experts, and more. Some notable names include:

• creators MatPat, Dylan Huey, AtomicMari, and Taylor Lloyd
• Ben Harris, Director of Strategy and Operations for Jesser
• Pojo Riegert, Creative Director for Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs
• Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s Head of Editorial & Creator Liaison
• Shira Lazar, founder/CEO of What’s Trending
• Robin Raskin, founder of Virtual Events Group (which collaborated with NAB Show to develop the Creator Lab)
• Mitch Rotter, Director of Strategic Content Partnerships, Data & AI for Shutterstock
• and our very own Drew Baldwin, founder and CEO of Tubefilter

Karen Chupka, the National Association of Broadcasters’ EVP of Global Connections and Events, tells Tubefilter the Creator Lab is seeing 105% year-over-year growth in registration from 2025 to 2026.

NAB Show registrations as a whole are up 11% YoY, to more than 50,000 people this year, she adds. 45% of those registrants are first-timers, and 23% of them are from outside the U.S.

Chupka says based on feedback from creators who attended the previous two years, NAB Show has put more emphasis on networking opportunities within the Creator Lab.

“We know creators have wanted to do much more networking,” she says. “This year, there are networking opportunities built within Creator Lab, and within NAB Show itself. We have a networking lounge located in the grand lobby of the convention center, and we’ll be hosting different types of happy hours throughout the show.”

She says the networking lounge will be “an area of interest for creators who want to not only meet people from within the creator economy, but also meet other broadcasters, news reporters, and professionals in different spaces.”

Additionally, creators who want to start networking before the show now have a way to do it: NAB Show built an app for attendees that Chupka says will both give personalized recommendations on sessions to attend, and let them schedule meetups with one another.

Business development is on the programming menu, too. “What we’ve heard from creators is that they got into this because they love telling stories. They love doing what they’re doing,” Chupka says. “But suddenly they reach a level where they’re employing people and dealing with legal issues. We’re trying to bring programming to the Creator Lab so they can set up better businesses for themselves.”

NAB Show is also putting more emphasis on sports this year. It’ll have a dedicated area for sports, reflecting the proliferation of live broadcasts across digital platforms like YouTube and Netflix (thanks to pricey deals with leagues) as well as the growing influence of sports-focused creators like Jesser, IShowSpeed, Bryce DeChambeau, and Dude Perfect.

“We’re paying close attention to what’s happening in the sports industry with creator engagement,” Chupka says. “They’re covering sports as well as telling the stories behind athletes.”

Another nod goes to creators’ increasing power in media and entertainment; a third area within Creator Lab will highlight “how creators are partnering with agencies and working with other segments of traditional legacy media,” Chupka explains.

“One really unique thing about NAB Show is whether you’re telling stories on TikTok, TV, or the big screen, the show is for you,” she says. “What that also means is we have, on our stages across the show, people who are doing amazing things for movies, editing for movies or shooting for movies and TV shows, then also creators.”

With that in mind, the show’s ultimate goal is to unite “the big creative community that wants to connect with other people and learn from them, then leave feeling much more engaged and re-energized,” Chupka says. “These two segments–the creator economy and legacy entertainment companies–have so much to offer each other right now.”

NAB Show will come to the Las Vegas Convention Center April 18-22. Folks interested in attending can register here.

NAB Show is a Tubefilter partner.

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Too much screen time can be a dangerous thing, and Hoorae is taking that idea literally.

The media company led by actor, writer, and producer Issa Rae has announced a partnership with TikTok. Together, the two companies are diving into the world of microdramas. Beginning with a project titled Screen Time, Hoorae will produce short-form web series that will launch on TikTok and its companion app PineDrama.

Screen Time will tell the story of four friends whose secrets are exposed when a hack reveals the contents of their phones to one another. The series will kick off later this month.

@hooraemedia Every text. Every search. Every secret. What if it all came out today? Watch the trailer for our new micro series Screen Time, exclusively on TikTok and PineDrama. Follow us so you don’t miss out! #IssaRae #ScreenTime #Microdrama #Soap #Drama @JennaMarie, @brittneybreeze, @Jasmine Luv, @Xavier @Kristen Brancaccio ♬ original sound – HOORAE Media

At TheWrap‘s Creator x Hollywood summit, Rae described Screen Time as a return to her roots. Before creating and starring in the HBO series Insecure, Rae was a central player in the web series world, producing several indie shows.

