The biggest influencer collaboration ever

Over 600 influencers convinced their community to donate. It was this collective endeavor to join #teamtrees to plant 20 million trees.

Mr. Beast had invited other YouTubers to join his project on YouTube. He describes the fundraising campaign as “the biggest collaboration that ever existed on YouTube”. Other macro-influencers, like Marshmello with over 40 million followers, accepted his invitation and participated in the project. Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer involved in the planning of the project, brought over 8.5 million followers on board. Also, Ninja, Smarter Every Day, Marques Brownlee, The Slow Mo Guys, Jacksepticeeye and many more have harmoniously supported the campaign and helped make #teamtrees popular.

Influence for sustainability

This project is a great way to showcase that content creators are increasingly aware of their influence in society and how they actively use it for a better future.

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Crowdsourcing explained:

How does Vlogfund work?

Why do YouTube collaborations matter?

The goal of Vlogfund:

The Community:

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YouTube creators – also known as influencers or vloggers – are the new video superstars. They are content creators at heart and are constantly looking for new ideas to create better content. One way for YouTubers to create truly amazing content is through collaboration with other YouTubers. Collaborations have many benefits for creators such as increased exposure through cross-over appearance, exchanging knowledge and ideas and in the end more subscribers and views.

What is a YouTube Collaboration?

 A YouTube collaboration, or “collab” as they are commonly known, is when one or more creators work together to create content. Here are a few examples:

Guest Appearances: When one creator joins another creator’s YouTube video in person to be interviewed or to discuss a topic that they have in common.  Here’s an example where James Charles has Jeffree Star as a guest.

Collab Video:  Both creators work together to create, edit, and share the video. In this example, Dope or Nope and Markiplier do a Disney Song challenge together.

Remote Guest Interviews: When the creators can’t get together in person, they may do an interview online. In this case, you’ll see each of the creator’s separate screens. For example, the YouTube personality, Shane, interviews various other YouTube creators in this video.

Exchange Mentions: The easiest method of collaboration, exchanging mentions consists of one creator giving another creator a shout out in their video. In this video, Logan Paul calls out PewDiePie and links to his channel.

How do Collabs help YouTubers Grow?

 YouTube collabs can be an extremely effective way to bring more exposure to each of the influencer’s YouTube channels. It allows each creator to connect and gain visibility with the other creator’s audience. Increased visibility results in more subscribers, increased views, and longer watch times.

YouTube creator’s fans often go crazy when they post new collabs. Viewers love the community aspect of YouTube and find it very exciting when their favorite vlogger gets together with another one of their favorite bloggers. More often than not, collaborations are the most-watched videos on a creator’s channel!

What Makes a Collab Successful?

1. For a collab to be successful, it’s essential that both influencers are in the same niche or have similar audiences. Otherwise, one of the influencer’s viewers might not relate to the guest’s content, and the video will not be a hit.
2. Both vloggers should already have loyal subscriber bases and quality content that they regularly share on their channels. If not, there is nothing to gain by collaborating.
3. Consistency is key. Each of the YouTube creators should consistently share content with their community and should also be consistent in collaborating with different influencers. The most successful creators work with others at least once a month.

As YouTube is one of the most popular ways for influencers to connect with their loyal fans, collaborations between creators is a trend we don’t see going away anytime soon. With authentic and compatible fan bases, quality content and consistency, creators are sure to see more views and exceptional subscriber growth to their channels as a result of collaboration.

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1.) Shane Dawson x Jake Paul

Shane Dawson caught the attention of many when he decided to start the series, “The Mind of Jake Paul.” He, as well as the rest of the YouTube world, began questioning whether Jake Paul was a sociopath or not. Dawson and his crew interviewed Jake and others in his life, which made for a very interesting series. Some of the people who were interviewed include his ex-girlfriend, current girlfriend (at the time), and Nick Crompton. Grab your popcorn because you will be here for a few hours, but it is worth it!

