Our Inescapable Anime Future

The future of creators and media: Anime and the end of advertising - and the Lighthouse gets real. Plus read to the end for a study that you really SHOULDN’T read.

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THE RISE OF ANIME AND VTUBERS

a16z just published a love letter to anime, calling it “the future of creation and play”. The mega investment firm predicts a huge jump from the current $50B market size, opening a massive opportunity for the creator economy.? Expect VTubers, fan fiction, UGC games and experiences to grow – presumably with investment from a16z and other firms.? They also see a rise in AI companions – imagine a Pokémon on your shoulder, for example - and much more.

• Related: Turns out I’m not alone – new report details the “Kidult” phenomenon.? You read it, I’ll be playing the latest Zelda game Echoes of Wisdom.
• Related: Crunchyroll turns its sights on India.

THE END OF AD-SUPPORTED MEDIA

Speaking of VCs, Lightspeed VC Michael Mignano peers into the crystal ball and explains how AI will bring about The Death of Advertising, and what the content and creator landscape will look like in this post-ad world.? Premium and exclusive will fare better than most, as commoditized content fades away.? Even more reason for creators to build owned experiences, communities and channels.

• Related: YouTube creator liaison Rene Ritchie mourns the passing of iMore, a site he ran for nearly 12 years.

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WELCOME THIS IS THE LIGHTHOUSE

Creating can be a lonely business.? We’ve seen a rise in creator communities globally, some organic, some planned.? Now, finally, there’s a custom premium place for creators to work, connect with others, produce and play.? Whalar (full disclosure, they sponsor this newsletter) has taken a huge swing and is poised to open their SoHo House-style club in LA and NYC, called The LightHouse.? At north of $5k a year for a membership it’s not cheap.? But the value for creators - compared to a faceless co-working space -- is so much higher. ? I wish there was one near me.

• Related:? We’re building a creator community in the San Francisco bay area – doing a meetup in mid-October - DM or email me if you want to be part of it.??

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BRU GIVES WAY TO ME AND YOU

Meta’s big Connect conference happened last week – here are the key announcements you need to know about.? First up, yet another AI editing announcement, this time for photos – fix backgrounds and add or remove elements. Photos <> Trust.? And like YouTube, Meta announced language dubbing for video which will include lip-dubbing too. I doubt they will truly be able to maintain emotional and visual fidelity as they convert voices and change facial expressions.? Finally Meta announced updates to their AI chatbots – but this time for real people not fake celebs, adding in voice and video as well as text chat.? But they won’t be available until 2025.

• Related:? Zuckerberg rolls out AR glasses using mini projectors at Meta’s Connect conference too.? Lots of tech folks loved it. I’d love to get excited about it too, but like Snap, these probably won’t be widely available until 2030.? Five years is a lifetime when it comes to tech and by then everything will be different.

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JIM UPDATE!

I’ve been working (mostly in stealth), helping to build an amazing creator event in Dubai.? The “One Billion Followers Summit” happens January 11-13, and it’s going to be a crazy, fun, insightful and super valuable event for everyone in the industry.? I’m programming the “Economy” track (think VidCon’s Industry Track), and there’s also a creator Tech track and a Content track too!?

Why am I doing this?? There's a through-line from Gutenberg to the One Billion Followers Summit. When anyone in the world can reach a billion people - without permission from institutional gatekeepers - the world becomes a better place.? The creator economy is transforming media, marketing, entertainment and relationships globally – if you’re reading this newsletter, you know.? It can be a bit messy - but if you want to truly understand what's happening and build your part in it, you need to be in Dubai in January.? I can't wait to?see?you?there – along with 15,000 of my new besties.? All access tickets right now are only $200!

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SPONSOR MESSAGE:? The era of B2B influencer marketing is well and truly here.? Rahul Titus, Global Head of Influence, Ogilvy, Neil Waller ?? , Co-CEO & Co-Founder of creator company Whalar Group, and Jasmine Enberg , Principal Analyst at EMARKETER chatted about the future of the B2B Creator Economy at Cannes and how Creators are flourishing in the B2B landscape on?LinkedIn’s for Marketing blog here:? https://www.dhirubhai.net/business/marketing/blog/marketing-collective/why-b2b-brands-are-embracing-influencer-marketing.??

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QUIBIS: ???

YOUTUBE

• Prices are going up for YouTube Premium around the world. Will that translate into more money for creators?
• More and longer unskippable ads come to YouTube on TVs.? Again, will this translate into increased creator payout?

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TIKTOK

• TikTok gets into search ads, in a direct frontal assault on Google’s monopoly.
• Some non-live creators can now take advantage of subscriptions too.
• TikTok Music was a dumb idea.? And now it’s gone.
• Check out my new TikTok-related website I just launched last week and let me know what you think.
• Related: New app Connyct targets college kids, aims to be a TikTok replacement if a ban goes through.