As the creator industry evolved, so did Rae’s approach. Partnerships with platforms like Snap and Tubi gave her new opportunities to incubate up-and-coming filmmaking talent. Now, as the microdrama craze pushes creators back toward serialized productions, Rae and her media company are maintaining their commitment to rising artists. Hoorae describes Screen Time as a “Minute Soap,” but it has all the trappings of a typical microdrama.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to tell stories in a way that feels premium and elevated, but is concise and available to audiences directly,” Rae said. “TikTok has become a leader in discovery and supporting creator-led content, so partnering with them gives us the platform to ensure our stories are seen and shared across the globe.”

Ballooning microdrama viewership has attracted sizable investments, with everyone from Google to Crocs to Dhar Mann buying in. Now, the presence of a highly-regarded Hollywood force brings additional legitimacy to the format, and the Screen Time cast — which includes actors from shows like Rap Sh!t and Shrinking — is filled with impressive pedigrees. If you’re curious to go through the characters’ phones, keep your eyes trained on TikTok and PineDrama.

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The latest product backed by Night‘s venture studio emerged out of a partnership between the creator management firm and the fifth most-followed Instagram star in the world. Kylie Jenner has tapped into the world of creator products to launch k2o, a hydration powder filled with beauty-boosting ingredients.

Jenner is already one of the world’s richest Gen Z entrepreneurs, and k2o will extend her business interests by building off of her vodka soda brand Sprinter. By packing in ingredients like hyaluronic acid and collagen peptides, k2o adds skincare elements to its electrolyte base. The result is a product that’s tailor-made for Gen Z festival attendees and other go-getters.

This is hardly Jenner’s first product launch (her Kylie Cosmetics line has achieved a $1.2 billion valuation in the past), but her alliance with Night adds an intriguing wrinkle to k2o’s genesis. Night CEO and Founder Reed Duchscher told Tubefilter that the hydration line came to be after a mutual friend introduced him to Kylie and her mother Kris Jenner. He described the younger Jenner daughter as “one of the biggest creators and a generational entrepreneur.”

“The star power and aura around them is unmatched,” Duchscher said. “It felt very natural that she should have something in the health and wellness space.”

Night’s resume in the world of creator products has ranged from MrBeast’s Feastables to AMP’s skincare line Tone. Those experiences have helped the agency understand how creators can leverage their personal brands and channels to drive sales. Jenner, who reaches nearly 400 million Instagram followers, already operates like a digital-native creator — and that makes her well-equipped to use social media to promote k2o.

To that end, the Sprinter brand has its own operating team, with CEO Jay Hunter arriving from a C-level position at the supplement company Mary Ruth’s. As Hunter applies his expertise to k2o, Night will play a supporting role, operating as what Duchscher calls “the most internet-obsessed company in the world.”

Night will continue to elevate its status through additional product launches. Duchscher told Tubefilter that several upcoming lines will add to the firm’s presence in the health, wellness, and beauty sectors.

Those endeavors will take advantage of the increasing closeness between Night’s roster of social media talent and traditional celebrities. “It’s a byproduct of the creator system not only continuing to grow, but the biggest stars continuing to have more intersections with traditional talent,” Duchscher said.

At launch, k2o is available through the Sprinter website.

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Indie animation is flourishing on YouTube.

From the pop culture juggernaut that is The Amazing Digital Circus, to star-studded Hazbin Hotel (which sold to Amazon Prime Video after gathering a fandom with a YouTube pilot), to smaller titles like Worthikids‘ Bigtop Burger and Luke Humphris‘ Space Station Weird, YouTube has become a prime location for animators and studios to self-distribute their projects.

And YouTube knows it: The platform’s latest Culture & Trends report centers on the rising tide of “Animation’s New Wave.”

“At a time when the traditional media landscape is dominated by preexisting IP, independent online animators are proving the exception, creating original characters and stories with engaged fan communities and showing what it takes to be successful in entertainment today,” YouTube wrote in the report.

Basically, while Disney is busy milking yet more mediocre Marvel and Star Wars sequels and spitting on the legacies of its most beloved animated films, original animators are making megafandoms by uploading their fresh IPs to YouTube.