2.) Shane Dawson x Grav3YardGirl

In this collaboration, we learn about Bunny, also known as Grav3yardgirl, and her life behind the scenes of her videos. Shane spends time learning about Bunny, touring her house, and asking questions about her feelings toward YouTube and her personal life. As you will see in the videos, Bunny is skeptical about her house being shown because she does not want to be judged by the audience. We learn about the hardships of being a successful YouTuber. The grass is not always greener on the other side! See for yourself, below.

3.) Shane Dawson x Jeffree Star

The Secret World of Jeffree Star is a series that Shane created to understand Jeffree and see what life is like for him. We learn about Jeffree’s personal life and some of the awful things that he endured in his life when he was younger. You can even see a tour of his original apartment that he lived in before his entire life changed. If you have any interest in Jeffree Star, you may enjoy watching this series.

4.) Shane Dawson x Tana Mongeau

If you want to see craziness, this is where it is at! Tana has obviously been very involved in drama when it comes to the YouTube world. In this video series, you will see Tana’s side of things when it comes to the drama at “Tanacon.” Obviously, Tanacon was a complete fail, and Tana has a chance to explain herself in these videos. She gains Shane’s sympathy in this series. Let’s see if she gains yours!

5.) Shane Dawson x Safiya Nygaard

Safiya Nygaard has a lot of fun videos on her channel! She is very creative and worth watching! She is known for her time at Buzzfeed, but she left Buzzfeed and began focusing on her YouTube channel shortly after. You can travel over to her channel after watching this video of Shane and Safiya playing with food! These two are fun to watch, so putting them together should be fun, too!

Shane Dawson Collaborations created on Vlogfund:

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1.) The LaBrant Fam

This family is super kid-friendly, and it is great for the whole family as well! This is a vlog channel all about Savannah and Cole’s life as parents, and it also focuses on the lives of their two children, Everleigh and Posie. When you watch this channel, you will see the fun activities that these parents do with their children and the support that every member of the family has for one another!

2.) Andréa Matillano

If you are protective over your child who is into beauty and makeup, this is a great channel for them. Many children love playing with makeup and watching tutorials like their older siblings! Andréa has a small, but great channel for the whole family. She steers away from cursing or other inappropriate behavior on her channel. She is also very consistent with her uploads and has a lovely personality!

3.) RachhLovesLife

Rachel has a beautiful family who she always puts first. It is a wonderful sight to see when a busy mother puts her children and family first! She has a beauty channel, but this channel focuses on other video games, hacks, and cooking! This can be helpful for parents and useful for children! Rachel is a great person to watch for the whole family!

4.) Grav3yardgirl

Grav3yardgirl or “Bunny” has a family-friendly channel that consists of over eight million subscribers! Bunny is most popular for her “Does This Thing Really Work?” videos where she tests out interesting “as seen on TV” products. Like the others mentioned in this article, Bunny is also consistent with her videos and has a very energetic personality!

5.) Aspyn and Parker

Aspyn and Parker are a young, married couple with a successful channel of almost two million subscribers. At the moment, many of their videos are about their recent pregnancy announcement, which they are very excited about! They vlog often, and they have a wide range of videos about their daily lives. Check them out below!

6.) Emily Noel

Former news anchor, Emily Noel, has videos based around beauty and makeup. She recently hit a million subscribers, and she definitely deserves them! Emily has two children and occasionally uploads vlogs to her channel, as well. She has a beautiful personality, and those mamas out there do not have to worry about their children being around when they are watching Noel’s friendly videos!

7.) IISuperwomanII

Lily Singh is a very popular YouTuber with over fourteen million subscribers! Lily, also, steers away from cursing and inappropriate content. She is known for her funny personality and silly videos! Your kids are sure to enjoy this channel when they reach an age that they enjoy non-animated content!

8.) Miranda Sings

It is likely that you already know who Miranda Sings is! She is known for her ridiculously silly videos that kids absolutely love! While parents will probably be annoyed by her within 1.5 seconds, she is sure to keep your children entertained. Parents may find themselves laughing once in a while, though!

