I'm really not ready for this. Creator collectives, loose groups of YouTube and TikTok influencers who turn their combined clout into more cash and more eyeballs, are making me think that the barbarians are at the gate. Having never heard of any of these people, the last week has nonetheless given me reason to suspect these kids might start devouring advertising, talent, entertainment, music and streetwear, and, honestly, I'm terrified. Last week, a collective of four YouTubers called Team RAR bought a $32 million 10-bedroom Holmby Hills mansion that was previously owned by Future and Frank Sinatra. It's not the first "creator mansion." That title belongs to the Hype House, a group with a combined 150 million TikTok followers who just this week signed a deal with the innovative production company Wheelhouse for a reality show called "The Hype Life."That will be only the first creator collective reality show.
From Deadline: "Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s most popular star with over 75M followers and a former member of the Hype House and ex-partner of Hype House founder Chase Hudson, is understood to be working with Industrial Media, the production group involved in series including 'American Idol' and '90 Day Fiance,' on a reality series, while Hype House rivals The Clubhouse are working with ICM on a show."Not mentioned is yet another LA creator collective, Drip Crib LA, who released the trailer for their own reality show over the weekend. And on Monday, Insider reported that an investor has backed yet another new collab house called The Alt Haus, for gay and "alternative" creators headed up by a TikTok comedian. But the most terrifying creator collective to me, by far, is the Vibe Crew, a collective "made up of young TikTok and internet stars between the ages of 10 and 13."
Social media capital seems to be finally translating into real capital, and these kids are brilliantly using both as leverage to bring several industries to them. Here's who I think should be as terrified as I am:Advertising has struggled for years to navigate the hybridized and fragmented media landscape. The collectives, becoming kind of what TV networks once were, solve a lot of those problems for brands. How long before brands go directly to collectives while giving them creative control? Talent agencies have rushed to sign up YouTubers and TikTokers as they emerge. But these collectives serve as their own talent agencies led not by agents but by young creators' super famous peers and idols. Entertainment is getting hollowed out. Creator collectives not only provide content with built-in buzz but also the types of drama to fuel the social media and blog content networks rely on to prop up reality shows. These collectives are a turnkey replacement for the stagnant TV industry. Music saw its biggest cash cow, live events, drop to zero. Well, guess what. TikTokers are are doing music now.
Streetwear already knows the feeling of having their turf invaded by FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves. I wouldn't be surprised if the next must-have hoodie for teens has one of these creator collectives' logos on it. And most importantly, anyone who cares about culture. It's going to be a long decade if this is what American popular culture is chasing.
The shorter stuff
Chance the Rapper on the cover of Parents magazine is a new level of corniness even for him. (Image)
Drake apparently loves the famously bad show "Sons of Anarchy" so much he posted three Instagram Stories about its renewal. (Image)
Drew Magary says "there’s no chance I ever fucking watch...a fucking James Comey movie." (SFGate)
Kyle Chayka analyzes the "dorm-room kitsch" of Gigi Hadid's apartment. I've been wondering if this is the building at Lafayette and Bond... (TNY)
Special "Hot 2010s Companies Getting Cancelled" Section
TalkSpace had an office in the Studio 54 building. Nothing foreboding ever happened there before! (NYT)
Yoga To The People abruptly shut down last month. Turns out it was a cult! (The Cut)
Everlane was more traumatizing to work at than Uber, one employee claims. (NYT)
Bon Appétit is hemorrhaging talent. (Insider)
Zoom, like Slack before it, knows that work products are really consumer products because we love all our waking hours to be work now. (Zoom Blog)
Meanwhile, Zoom insecurity and TikTok jealousy are driving a boom in plastic surgery. (THR)
Ginia Bellafante and the well-to-do. Name a more iconic duo. (NYT)
Would anyone at Condé Nast miss anything about moving from 1WTC besides tweeting about lunch at The Odeon? (Variety)
When Facebook moves into the giant old post office across from Penn Station, it will give new meaning to the motto engraved on the building: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." (NYT)
The Baltimore club legend who originally recorded the "WAP" sample says to Cardi B, "Cut the check!" (Vulture)
Molly Jong-Fast's mother provides a first-hand account of Martha Stewart's romantic past. (NYRB)
The poster for Netflix's upcoming Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson thriller might be unreadable but at least it's not retro. (Image)
People are really watching old episodes of "Supermarket Sweep" on Netflix? (The Ringer)
Verzuz had to photoshop Billboard's latest cover to include Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who, btw, had by far the best Verzuz episode. (Twitter)
Mark Cuban says, "People I knew were smoking pot, listening to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and protest songs." Was this when he founded Broadcast.com? (NYTMag)
Apparently bosses are demanding multiple status updates a day from employees who are working remotely now. (Slate)
Miles Klee does an admirable job explaining the Boomer appeal of the unfunny Sarah Cooper lip-sync videos. (MEL Magazine)
The Trump Axios interview slaps. (YouTube)