The report’s leading stat: 63% of 14- to 24-year-old animation fans watch original animated series created for YouTube at least once a week.

A big theme of this report is reach. Using data from “people who are active online, age 14-49,” YouTube found that indie animations on YouTube have significant international appeal, often see engagement from fans outside of official installments, and have long tails where they continue generating views months after episodes are uploaded.

For an example of all three types of reach, YouTube cited Alien Stage, an original musical series from Korean YouTuber/illustrator VIVINOS in collaboration with co-director/animator Qmeng. The show is set post-alien takeover, and follows singers who must compete live onstage, with the loser facing immediate execution.

YouTube said that from Jan-Sept. 2025, videos with “Alien Stage” in the title brought over 330 million views, 90% of which were from outside Korea. Not too surprising, considering 50% of animation fans it surveyed said they watch animation series in languages other than their own.

“Even a few years ago, it would have felt novel to see videos from an animated Korean show appearing on YouTube’s top trending video lists around the world, from the U.S. and Mexico to France and Japan,” YouTube wrote. “Yet that’s exactly what the ‘Final‘ episode of the series ‘Alien Stage,’ a YouTube-first show, achieved in 2025.”

F I N A L alone brought 40 million views. But YouTube points out it wasn’t just official episodes of Alien Stage–or official episodes of other original animated series–that get fans’ attention.

Shows like Digital Circus and Hazbin Hotel have inspired thousands of YouTube-posted fanworks–everything from meme compilations to music videos to full-blown fan episodes, drawn, animated, and even voiced in the canon’s style. These all help drive the shows’ overall traffic–and savvy animators/studios embrace that.

“In some cases, this means purposely producing content that fans can turn into remixes and memes,” YouTube wrote. “For example, the first episode of The Amazing Digital Circus features a scene where the main character, Pomni, opens a series of doors leading into rooms. Glitch posted that still frame online but changed the room to a green screen, anticipating that fans would turn it into a meme. They did just that, helping to organically spread awareness of the show from the start.”

Glitch also carried that forward into its next production, Knights of Guinevere. In the first three days after the pilot’s release, “there were already more than 1.4K [videos] with ‘Knights of Guinevere’ or ‘knightsofguinevere’ in the title, featuring fan reactions and animatics,” YouTube said. (The pilot has 18 million views to date.)

Another reason for indie animators’ success is their willingness to source talent from YouTube, the platform said, citing EPIC: The Musical as a case study. EPIC is a Broadway-ready retelling of The Odyssey from composer Jorge Rivera-Herrans.

When Rivera-Herrans, who isn’t an artist, began posting drafts of his songs on YouTube, fans responded with animations. In the first six months of 2025, more than 4,000 fan-created videos were uploaded about EPIC, including hundreds of animatics from skilled artists.

“Noticing fans were imagining scenes and characters and turning them into animatics, Rivera-Herrans recognized these creations by uploading reaction videos to the animatics on his own channel,” YouTube wrote. “Rivera-Herrans then sourced artists directly from the active fan community, commissioning them to create official animatics for the series.”

That collaboration paid off: YouTube says the live premiere party for the full musical’s first run-through became Rivera-Herrans’ most-viewed long-form video. It has ~4.4 million views to date.

Building a fanbase on YouTube has a more direct financial upside, too.

We just covered how Luke Humpris raised $450,000+ on Kickstarter to release a TTRPG based on his original YouTube animations. YouTube cites further examples of original animated series raising big bucks from backing fans, like Dungeon Flippers raising $178K and Far-Fetched raising $57K.

Ultimately, “The creativity demonstrated by independent animators is not just transforming the entertainment ecosystem on YouTube–it’s already changing the broader industry, which is rushing to license shows and work directly with creators,” YouTube wrote. “These creators are building a blueprint for breaking through, one that shows how their processes and methods can be adopted and implemented by others to see success.”

One closing note: On the back of Iron Lung‘s success and ahead of Kane Parsons‘ A24 backrooms film premiering, legacy entertainment has attentive eyeballs on how creators are going to continue crossing into spaces once limited to Hollywood.

They might want to look to Digital Circus. Listings for a feature called “The Last Act” have popped up on Regal and Cinemark‘s websites, leading fans to suspect Glitch plans to release the show’s ninth and final episode on the big screen this June.