9.) Molly Burke

Molly Burke is an inspiration to many people of all ages. She is known for the trials that she has endured with a disability. She is blind and created videos about her struggles and victories. Molly Burke is definitely a fun girl to watch and great for the entire family! Burke has many interesting videos about her blindness and how she views the world from her perspective! Check her out below!

10.) Tati

Last, but certainly not least, is Tati Westbrook, also known as glamlifeguru! Tati is a beauty YouTuber, and she has another great channel for those mamas who enjoy watching YouTube but worry about the language that the videos may include. Check out Tati if you and your children love beauty and fashion!

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1) On the Roofs

Members of On The Roofs climb the worlds tallest buildings, bridges and industrial structures without any safety equipment. They film their climbs and take photographs from angles that no one has ever seen before. Viewers are shocked while watching On the Roofs death-defying content. Similar to DudePerfect, On The Roofs members are daredevils who find joy in climbing the tallest structures in the world. A few examples of the buildings they have climbed are the Shanghai Tower, Shenzhen Centre, Christ the Redeemer, and the Moscow Bridge.

2) How Ridiculous

How Ridiculous is another YouTube channel with similar content as DudePerfect. Their content mainly includes trick shots as well. Not only does How Ridiculous upload YouTube videos, but they have also set Guinness World Records. How Ridiculous is made up of three members Scott Gaunson, Derek Herron and Brett Stanford. They are motivated to pushing the boundaries in various situations to create special moments for the world to watch. This channel is unique compared to others due to its wide variety of content.

3) Storror

Another YouTube channel similar to DudePerfect is Storror. Seven parkour athletes make up The Storror YouTube channel. Storror travels all over the world to places like Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Mayan Pyramids and more. Not only does Storror create parkour related videos, they also upload humorous videos such as “Rooftop Monkey attack” and “Jump to boat attempt (DOUBLE FAIL.)Similar to DudePerfect, members of Storror are outgoing and comedic individuals who aim to make their fans laugh.

4) Brodie Smith 

Brodie Smith is another YouTuber similar to DudePerfect. Brodie’s content includes ultimate frisbee trick shots, competitions, tutorials, travel videos and more. Also, Brodie holds 2 Guinness World Records just like DudePerfect.  Additionally, he collaborates with professional athletes. His goal is to beat them at their own sport. DudePerfect and Brodie collaborate with each other. They compete in epic trick shot battles. Both DudePerfect and Brodie create interesting trick shot content for their fans to watch.

5) Nigahiga

Nigahiga is a comedic YouTuber known for his vlogs, acting, How to Series and more. Content on his channel includes podcasts, trick shots, challenges, music videos, rants and more. Nigahiga possesses an outgoing personality similar to members of DudePerfect. Additionally, he uploads trick shot videos which are entertaining to his fans. Nigahiga’s channel features a wide variety of different topics.  There is always something amusing to watch on his channel.

6) Carter Sharer

Carter Sharer is another entertaining channel with challenges, trick shots, vlogs, adventures and more. His channel is well known for its uniqueness of video types. An example is,  “scuba diving in Orbeez swimming pool.” Carter’s comedic personality makes his videos even more enjoyable. Similar to DudePerfect, Carter uploads unique content that other YouTubers have not covered before.

7) Team Edge

Team Edge’s channel consists entirely of competitions and challenges. Some examples of these challenges are sports, board games, escape rooms, food-based, trivia questions and more.  Their channel is filled with humor and amusing challenges guaranteed to make viewers laugh.

8) PDK

PDK is a YouTube channel filled with all things related to nerf guns. Even though PDK does not film “trick shots”, his videos are still action packed just like DudePerfect’s videos. PDK’s content includes Nerf First Person shooter series, Nerf Wars, information about different Nerf Guns and more. Many of PDK’s Nerf Wars are very realistic and in depth. This channel offers a variety of videos to watch about Nerf Guns

9) That’s Amazing

That’s Amazing consists of two brothers who love to make incredible trick shots. They are  similar to DudePerfect but are more kid orientated. For example, That’s Amazing uploaded a Stereotype video just like DudePerfect. Additionally, these two brothers upload a variety of different types of trick shots. Their channel content includes trick shots, dice stacking, collabs, water bottle flip trick shots, frisbee trick shots, and more.

