Entertainment
Hi, and welcome to this week's Influencer Dashboard newsletter!
This is Amanda Perelli and I'll be briefing you on what's new in the business of influencers.
This week, I dove into the business behind controversial content on YouTube and spoke to talent manager Jordan Worona, the CEO and founder of the digital talent management firm We are Verified.
Worona told me that in 2017, shortly after the YouTube star Tana Mongeau, now 21, was arrested at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and charged with underage drinking, she sent him a picture of her mug shot, requesting he turn it into a shirt for her to sell to her followers.
Worona, her manager, said that at the time he thought it was a bad idea.
Mongeau told him he could either do it with her, or she'd do it with someone else, so he eventually agreed. The T-shirts earned $40,000 in two days, he said.
"The audience was not only watching the drama but buying the drama, wanting to be a part of it," he said. "Other managers, and most representation, don't want controversy, bad press, or anything negative. That's made me different."
But drama comes with a downside.
Despite their reach - Mongeau has 5 million subscribers and another Worona client, Trisha Paytas, has 4.9 million - his clients often have trouble making money from Google-placed ads and its Preferred program.
But Worona said what they lose in terms of brand safety, he believes they make up for in terms of authenticity. Read the full post on how Worona helps his clients like Mongeau earn money, here.
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How much money a YouTube video with 150 million views makes, according to a top creator
The YouTube creator Paul Kousky, who has 10 million subscribers, broke down for Business Insider how much he made from a video with 150 million views.
Kousky said the video, which was about a Nerf gun war, didn't go viral overnight, and instead attracted viewers about six months later from around the world.
The Streamy Award nominees are ...
Since 2009, The Streamy Awards have recognized creators in online video and this year the ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on December 13.
Check out my profiles of some of the creators who are nominated for awards this year:
Lizzy Capri has amassed over 4 million subscribers and over half a billion views less than two years after posting her first video online. She's nominated for breakout creator of the year.
Read more on Capri, who shares her story of quitting her day job at LinkedIn to become a creator.
Preston Arsement - commonly known as Preston or PrestonPlayz online - built a business on YouTube by turning his hobby into a full-time job and has hired a team, including his parents, to help him. He's nominated for gaming channel of the year.
Read the full post for a look inside Arsement's 24-person YouTube business.
The YouTube star Collins Key, who got his start on "America's Got Talent" in 2013 performing magic, now has a successful YouTube channel with his brother Devan, which has over 19 million subscribers. He is nominated for creator of the year.
Find out how Key used a data-driven strategy to gain 19 million subscribers.
YouTube video of the week!
Last week, YouTube released its year-in-review video "YouTube Rewind," as part of its annual tradition of highlighting the year's biggest trends and creators on the platform.
Last year's "Rewind 2018" video caused an uproar, with viewers disappointed with the style of the video and the events YouTube chose to highlight from that year. This year's video received a similar reaction, and currently has over 7 million dislikes, to 2.8 million likes.
For my YouTube video of the week, I chose this video made by YouTube creator JayLaw, titled "YouTube Rewind 2019 - The Legends Edition." The video was uploaded Dec. 4 and has 5.6 million views. Top YouTube stars like Casey Neistat have shared the video online, tagging YouTube and asking the company to hire JayLaw for next year's rewind.
Check it out:
Send tips or feedback to me at aperelli@businessinsider.com.
Here's what else we're reading:
- YouTube stars rarely break into mainstream entertainment despite being worshipped by millions of fans. Here's why they might be better off online: Lindsay Dodgson, from Insider, wrote about how there's a surprising lack of representation from the online community on mainstream entertainment platforms like TV and film.
- The WIRED Guide to Influencers: Paris Martineau, from Wired, published a guide to influencers, everything you need to know about engagement, power likes, sponcon, and trust.
- Jeffree Star is giving himself a $14.6 million mansion for Christmas after running out of space at his last luxury home: Amanda Krause, from Insider, covered Jeffree Star's new home, located in Hidden Hills, California, which includes everything from a movie theater to a two-story gym.
- In Three Weeks YouTubers Need to be COPPA Compliant - But They Have No Idea What that Means: Chris Stokel-Walker wrote about YouTube's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) for Medium, and spoke to creators on how the policy is affecting them.