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In January, TikTok star Khaby Lame announced a partnership that would test the viability of his personal brand on the stock market. Three months later, that deal is looking like a dud.

Lame sold a stake in his company, Step Distinctive Limited, to a financial printing company called Rich Sparkle Holdings. The Hong Kong-based firm had big plans for its partnership with TikTok’s most-followed creator: There was talk of brand endorsements, TikTok Shop activations, and even an AI version of Lame’s likeness. The size of the $975 million, all-stock deal suggested that the creator economy had grown big enough for individual stars to accrue massive valuations.

It only took a few days before skepticism started to swirl around the deal. Financial experts raised red flags regarding the volatility of Rich Sparkle’s stock price, and things have only gotten more dubious since then.

According to Business Insider, Rich Sparkle stock has declined by 90% since January. There have been no formal filings to indicate that the deal is officially done, and Rich Sparkle has not responded to Business Insider‘s requests for comment.

In response to that uncertainty, brokeragess like E-Trade, Merrill Lynch, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Vanguard, and Interactive Brokers have either blocked trading on the stock or placed restrictions on it. “Brokers feel they are doing their customers (as well as their back offices) a favor by not letting customers buy [the stock],” Georgetown University finance professor and FINRA Program Director  James Angel told Business Insider.

Lame’s reaction to all of this mess has been the equivalent of one of his famous shrugs. He has not offered a public comment on the stock’s downturn, nor has he confirmed whether his company has received the 75 million Rich Sparkle shares it was meant to obtain via the deal. He removed the financial firm’s stock ticker from his Instagram and TikTok bios.

The ongoing saga is the latest cautionary tale related to creator forays into global stock markets. FaZe Clan’s IPO was so disastrous that the gamer network is now a shell of its former self. As for “Baby Shark” owner Pinkfong, the South Korean media company has seen its stock price cut in half since last year’s IPO.

Even if the Rich Sparkle deal proves financially calamitous, Lame’s career is far from over. He still has more followers than any other TikToker, and he recently landed a gig as an ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. Unfortunately, he may have also learned a painful truth other creators have discovered in the past. When you make a lot of money online, third parties will want a piece of the action, and not all of them have their partners’ financial futures in mind.

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Viewers who spend time in YouTube’s Minecraft community have become familiar with the saying “Technoblade never dies.” That phrase pays tribute to a beloved denizen of the blocky game world, who passed away in 2022 due to cancer.

Four years after his passing, Technoblade’s impact can still be felt across the internet. The gamer (whose real name was Alex) has posthumously become one of the most-watched creators on YouTube, and his death has helped sarcoma researchers raise millions of dollars.

Those data points show that there’s still a lot of adoration out there for Minecraft‘s most famous pig. To meet the ongoing demand for more content, Alex’s father is taking “Technoblade never dies” literally. The man known as Technodad has launched a new channel called Team Technoblade, which he will use “as a way of keeping my boy’s memory alive.”

In an introductory video on the Team Technoblade channel, Technodad noted that his son’s fans were split about the future of the departed creator’s channel. Some wanted to keep the hub as a “mostly untouched historical record,” while others were hungry for new uploads that championed Technoblade’s positive spirit and cheerful personality.

Either way, Technodad claimed that the current output on that channel was “not enough.” By expanding the Technoblade network, the man who announced his son’s death to the world intends to honor Alex’s legacy.

“We want to use these channels to bring it all closer together,” Technodad said. “We have new plans to create content that will showcase Alex’s achievements, create memes, highlight creators who keep his memory going, and uplift the artists who continue to produce amazing drawings and artwork of Alex to this day. It will also be a great place to spread the word about events, especially ones that everyone can participate in.”

Technodad himself will be central to that effort. On his personal channel, he has teamed up with some of his son’s friends, including TommyInnit, to play Minecraft and other games. Now, he’s diving headfirst into the world of content creation.

How’s that career path going for him? Well, as soon as he launched Team Technoblade, YouTube’s automated systems banned it, believing it to be a “bot account.” Welcome to the creator world, Technodad. It’s not always as simple as it may seem from the outside.

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The most iconic stars in the YouTube universe have now been active on the platform for decades, and a new web series celebrates the accomplishments of some of those luminaries. On YouTube’s official channel, viewers can check out Channeling, which kicks off with a profile of Chilean creator Germán Garmendia.