10) Josh Horton

Josh Horton is another YouTuber who uploads amusing content similar to DudePerfect. He uploads trick shots, challenges, competitions and more. Also, he has “World Record Wednesdays” where himself or a guest will break or set a world record. He collaborates with other YouTubers as well such as “That’s Amazing.” Josh’s content is unique and entertaining to watch due to his outgoing and comedic personality.

The post If You Like DudePerfect, Then Check Out These 10 YouTubers! appeared first on Vlogfund.

“I don’t know if I’m watching a romantic film, a film about kidnapping and crazy people, or a parody, or a comedy.”

–ImAllexx

Logan Shocks Everyone

Logan Paul has just released a documentary about the flat earth conspiracy. Everyone has awaited this video, regardless if they like the creator or not. Logan Paul has been in many controversies and garnered a bad light throughout his YouTube career. But people love to hate people who are controversial and questionable. Which is why everyone’s interests were peaked when a video surfaced of Logan Paul at a Flat Earth Conference where he states that he is “coming out of the flat earth closet”. It’s accepted among many that Logan Paul isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but this was a whole new level.

https://youtu.be/D8Eom7WRt_g

iNabber and ImAllexx Perception

Later on, we found out that this was a part of a documentary Logan was working on. March 10th is when Logan released the trailer for the video. YouTube creators had fun analyzing the video and digging into their predictions. iNabber and ImAllexx collaborated to check out the trailer, becoming confused as to what exactly the documentary is and where Logan stands in the debate. They also pointed out how they believe Logan is trying to copy Shane Dawson’s conspiracy theory documentary which pulled in 36 million views.

H3H3 Podcast Thoughts

Ethan and Hila of H3H3 talked about the trailer as well. It’s clear Ethan has a little bias against the trailer as he hates everything and states “I hate him.”. Ethan watches the trailer, bit by bit, and nitpicks the small things, makes fun of everyone in the video. Even calling Logan Paul’s friend dumb looking and criticizing a girl for not wearing a bra. Unfortunately, Ethan does not make any predictions for the video and simply ends with, “Yeah, I’m not watching that.”.

The Trailer Content

The Intro

The trailer opens up to a shot of the curved earth and Logan’s voice “Conspiracy theories.”. There are audio clips of people’s conspiracy theory discussions over clips of Illuminati symbol and from other conspiracy videos. We see Logan’s Maverick bird logo which, I’m going to be honest, is pretty cool and my favorite part. We then have Logan asking a friend “I’m asking you as a friend, do you think the earth is flat?”. Insert dramatic clips of flat earthers.

The Kid

Then we have Logan sitting on a tiny kids chair with a paper that has a stick figure drawn on it, asking a child what shape the earth is. The child says it is flat and explains why he thinks that. Logan dramatically looks to the camera and we get a shot of some polar ice thing. Then a few shots of Logan and his friends going to a flat earth convention.

Conspiracy Convention

We then have a man I’m assuming is the head of this flat earth society, talking. “The truth will set you free.” More confused dramatic looks from Logan. We then have short clips of flat earthers Logan spoke with. My favorite being a man who says, “We don’t have toilet water flying out on people in Australia because of gravity.”. More dramatic shots over the voice of the assumed leader, “And people think we’re crazy?” and then a clip of a bunch of people saying “We’re not crazy!”.

The Romance

Then boom! Clips with a pretty fat earther girl. It’s also a live story, bet you didn’t expect that. Then clips of Logan supposedly getting heated and confused. Then a friend of his hits him with a shirt and yells, “You’re not becoming a flat earther!”. Then we have a dejected Logan saying, “Man, Robbie, I just don’t know what to believe anymore.” Throughout the video, especially at this point, the words, “The truth will set you free.” as said by said leader echos. We have dramatic shots and breaking things and then ending with that clip we saw a while ago with Logan saying that he’s “coming out of the flat earth closet.”

ay thx guy https://t.co/1JMCMd4A9Y

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) March 21, 2019

Watch the documentary here for yourself. It’s 50 minutes, good luck.

