Today's News

️‍🤖 An AI VTuber just beat Pirate Software's Hype Train record
🛍️ Small businesses could lose $1 billion in a month if the TikTok ban hits
🍳 Top Branded Videos: Ryan Trahan x 2
👀 Get jiggy with Middle Age innkeepers

GET HYPE

Once upon a time, she was a rhythm game bot. Now she's record-setter Neurosama.

The bot: Back in 2018, game developer Vedal built a simple bot that would autoplay the Australian rhythm game osu!. But they knew the bot could be more—so, they built up her code, commissioned a full-fledged cutesey anime VTuber model, and named her Neurosama. Then they deployed her on their Twitch channel, where she now goes live almost every day, playing more complicated games like Minecraft while responding to viewers' enthusiastic chat messages.

The hype: Neurosama has since helped Vedal build their Twitch following to nearly 700,000 people. But her biggest moment since debut came on Jan. 1, when Vedal's community kicked off a Hype Train that lasted multiple hours and capped out at 16,000 concurrent viewers. The train hit Level 111, beating Pirate Software's previous record of Level 106, and brought Vedal's channel a staggering 84,904 subs and 1,201,225 Bits.

We did the math, and it looks like Vedal might have earned over $200,000 from this one Hype Train alone. Most of that was in subscriptions, but around $12k came from Bits, which cash out for streamers at a rate of $1 for every 100 viewers gift them.

The challenge: Of course, it wouldn't be Twitch without a little friendly rivalry. After Neurosama clinched the new record, Pirate Software tweeted a congratulations—and a warning: His goblin horde will attempt to retake the crown on April Fools' Day.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

LegalEagle calls Honey's alleged business model "an adpocalypse all day every day" for creators. He's helping spearhead a class action lawsuit that will get them paid. (Tubefilter)
TikTok has a Dislike button now—but it's not the same as the public button YouTube used to have on long-form videos. Instead, it's meant to let users train TikTok's For You algorithm by telling it what videos they don't dig. (Dexerto)
Two in five teens are earning money online, including some who use content creation to get into ecommerce. (Digiday)
MrBeast rang in the new year by proposing to longtime girlfriend Thea Booysen. Now he's responding to people who pointed out that his entire family was wearing his merch in the engagement photos. (Dexerto)

DATA • GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top Branded Videos: Ryan Trahan goes around the world—and becomes a chef

It's not rare that Ryan Trahan pops up on our Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report, but it is rare that he appears twice—and on two different channels. Also making this week's list: MrBeast and The Sidemen, along with a robotics enthusiast sharing his tiny laboratory.

🥇 #1. MrBeast x MoneyLion: 2,000 People Fight For $5,000,000 (129M views)
MrBeast's $100 million Amazon series Beast Games came out Dec. 19, with 10 episodes following 1,000 people competing for a $5 million prize. But those 1,000 people weren't the only contestants who wanted in--and the 10 episodes available on Prime Video aren't the whole story. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the show's first qualifying round, and it's sponsored by financial services company MoneyLion, which is giving away a whopping $4 million as part of its deal with MrBeast.

🥈 #2. Ryan Trahan x Saily: I Flew Around the World in First Class (10M views)
Casey Neistat isn't the only one who can go viral for living it up in first class. Ryan Trahan's first appearance on our list this week is at spot #2 with a round-the-world journey in airlines' top accommodations. Will they be good? Bad? Will he spend his time eating "ambiguous filet of fish" while watching Frozen 35,000 feet in the air? We won't spoil it, but we will say it's all sponsored by frequent travel creator partner, e-SIM company Saily.

🥉 #3. Nick DiGiovanni x Ryan Trahan x YouTube: Can I Turn Ryan Trahan Into A MasterChef? (7.6M views)
For more Trahan, he's guest spotting on Nick DiGiovanni's channel. DiGiovanni has one mission: turn Trahan into a bona fide master chef. Trahan just had a cooking crash course with Gordon Ramsay, but how much of that Michelin star quality rubbed off on him? Well...not much, but that's fine, because DiGiovanni is here--courtesy of YouTube itself as sponsor--to teach him everything he needs to get on the line.

Check out the full branded ranking here or head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

BAN VS BIZ

TikTok says small businesses will lose $1 billion in the first 30 days after it's banned

The ban: When a potential TikTok ban was first floated five years ago (yes, it's really been that long), creators were the main group of people who'd be affected. That's still true, of course, but there's another group of people facing major financial impact if TikTok gets zapped: small business owners.

TikTok told the Associated Press that if the U.S. government bans it on Jan. 19, small businesses will lose $1 billion in revenue per month. It didn't break down where exactly that money comes from, but we can safely assume a big chunk of it is from ecommerce hub TikTok Shop. Other earnings come from organic views on creator/entrepreneurs' TikTok videos, and from digital ads run across the platform.

If TikTok's banned, all of that goes away.

The business owners: The AP spoke to a couple small business owners who've built their companies with the help of TIkTok traffic. Mechanic Desiree Hill, for example, started as a mobile mechanic and, thanks to TikTok, was able to purchase a 9,000 square foot shop and hire five employees. Her business Crown's Corner Mechanics now gets at least one new customer every day who says they saw Hill's TikTok content. Another entrepreneur, STEM educator Crystal Lister, said she's worried about losing TikTok's video editing capabilities, which have helped her make videos advertising her courses for parents and kids.

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"I am worried because there is no preparation for this," Hill said. "It holds such a significant place in regards to my customer base and how I reach customers that if I lose TikTok, I will lose a large part of my business or I will lose my ability to grow anymore."

What now?: If TikTok is banned, it's possible that both creators and viewers will influx to other platforms and small business owners will be able to find more reach. But as both these entrepreneurs pointed out, TikTok has things other platforms don't. For now, all creators can do is be smart with the money currently coming in—and keep an eye on what happens Jan. 19.

WATCH THIS 📺

We just rang in a new year, but what if we step back another few hundred?

The old times: Things are always hectic right at the start of a new year, which is why we're taking a sec to spotlight a cozy, chill-out edutainment video that isn't about a current event. In fact, it's not set in current times at all. Instead, Modern History TV takes viewers back to the medievel period to explain the critical functionality of inns—and their keepers.

The passion project of video game developer/CEO Jonathon Jason Kingsley, Modern History TV tackles questions about everyday living in the Middle Ages. This time, Kingsley covers everything from bridge tolls (usually a penny—wouldn't that be nice these days!) to the price of horse stabling to the important and often political place of esteem innkeepers held. Keepers played a crucial role in the economic operations of all sorts of settlements, serving as linchpins in both tiny villages and massive cities, and Kingsley is only too happy to tell you about them.

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