Garmendia was one of the first creators from Latin America to achieve international recognition on YouTube and is now one of the only people in the world who has two channels with at least 40 million subscribers apiece. Across his HolaSoyGermán and JuegaGermán hubs, Garmendia has collected more than 23 billion lifetime views since his YouTube journey began in 2011.

When so many people are hanging onto your every upload, it puts immense pressure on you to deliver as a creator. Garmendia’s response to that pressure is one of the central themes in Channeling. The series takes viewers inside the massive studio space Garmendia uses to shoot his new videos while also exploring his creative philosophy and his relationship with his fans.

“My audience has taught me to grow,” Garmendia said. “It’s like a friend who from time to time checks you. Like, I love you, but maybe it’s time to talk about this.”

Garmendia’s growth from a kid with a dream to a multiplatform superstar is a story many of YouTube’s top draws can tell. That’s what makes Channeling a compelling series. As creators pull out all the stops so that they can continue upping the ante for millions of fans, YouTube is eager to share their passion with viewers.

On a more analytical note, Channeling represents YouTube’s ongoing commitment to the formats that thrive on its platform. From Hot Ones to Last Meals, eclectic interview series are all the rage right now, which is why YouTube’s official channel hosts shows like Watch History and Unlisted. That hub even offers some hour-long focus mixes, in case the ones Lofi Girl provides aren’t enough for you.

YouTube has never been shy about feting its top creators, which is why it has handed out golden play buttons to channels with one million subscribers since 2012. An evolving platform, however, requires evolving forms of recognition. Channeling is a fresh look at some of YouTube’s most famous names, and it feels a little more personal than a giant slab of precious metal.

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Hey! Do you want to be told what to watch?

Great. Tubi has you covered.

The AVOD streamer now has its own integration within ChatGPT. That means users can now tell the chatbot about their viewership likes and dislikes, and it can card through Tubi’s catalog to offer recommendations that fit those preferences.

“Streaming should feel effortless, and as chatbots and AI agents are becoming a common way people navigate the internet, Tubi is expanding its discovery experience to meet viewers in the moment they’re expressing intent in their own words,” Mike Bidgoli, Tubi’s Chief of Product and Technology, said in a statement.

Tubi’s CEO Anjali Sud added more on LinkedIn, writing, “We’re excited to be experimenting with new ways to meet our fans where they are. AI app stores and recommendations are quite new, and there’s a lot to learn. But it’s a good bet that most of us will use AI agents to navigate the internet in the future. Tubi has always invested ahead of the curve when it comes to content discovery and personalization, and we’re leaning in to help shape this emerging interface in service of viewers.”

Tubi is not the only platform to have this recommendation chatbot idea. Over the last few months, X, YouTube, and Spotify have all introduced some form of chatbot/LLM interface where users can manually tweak their recommendation algorithms.

YouTube, for example, is testing “Your Custom Feed,” where users are prompted to type an explanation (however long/short they want) about the types of content they like to watch. YouTube’s system–probably running on Google’s ChatGPT equivalent Veo–will then serve up an entire new Home page with custom video pulls.

X’s feature is similar; meanwhile Spotify says its “Prompted Playlists” tool lets listeners “steer the algorithm” in a way that essentially allows them to build their own Discover Weeklys. We get it: Users can’t complain about their personalized playlists if they’re the ones who made them!

Tubi’s feature is slightly different from X, YouTube, and Spotify’s in that the ChatGPT integration isn’t actually on Tubi’s platform. Instead, it can be found within ChatGPT’s recently launched app store, joining other apps from companies like Apple Music, Zillow, Canva, and Spotify.

As CNET mentions, Tubi did try to roll out its own AI recommendation on its platform back in 2023, but ended up shutting it down. (That tool also ran on ChatGPT.)

The real question is, if we move into an ecosystem of purely customized recommendation algorithms, will it benefit everyone? Is that the closest platforms can come to pleasing all of their users? What about regulators concerned with algorithms’ “rabbit hole” effect? And what about creators, who rely on recommendation algorithms to help grow their audiences? Will they suddenly find themselves landlocked away from a large portion of potential new viewers?

Guess we’ll find out.

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Years after becoming a desirable revenue stream for creators, podcasts are continuing to flourish on Patreon. The monetization platform has announced that revenue generated by its podcast library reached $629 million in 2025. That sum represents a year-over-year increase of 33%.