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1) The ACE Family

The ACE Family is made up by Austin McBroom, Catherine Paiz, and their two daughters. Austin and Catherine are both genuine and outgoing. The couple first became popular for their pranks that they play on each other. Their channel consists of pranks, challenges, giveaways, and vlogs. Similar to the Atwood Family, The ACE Family shares important events with their fans such as Catherine’s pregnancy. Similar to the Atwood’s, the ACE Family plays pranks on each other and uploads their reactions.

2) That YouTub3 Family

That YouTub3 Family consists of parents Katie and David with their 4 children. Similar to the Atwood’s, That YouTub3 Family focuses their channel content on their family. Katie and David hope to inspire other parents to spend more time with their children. Additionally, members of that YouTub3 Family often collaborate with other YouTubers. This channel features a unique variety of topics  such as “24 Hours Ignoring Kids Prank” and “Sardines Hide and Seek at Disneyland Paris.” Similarly to the Atwoods, That YouTub3 Family completes challenges and pulls pranks on each other.

3) Ballinger Family

Chris and Jessica Ballinger have been together since High School and have four children that they enjoy posting videos of.  The channel started after Chris was laid off from his job in 2014. He decided to take a risk and become a full-time family vlogger.  Their content is very similar to the Atwood family in the sense that each of the family members has a part that they contribute to the channel. The Ballinger Family collaborates with JoJo Siwa and Miranda Sings.

4) We are the Davises

We are the Davises is another family-oriented  YouTube channel. They created their channel in 2016 and have drastically grown since. The Davises upload videos based on real-life moments, challenges, adventures and more. Parents Shawn and Connie have two children named Kayla and Tyler. The Davises even have their own merchandise featuring phone cases, hoodies, and shirts.

5)  The LaBrant Fam

Cole and Savannah LaBrant run this YouTube channel known as Cole & Sav. Previously, Cole was a musicl.ly and vine star. Savannah was a fashion blogger and a Musical.ly star as well.  Their wedding video is the most watched video on their channel with over 33 million views. The LaBrants’s channel features adorable videos of their relationship, challenges, slime, pranks and more. Just like the Atwoods, the LaBrants share entertaining family moments guaranteed to make viewers laugh.

6)  Eh Bee Family

The Eh Bee family is another family who uploads their daily lives to YouTube.  Their uploads consist of vlogs, challenges, vacations, and more. For privacy, the two children of the family go by nicknames instead of their real names.  The Atwood family and the Eh Bee family are both very similar as they both have found success on Youtube through uploading family content. They also upload videos very similar to each other and make viewers laugh.

7) Family Fun Pack

Family Fun Pack consists of 2 parents, Matt and Kristine,  and 6 children who post hilarious videos. Not only is this channel filled with children, but it is also filled with fun and humor. Their channel first became popular when Kristine uploaded a video titled “Twins putting themselves to bed.” Channel content includes adventures, challenges, skits, cooking, competitions and more. Family Fun Pack aims to make their viewers laugh and is perfect for children or adults to watch.

8) Daily Bumps

Daily Bumps is another family vlogging Youtube channel similar to the Atwood’s.  With over 4.4 million subscribers, the Lanning family enjoys uploading funny videos, family trips, challenges, and videos on trending topics to their channel.  Their family consists of two parents, Missy, and Bryan with their two sons. Additionally, they enjoy animals and has a few pets including a bearded dragon. Similar to Roman Atwoods family, the bunch enjoys spending time outdoors, going on adventures, and surprising each other with gifts.

9) Sam and Nia

Sam and Nia are a couple who has two children and vlog their life to Youtube.  The family makes sure that their Christian faith is the core of everything they do, and they share that with their audience.  Similar to The Atwoods, Sam and Nia upload big moments for their family such as “Buying a New House,” or “Getting Braces on.” The videos are all family friendly and safe for kids to watch, but also enjoyable for adults so they are perfect for the whole family to watch.

