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In June of last year during the height of Black Lives Matter protests and social unrest, global video-streaming platform YouTube announced its $100 million #BlackVoices Fund dedicated to amplifying Black perspectives. According to an announcement, the fund was used to “invest with an intention: to present fresh narratives that emphasize the intellectual power, authenticity, dignity and joy of Black voices, as well as to educate audiences about racial justice.” As part of this global fund, this week YouTube revealed its #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021, consisting of 132 Black creators and artists selected to receive grants to assist them in their creative endeavors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcVcqURHZRA&feature=youtu.be “We believe that Black stories matter. That is why we created the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund, a global, multi-year commitment to center and grow Black creators and artists on our platform, as well as to produce and acquire new YouTube Original programs,...
Since its initiation on Feb. 14, 2005, YouTube has taken the world by storm, providing a platform for content creators across the globe. Over the years, the site has served as the blueprint for sharing videos across the Internet for its competitors. Today, the company works to continue to hold the title as the No. 1 place to watch videos, and of course, it’s no secret that the platform dishes out big bucks for its content creators. The platform first began to pay for the content produced in 2007, just a few years shy of its initial launch. Now, Fortune reports that over the past three years, YouTube has dished out $30 billion to its creators. “Our responsibility as a global platform has created this place that works,” said Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer, in an interview. And, the company plans to remain true to its original concept with no intention of letting up any time soon.
YouTube is broadening the horizon for creators. According to The Los Angeles Times, the social media platform has announced plans to open its very own theater in the Hollywood Park complex located in Inglewood, CA. The YouTube Theater is a 6,000-seat arena located next to the SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park set to open in August 2021. The new installment solidifies its place in the live event space. Just outside of the theater, people can get a glimpse of exclusive content created by YouTube influencers thanks to a 13-foot-tall digital screen. Set to serve as its own attraction, the digital sign will not only include upcoming concert dates of talent that will perform at the theater along with videos directly from YouTube creators, but it was also designed to allow pedestrians to see their movement and images reflected as sort of a giant fun-house mirror. Despite the fact that the theater can accommodate 3,400 to 6,000 seats, its design was built around making it feel more intimate...
New platform, same feature seems to be the motto for a lot of social media apps lately. While TikTok’s impact and popularity have inspired other platforms to copy its style, the short-form video sharing app is paying the compliment back by testing a new feature from some of its many competitors. According to a report from Variety, TikTok is launching a vanishing-post feature called “TikTok Stories” where posts, like on other apps, will disappear after 24 hours. Though the feature isn’t set to permanently go live on the platform just yet, TikTok seems to be running a trial and error test on ways that users and creators can take advantage of additional avenues to share their creativity on the app. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a TikTok spokesperson told Variety in a statement. “Currently we’re experimenting with ways to give creators additional formats to bring their creative ideas to life for the TikTok...
Twitch is quickly becoming the future of live entertainment. As its popularity with creators continues to rise, it’s positioned itself to expand its team to support its growth. This week, the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform recruited former YouTube executive Constance Knight to take over the newly created role of VP, global creators at the company, according to Variety. “Creators are the heart and soul of Twitch, and as we continue to see more people finding their community on Twitch, now is the perfect time to add more support for global creators to our internal team,” said Michael Aragon — chief content officer at Twitch — in a statement of Knight’s hire. “Constance is an experienced and passionate leader who brings a wealth of knowledge from across the streaming industry. Her perspective will be invaluable in helping Twitch and its creators grow and thrive.” Knight — who did a nine-year tenure as YouTube’s head of content programs and partnerships for creator communities...
YouTube has nabbed some big-name entertainers for its latest original programming slate. This week, the video giant announced both new and returning projects at its 10th-annual personalized digital experience, Brandcast Delivered — an event that highlights the magic of YouTube for top advertisers, brands, partners, press and platform creators. As part of its steady strategy, YouTube Originals is building projects around the personalities and crafts of the platform’s top creators in an effort to attract a larger audience, as told by YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl. “If you’re a creative person, you want to work with the place that has the greatest reach — that’s the ultimate satisfaction, greater than money,” Kyncl tells Variety in an interview. According to him, the creator economy is “here to stay — and it’s not just YouTube, the whole world has kind of validated it. It’s reshaping Hollywood and other industries around the world.” Among its new programming, YouTube...
When people mention social media influencer Ari Fletcher, they miss the chance to highlight how she’s a multi-million dollar entrepreneur. But the young internet figure has found a way to make the social game a lucrative business to build her own wealth. Contrary to popular belief, Ari Fletcher is more than the mother of rapper G Herbo’s son. She’s also one of a few Black influencers who helped change the social media space so its platforms can help its most popular users generate millions of dollars in revenue. In case you’re not familiar already, get to know Ari Fletcher and her life as a businesswoman with a few fun facts below: Her social media handles are a tribute to her late brother. After her brother passed away in 2013, Fletcher changed all of her social media handles in honor of his name, Kyle Jamison. Including his name on all of her social media profiles is her way of keeping his name alive. View this post on Instagram A post shared by KYLESISTER (@therealkylesister)...
The downside to social media, based on feedback from users, has most times been the lack of inclusion and amplification of diverse voices and faces on popular platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and more. On behalf of social media apps, image-sharing platform Pinterest has announced a new content policy that intends to embrace users of all kinds and grow the app to ensure it becomes a more “inclusive, positive and inspiring place,” TechCrunch reports. The outlet shares that Pinterest has formed a $500,000 Creator Fund — which is described as a new content policy called the Creator Code — and announced a slate of new moderation tools to enforce content guidelines that will require its pool of over 450 million Pinterest creators to fact-check their content, practice inclusivity, and ensure any call to action shared on the app will not cause harm to others. The newly-announced fund will specifically focus on uplifting creators from underrepresented communities across the U.S. and offer...
It’s the season for giving, and 2 Chainz has plenty to share with Black business-owners and fellow HBCU alum. According to HipHopDX, the College Park rapper has teamed up with YouTube to launch his new series, “Money Maker Fund,” as part of the streaming platform’s #YouTubeBlackVoices Fund initiative. The Money Maker Fund series — which debuted on Monday — consists of five episodes airing throughout this week. The series finds 2 Chainz fielding business pitches from featured HBCU students and alumni, who then awards $55,000 to the best ideas, HipHopDX shares. As someone who understands the pressures that come with being an entrepreneur and college student, 2 Chainz shared in a formal statement why the new show is so important to him. “With this year being more than challenging to all of us, I am inspired by these courageous students who are still pushing through chasing their dreams and goals,” he said. “The idea behind the Money Maker Fund is simply to add more fuel to the already...