Through Patreon, creators can host, distribute, and monetize their audiovisual shows. That setup has attracted an eclectic array of high-profile users, ranging from the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino to the hip-hop pundit Joe Budden to the creator duo Dan and Phil.

Those stars form the top end of Patreon’s annual podcast revenue tally. On his own, Budden rakes in $1 million per month from his patrons, making him one of Patreon’s highest earners.

At the same time, a long tail is adding to Patreon’s eye-popping numbers. The platform has talked for years about its ability to reach niche consumers in categories in gaming, and podcasts are one of the most useful vehicles for any creator who is looking to add to their bottom line. More than 47,000 podcasters now earn income from their patrons, and Patreon’s podcasting category counts 7.6 million paid memberships in all.

Patreon is hardly the only entity trying to partner with that growing class of independent podcasters. Newsletter hub beehiiv recently announced a move into the podcast distribution space, and it’s hoping to offer a screaming deal by charging partners a flat fee instead of taking a cut of their podcast revenue. Patreon typically takes 10% of the podcast earnings generated through its platform.

Corporate media is also challenging Patreon. Tech giants like OpenAI are buying out top podcasts, and deep-pocketed venture capital firms are getting in on the spending spree as well. George Soros‘ Soros Fund Management recently announced that it is investing in MeidasTouch, a left-leaning podcast network with a big presence on YouTube.

As the podcasting field gets more crowded, Patreon is honing its approach to make sure it still claims a significant piece of the pie. A Spotify integration, for example, has helped Patreon creators reach more listeners and convert them into paying customers. Patreon Chief Operating Officer Paige Fitzgerald told Variety that 15% of Spotify users who visit a creator’s Patreon page end up buying paid memberships.

Since its inception in 2013, Patreon has been laser-focused on supporting the needs of creators and working alongside them to reduce reliance on Big Tech platforms. Its plan to counteract Apple’s App Store fees, for example, positioned it as an ally of independent voices.

“Our business model aligns with creators,” Fitzgerald told Variety. “We only make money when creators make money. Every decision we make is about, ‘How we do enable our creators’ businesses to grow?'”

In 2025, that approach paid off in a big way. Patreon is an indispensable partner for thousands of podcasters, and everyone from film buffs to rap critics is tuning in.

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iShowSpeed has already been a game show host, a soccer pundit, and a pro wrestler. Now, he’s becoming an animated character.

The record-setting streamer (whose real name is Darren Watkins, Jr.) is set to star as the leading voice actor in a newly announced series from Brian Robbins‘ Big Shot Pictures. Showrunner Matt Owens, who is best known for helming the first two seasons of Netflix‘s live-action adaptation of the popular anime One Piece, will write the series.

Variety noted that plot details about the show haven’t yet been revealed, but Speed will lend his likeness to the animated protagonist and will also voice that character. “I’ve always loved anime, so being able to create something like this is a dream come true for me,” Speed said in a statement. “The team behind this project is incredibly talented, and I can’t wait for my fans around the world to see what we’re building together.”

As he prepares to embark on one of his most ambitious narrative projects to date, Speed is teaming up with an executive who knows a thing or two about creator-led entertainment. Robbins, the former Co-CEO of Paramount, also co-founded the pioneering digital network AwesomenessTV. With Big Shot, which he launched earlier this year, Robbins is looking to develop multi-platform animated and live-action franchises that will be centered around YouTube and its creator community.

Speed, who is still only 21 years old, is exactly the sort of youth culture icon Robbins is eager to build around. In a statement, the longtime TV, film, and digital exec called Speed “a one-of-a-kind creative force whose ability to connect with audiences transcends borders and platforms.”

As Robbins looks to further expand Speed’s already-immense influence, he is bringing in some Hollywood heavy-hitters. One of the producers for the upcoming series is Harmony Korine, a noted filmmaker who believes that Speed represents the next generation of entertainment. In a 2024 interview, Korine described Speed and his buddy Kai Cenat as the auteurs of the future. He called Speed “the next Tarkovsky,” a reference to the groundbreaking Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.

With the anime-style series, Robbins, Korine, and Owens will get a chance to show us just how much potential Speed possesses. If Big Shot’s big bet ends up paying off, the project’s stars will know exactly what they need to do to celebrate.

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