10) SmellyBellyTV

SmellyBellyTV is another hilarious family vlog channel similar to the Atwood’s.  Their family consists of two parents and two children. The videos found on SmellyBellyTV are more comedy-driven than other family-oriented channels which makes them stand out.  Just like the Atwood Family, the videos found on this channel usually follow the mainstream YouTube trends, and some of the family members have characters that they play in the videos.

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Spontaneous cross-platform collaborations are now easier than ever before

Good news: this is just about to change! We talked to the founders of Mosaeek, a young startup which is about to change how YouTubers can collaborate with Instagrammers. Mosaeek is allowing content creators on Instagram to record spontaneous video-reactions directly on top of all YouTube videos that you share with your audience. Each comment will be time-tagged and visible on the timeline exactly on the second, where it was recorded.

Other creators or fans that want to engage with you can just spontaneously record video-comments at any point and become a direct part of your content. And the coolest thing: the interaction will take place directly inside your Instagram stories, where the engagement is higher and faster paced than on YouTube. The only thing you need to do in order to make your YouTube videos interactive is to paste the YT link into a Mosaeek video generator. The software will then generate a unique link with the interactive functionalities. You can either prepare an entire scenario with other content creators before sharing it publically or directly post the link into your stories via “swipe-up”.

“We observed that many YouTubers have many subscribers on YouTube, but far fewer followers on Instagram. It seems quite hard for YouTubers to share their main content on Instagram in order to attract the same reach as on YouTube. Mosaeek is basically building a content bridge between YouTube and Instagram – kind of like the best of both worlds: Vlogs, how-to’s and other iconic YouTube formats will collide with the super-engaged audiences and influencers on Instagram. A completely new social experience. And the best is that it’s super interactive with spontaneous and time-tagged spontaneous video-replies.”

Carlo Thissen, Co-Founder of Mosaeek

Mutual benefits on YouTube and on Instagram?

This opens whole new possibilities how creators can spontaneously react to each other’s content and get creative together. It was important for the founders that everyone benefits: As the interaction is happening essentially on YouTube Videos, the YouTuber benefits from a boost in average watch time due to the interactivity of the content. The collaborating influencers, who leave comments on other YouTube videos, can increase their reach to other audiences, increase their likelihood to be discovered and to grow their followers. Like that, influencers can create strong bonds by networking with similar content creators and grow together.
Small influencers with a strong bond with their audience might be most interested in the growth possibilities through collaboration and being close to their audiences.

It’s hot! Go get it!

Mosaeek is currently working together with several content creators who are experimenting with video-replies on top of their YouTube videos. The first results and feedback is very promising, so the three founders are confident that Mosaeek will be useful to so many more content creators out there.

Interested in giving Mosaeek a try? If you are a YouTuber or Instagrammer and want to start collaborating with other creators then head over to their website.

If you have someone in mind who should start using this on his or her Instagram right now, then share this link with your favorite content creator.

The post YouTubers Can Now Collaborate With Instagrammers Via Video-Replies appeared first on Vlogfund.

When MCN company, Defy Media went defunct in November of 2018, Ally Bank took possession of Defy’s funds. Defy’s funds rightfully belong to the creators that were signed under them. However, Ally will not give up the money so easily.

Background: Defy Media

Defy Media is one MCN (Multi-Channel Network) of many. An MCN can help a creator get brand deals, collaborations, and various opportunities. To learn more about that, check out my article on brand deals.

MCN’s Are Like Talent Agencies

Defy Media owned several big channels on YouTube. The rest were under contract with the company. But for all the deal was that YouTube would send the ad revenue checks to Defy, Defy would take their portion, then distribute the rest of the money to the creator. In this video, Matthew Patrick of Game and Film Theory, states that Defy didn’t do much to merit taking their cut. As an actress in LA myself, I see different talent agencies. Some agencies anyone can get into and there’s hardly any cap on how many people can join. Others are more exclusive and only take on a certain number of people who are good at what they do and ambitious. Agencies that take anyone don’t get great reviews because they just don’t have the time and employees to book everyone on their roster. MCNs and Defy are like the overcrowded agency. Anyone could get in essentially and you wouldn’t get much if anything in return.

