dear influencer 🚩🚩

Exploring the future of the creator economy

Oct 22, 2021

Hey Y’all. Did anyone catch the nominations for the Streamys that dropped this week? The creator-centric award show is already in its 11th year, recognizing contributions in online videos from the biggest names on the internet. MrBeast and Emma Chamberlain topped the nomination list, but newer names nabbed a few nods too, including Bella Poarch and FaZe Clan. Any guesses on who will take home the most Ws?

- Max Lowenthal

In Today’s Issue 💬

→ Breaking down how the Sidemen took over the App Store

→ Why Michelle Khare launched a paid fitness app

→ How Spotter is building a backlog of creator content

The Sidemen Top the App Store with Their New Membership App: Side+

Side+, the exclusive membership program from YouTube’s Sidemen, announced its new mobile app earlier this week. Known on YouTube for their comedy, skits, and gaming videos, the U.K. based creator collective has garnered over 13.5 million subscribers and 3.2 billion views on their main channel. Now, the group is offering fans exclusive benefits and access via their app, including behind-the-scenes footage, giveaways, and podcasts.

By The Numbers:

1: The top spot that Side+ landed in on Apple’s Entertainment App Charts, right above TikTok, Netflix, and Disney+
£6.99: The monthly membership cost to be a part of Side+ (that’s $10 for my fellow Americans.)
$100,000: The amount of money the Sidemen give to users each month as part of their exclusive membership competitions and giveaways

The app is only the latest in a growing lineup of business ventures from the Sidemen, including merch and a wider range of content - like Shorts and Reaction videos. The team even announced their own vodka earlier this week to celebrate the group's anniversary. Titled XIX Vodka, the alcohol is the second creator-led drink we’ve seen hit the mainstream this year after NELK launched their own line of hard seltzers back in June.

Our Take

Building a following on a major platform is like owning a home on rented land - even if you live lavishly, it’s still at someone else’s discretion. By charging a fee for entry, membership clubs allow creators to make content on their own terms, and connect more directly with their audiences and communities.

Michelle Khare Launched a Paid Fitness App

See you later, Strava. Earlier this week, wellness YouTuber Michelle Khare launched MKfit, a subscription app that includes guided workouts, exercise videos, and nutrition plans. The app allows fans to connect directly with Michelle via DMs and gives them access to an exclusive members-only Facebook group.

Michelle’s videos inspire her audiences to get active through physical challenges and she builds connections by creating more frequent opportunities for them to interact with one another. The app is a perfect extension of that value prop and allows audiences to take action.

Before growing her YouTube channel to over 2.4 million subscribers, Khare worked at Buzzfeed as a content creator. She left the company back in 2016 and has been focusing on building her own audience since, including working as a competition show host for both HBO Max and YouTube Originals.

Our Take

Fans can go from watching Michelle once a week to working out with her every day. It’s transformative and creates rituals, both of which lead to long-lasting connections with her audience.

Spotter is Paying Creators for Their Old Content

Earlier this week, creator start-up Spotter announced a $125 million partnership with BBTV to build a new way to finance creator businesses. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you uploaded a hit video to YouTube last year that’s still accruing views, Spotter will pay you a lump sum of money today in exchange for 100% of the revenue that the video generates over the next few years.

Since its launch in 2019, the company has already invested nearly $200 million in some of YouTube’s classics, including Dude Perfect and MrBeast.

Our Take

Content creators don't have the same access to financial support that more traditional small businesses do - but companies like Spotter are aiming to change that. Internet video is now becoming a new asset class that can appreciate over time.

How To Build Your Business As A Creator

Sell something other than your time, that’s how.

Creators are launching their own brands and selling products across all types of industries (and they’re succeeding too).

When it comes down to it, “creator” is just a flashy word for an internet entrepreneur. Instead of setting up shop on the corner, we carve out our own digital real estate and invite new people in with every upload.

That’s where Shopify comes in: Creators of all types and sizes use Shopify to build a direct connection to their audience and direct revenue stream via an online store. Shopify is the all-in-one commerce platform that lets anyone create, manage and scale an online store.

Start building your business on Shopify today.