Welcome to Created, the newsletter that’s sweeter than a bottle of Prime. Here’s what we got today:
- Ronaldo smashes YouTube record for 10M Subscribers
- My visit to The White House's 1st Creator Conference
- Interview with Ryan Kaji whose movie debuted in 2,100 theaters
Ronaldo Breaks YouTube Record for Fastest to 10M Subscribers
Yesterday, Cristiano Ronaldo shattered YouTube’s record for fastest channel to hit 1 million subscribers. It took 89 minutes.
Then he broke another record: fastest channel to cross 10 million subscribers. That took less than 24 hours.
What’s really going on:
Ronaldo already makes $60M in sponsorships and tops Instagram with 636M followers.
So it was only a matter of time before the football star joined YouTube. But it was how he did it that was impressive.
This wasn’t a “content diversification” play. It was truly native to YouTube:
- Quantity: Ronaldo posted 19 videos…yes, in 1 day.
- Variety of Formats: He posted 7 shorts and 12 long-form.
- Channel Trailer: He teased what viewers can expect on YT versus his other platforms.
Okay now...the inside story:
I was at YouTube when we got Will Smith, The Rock, and other celebs to start channels.
And let me say this…anytime a huge name joins YouTube, it’s not an accident. It’s a carefully orchestrated moment that YouTube themselves made possible.
There’s so much hand-holding behind the scenes you never see.
These celebs didn’t magically join YouTube because they suddenly realized it was smart for their careers (though it was).
YouTube’s partnerships team helped set up their channels.
The marketing team helped them collab with creators and invited them to our summits.
The PR team landed stories to amplify it.
Don’t be surprised if the same happened with Ronaldo.
Especially now that YouTube has a bigger interest in live sports and more athletes are starting YouTube channels during their careers, not after.
Inside The White House's 1st Creator Conference
Last week, I attended The White House’s first-ever Creator Economy Conference. Here’s an inside look at what happened.
The Numbers:
- 100+ Attendees: The conference gathered over 100 top creators, policymakers, and industry experts.
- 3 Main Issues: There were panels and breakouts on how AI, fair pay, and mental health impact creators.
- 30 Min Speech: President Biden planned to speak for 5 minutes but stayed with us for over 30.
Quote: “The fact is that you are the future. To my grandchildren, who range in age from 30 down to 14, it’s — you are the source of their news,” said President Biden.
My Take:
Regardless of who you’re voting for, this was a huge moment for creators.
In 2014, I worked on a YouTube event where we invited three creators to interview President Obama.
10 years later, we now have over 100 creators in room with the President.
It’s progress but we still need to 2 things for real change to happen (which I mentioned to the WH staff):
- Involve creators regularly, not just annually at an event.
- Treat creators as small business owners, not just press.
We take on a lot of risk when building our teams. Yet we don’t always get tax breaks and benefits to reflect that.
In fact, Steph Patrick, who co-founded Theorist Media with MatPat, has been lobbying on behalf of creators. More of that please.
Ryan's World Debuts in 2,100 Theaters
12-year-old YouTube star Ryan Kaji just debuted his movie in over 2,100 theaters. I interviewed Kaji and his family to dive deeper.
Backstory:
- 2015: Kaji posted toy reviews on YouTube at just 3 years old.
- 2016: Kaji’s parents Shion and Loann quit their jobs to go all-in on YouTube. They now employ 30 people to produce 20 videos a week on Ryan’s 8 channels.
- 2018: Ryan debuted his first products in Walmart which sold $1 billion.
- 2019: Targeted ads for children were banned so their AdSense plummeted by 70%. But Ryan's World continued to diversify.
Today, Ryan’s World has 37M subscribers with toys, books, and now a movie.
Quote: “We put a big bet on this movie because the distributors didn’t believe in it at first. But, after showing them our cut, they got super excited about it and were very supportive,” said Shion Kaji.
Our Take:
Kaji’s leap to the big screen shows how digital-first creators can break into traditional media.
In the coming weeks, we’ll see if Ryan’s World: The Movie lives up to the hype and sets new expectations for digital creators in Hollywood.
As Loann, Ryan’s mother said, “If this does succeed, it opens the door for a lot of creators.” Watch full interview here.
🎯 Weekly Roundup: Thumbnails
Here’s why we love these YT thumbnails. Hopefully, they inspire your next one.
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- Red button and intense expressions promises high stakes (Michelle Khare)
- Stark contrast between white eyes and a black void (Modern Ideas)
- Strange boomerang sparks curiosity about its deadly potential (Mike Shake)
- Intrigue for 15 year process that usually takes 15 minutes (Boxlapse)
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