The Payment Flaw

In the video, Mathew explains the importance of having your check sent to you instead of a service you use. He described it as if your boss sent out your check to the water company, electric company, and fast food places you go to, and any other service you plan to use. Then you get whatever is left of a tiny check. Defy used this to make themselves look bigger. $10s of thousands of checks come into them and they may keep about 10% (industry standard) may be a tad more. But all the money that shows up, looks like it belongs to the company on paper. But it doesn’t.

The Investors Got Screwed Too

Defy used the big numbers on their paperwork to impress investors. The investors didn’t know the money wasn’t Defy’s. So Defy tells the investors that if they invest together, everyone can make a big return and lots of cash. But that was a lie. Defy knew this wasn’t going to end well when the investors found out. The solution is to sell this gift-wrapped empty box topped with a bow, to any big company that will give them a lot of money. Several MCNs did this. But when Maker Studios sold to Disney for $675 million, Disney unwrapped that shiny gift-wrapped box to find… nothing. The money in the bank does not belong to the company and there are little but crumbs of profit.

“Every all-hands meeting was led off with the number of views we were doing — 10 billion views, 11 billion views, 12 billion views — that was the outward-facing success story. But the reason the views were growing was because the network kept growing and we were just adding more and more channels.”

–Former Maker Studios Employee

Why Would You Need An MCN?

Glad you asked. There are a few reasons an MCN can be beneficial if done properly and without corruption. An MCN done properly can help you get equipment, supplies, and employees to help your channel with your projects. They can help you get collaborations with other creators, and they can secure great opportunities for you online and in the film industry. I go over some of that in my article about brand deals that I linked at the top.

But there is another reason that is more pressing that Matthew Patrick brought up. MCN’s are required for copyright protection.

“If creators want to have copyright protection for their videos to prevent wrongful reuploads or false claims from movie studios, music labels, what have you; then you have to be a part of an MCN.”

MCN’s have the tools to protect your channel’s videos and protect you from false copyright claims when you don’t. We all know the mess everyone has been having with false copyright claims lately. YouTubers should be able to choose if they want to be in an MCN. But they should also be able to choose to protect their channel independently.

Last tweet about getting claimed, hope this gives more context. pic.twitter.com/cHJDCa75i0

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) February 11, 2019

The Downfall

Defy laid off 8% of employees in March of 2018.  Then on November 6th, they closed operations without warning. One day employees had a job and creators had an MCN and the next day, it was gone. The evening of that day Defy released a statement that said this:

“Regretfully, Defy Media has ceased operations today. We are extremely proud of what we accomplished here at Defy and in particular, want to thank all the employees who worked here. We deeply regret the impact that this has had on them today. These are some of the best people in the world in creating digital programming and building audiences around it. Without them, brands like Clevver, Smosh, and AweMe could not have built up over 75 million YouTube subscribers and 120mm social media followers. Unfortunately, market conditions got in the way of us completing our mission. Our main focus right now is to find homes for these great brands and people so that they can continue to thrill and delight their millions of viewers with as little interruption as possible.”

–Defy Media

The Heist

Defy Media took $1.7 million from 50 creators, Mathew Patrick states, which he claims is a lowball. Let’s not forget they also kept the money from investors, including $77 million from Wellington Management Company. They had enough money to impress several investors to give them more. Not to mention, they took a large loan from Ally Bank as well. The corporate employees of this company had an insane amount of money in their hands, and then closed doors. What they did with most of the money, who knows. Probably in some offshore bank for their enjoyment. But of what was left was taken control of by Ally bank.

Ally Bank

Mathew Patrick made a call for people to reach out to Ally Bank and have them return the money to the creators who rightfully own it. This is their response.