PINTEREST

• Virtual Pinterest Presents happens Oct. 1.? It’s free!
• Pinterest also updated collages – a GenZ favorite – with new remixing and sharing features.
• Pinterest CEO Bill Ready calls for congress to enact a Digital ID standard using mobile phone data to protect kids and teens from toxic social networks.
• Related: FTC Planning a virtual workshop in February exploring addictive features that hook kids on digital platforms.

BEAST WATCH

• New revelations from contractors at controversial Beast Games Las Vegas describe a disorganized mess with OSHA violations, exploding porta-pottys and medical mishaps.
• Lawyer Franklin Graves thinks the latest lawsuit might have misguided, according to another analysis from Complex.?

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OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Check out this great new resource for creators – it’s a round-up of creator tools, tech, gear and more – and creators are being invited in to build and publish their own stack.? Super interesting!??
• Twitch launches new integrated advertising partnership with parent company Amazon – the first big piece is The Glitch, a Fortnite world co-sponsored by Twitch, Peloton and Dominos.? Big props to Bill Young from Twitch for driving this forward.
• There’s another Glitch making news too - Netflix picks up The Amazing Digital Circus, an incredible animated YouTube series from Ozzie animation studio Glitch.? New episodes will be available both places (for now).? Jo Redfern ?? FutureTech explains why Netflix opted to waive exclusivity.
• Love seeing Airrack giving his manager Zack Honarvar advice on how to make better LinkedIn videos.? Looking forward to hearing more in Dubai in January too!
• Spotify launches new conversion metrics to help creators turn more looky-loos into listeners.?
• Congrats to old friend Sean Atkins for being named President of Dhar Mann Studios.?
• California enacts new financial protection laws to protect kidfluencers.
• Community Voice badges are thankfully dead – it was a dumb idea and led to the devaluing of LinkedIn badges across the platform.? Maybe collaborative articles will be next?
• Related: If you are on LinkedIn and DON’T want them using your posts to train Microsoft’s AI, then now’s the time to opt out.? And let’s face it – it should have been OPT-IN not OPT-OUT.
• You probably don’t want to move to Neom with hopes of becoming a popular TikToker.
• The kids content industry reacts to the Roblox juggernaut.
• Related: Discord also has a major case of Roblox-envy.
• Hank Green launches a book on Kickstarter, sort of an experiential coloring-book for the mind.? Hits 770% of its goal as of Saturday.? Go Hank!
• Problems in NIL land as bad actors at schools and in management ruin athletes with unfulfilled promises.

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CREATOR TECH – AI, WEB3, VR, MORE

• MK3HD releases a new phone wallpaper app.? The world yawns.
• Rode releases a video version of its popular RODECaster audio console.? It’s a departure from the knob and slider heavy audio product and only includes two XLR inputs.? But I still can’t wait to try it!?
• Interesting analysis of the Google monopoly hearings around search/online ads.? Looks like the feds may impose big changes here.
• Sam Altman launched a new blog all about the upcoming “Intelligence Age”.? Key quote: “Deep learning works, and we will solve the remaining problems.” ?
• FTC goes after five companies for deceptive AI practices – including a fake testimonial and review generator and “the world’s first robot lawyer”.
• AI video company Runway launches the “Hundred Film Fund” – with plans to grant between $5k and $1M to 100 projects, along with usage credits. Features, shorts, docs, experimental projects and music videos of all lengths are included.? Unclear why they call it “film”, as its unlikely silver halide will be involved.? Apply here.

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RESEARCH

• Marcomm/PR agency Edelman analyzed hundreds of AI tools to find the right ones for comms and marketing professionals.? Their detailed report delivers good insight for creators too.??
• The Rebooting newsletter talked with 96 news publishers for their latest “State of Sustainable News” report.? Although challenges abound, most publishers are optimistic.
• Interesting report on why consumers pirate content globally – particularly relevant for creators launching paid services and gated communities.
• Please don’t read this survey.? Two affiliate marketing agencies talked to some creators (no idea how many, probably their clients), and found out some stuff about them.? But without any idea of who, where and how many, the results are not projectable beyond the creators surveyed.? Why? It’s hardly representative of all creators when only 6% are 25 and under, a third have blogs, and 83% post on Instagram but only 28% on YouTube.? Axel Springer and Tubefilter should be ashamed.

HEADING BACK TO ST. IVE

Last week I talked about all the different creator monetization schemes across video platforms (kits, cats, sacks wives), asking for someone to collate them together.? My friend Adi Sideman asked ChatGPT and this is what he sent me.? I don’t trust ChatGPT, but I do trust all of you. Give it a look and feel free to edit it here!

100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).

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I've built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies - including Discovery and Paramount. Subscribe here on LinkedIn to get this newsletter every Monday.

Let me know what you think – email me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading and see you around the internet.