Ally made a loan to Defy Media that it was unable to pay back after experiencing excessive losses and the owners refused to continue to support the company. (1/2)

— Ally (@Ally) January 25, 2019

Defy is being liquidated by a professional hired by their Board of Directors, and Ally stands to lose most of its loan. We are sympathetic to everyone caught up in this mess, and unfortunately Ally is also experiencing a substantial loss as a result. (2/2)

— Ally (@Ally) January 25, 2019

Who Should Get the Leftovers?

Investors

Wellington Management is a company that manages the investments of many clients. It was through this company that Defy received $77 million. As high of a number that is, the funds available should not be returned. I assume Wellington Management knows this as well. There are many risks involved with investing money in a company. Wellington lists many on their site. If you know anything about investing, you’d know that there’s a chance you may get more money than you put in. There’s also a chance you won’t get anything back. Investing in a company is a gamble.

Ally Bank

Bank loans are a lot like investments. But these investments are a lot more careful, usually. If you, reader were to come up to me and ask to borrow $100, I would probably tell you to screw off. I don’t know you or how likely you are to pay me back. For all I know, you may have no job and do drugs in your mom’s basement. But if someone I knew well and trusted asked, I might be more willing to loan that money. If I know them and know that they pay back loans on time and that they have a source of income, I’ll lend to them.

How Banks Work

Banks make a lot of their money from interest on loans. I loan you $100, and you give me back $115. But banks have to be careful when loaning money. The money in the bank is not their money, it’s their customer’s. They are loaning out their customers money to make a return investment of that $15, or whatever the interest is. This makes it imperative that the bank make sure they are loaning to a person or business that will pay it back. Ally Bank was not careful this time. They should have seen that that money was coming into the company but leaving at the end of the month. Ally should have known that that money did not belong to Defy. Ally Bank loaned the money anyway, and they experienced a loss. But this is like an investment because they had the choice to reject the loan. They should not get the money.

YouTubers

Let me tell you why the money belongs to the YouTubers. Those checks that the creators received, were not from Defy Media, they were from YouTube. YouTube sent them to Defy, who took a portion and sent the rest to the creator. Say you just moved out of your mom’s basement and your checks from McDonald’s are still being sent to your parent’s place. You mom puts your check in an envelope with a lipstick kiss and mails it to you. Your mom didn’t pay you, McDonald’s did. Your mother can’t decide she wants to keep your check to get her nails done and never return the money. That’s not how this works. The YouTubers never invested in anything or loaned their money anywhere. For Ally Bank to keep it or send it somewhere else is theft.

Board of Directors

An Explanation

Ally Bank announced that its board of directors hired a man to prioritize Defy Media’s assets. This guy they hired gets to decide who gets the dough. There are two types of people on a company’s board of directors: People from inside the company such as the CEO and founder, and the other being people from outside the company who specialize in an area that could benefit the decision making of the business. Also in that category is people from companies that make large loans. If I was going to loan you $2k (a lot for me), I might ask to be kept in the loop to make sure you’re paying your student loans and not buying a video game. The same goes with a company who loans another a substantial amount. They may demand a spot on the board of directors to ensure the proper use of the loan and return. Now the board of directors can do whatever they want. They can even fire the CEO if they please.

It’s Just a Theory, a Business Theory

Mathew brought up a theory that I thought was interesting. Note that this is not confirmed as far as I am aware. He speculates that someone from Ally Bank may have taken at least one spot on the board of directors of Defy Media. This would make sense that Ally would have a seat and it would make sense they would prioritize themselves in this decision. What doesn’t make sense is why they would let things get to this point where they lose some of their money, if they did have a spot of the board.

We won’t know much more about the decision until May. I’ll keep you all updated when the decision is made.

UPDATE: Smosh Deal Closed

In an article, I mentioned that Good Mythical Morning may buy Smosh under Mythical Entertainment. To read about why what this means, check out Good Mythical Morning Buying Smosh?

Smosh uploaded this video confirming that Mythical Entertainment has gone through with purchasing Smosh from Defy. This is the best possible outcome for Smosh and the YouTube community. I’m excited about this and it looks like Smosh is too.

“Which we are so excited about because they are creators helping creators.”

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