How the New Media Rebellion in Video is Reshaping the Publishing World

Author: Greg Jarboe / Source: Tubular Insights

Here’s a gift giving idea for the upcoming holidays: Don’t wait for one of your friends, family, or colleagues to give you Streampunks: YouTube and the Rebels Remaking Media by Robert Kyncl with Maany Peyvan. Order it now and ship it to yourself as fast as possible. Or, find a bookstore near you, and buy it this evening on your way home from work.

Streampunks is not an autobiography from YouTube’s chief business officer and his corporate speechwriter that you can wait to read during that really quiet time during the 12 days of Christmas. No, this 272-page book tells the stories behind the rising stars and creative forces transforming media, which makes is more powerful than a locomotive that’s been stoked with tons of strategic insights, tactical advice, trends in the digital video marketing business, and critical data.

Streampunks is an exceptional book. How exceptional? Well, as long-time readers of Tubular Insights, fka ReelSEO, can tell you, I rarely write book reviews. In fact, I’ve written almost 400 columns for this online publication since July 2011. And until this one, only three of my earlier posts reviewed a book:

So, why should video marketers, content creators, publishers, brands, and entrepreneurs spend their incredibly valuable time reading Streampunks? Well, here are the four useful tips, three key trends, two killer stats, five vision things, and a small town in Missouri that you should know.

YouTube: Strategy Advice for Online Success

Content creators will find lots of tactical advice for launching successful channels, growing their audience, funding their creativity, and partnering with sponsors in the backstories of some of YouTube’s most influential stars. Here are just four useful tips:

• Kyncl and Peyvan write, “Authenticity is a term that is thrown around a lot in new media, but in a world in which anyone can curate how they are seen on social media, the importance of appearing genuine and accessible has only grown. And few creators convey that better than Tyler Oakley.” Oakley offers this advice to someone who wants to start a YouTube channel: “I would say, offer to YouTube what only you can offer. That’s going to be the reason that people subscribe. If you’re doing what someone else already does, you’ll be a second-rate version of that.”
• Streampunks says, “If there’s one thing Lilly Singh knows, it’s her audience. And that audience is global.” According to Tubular Labs, 41% of the engaged audience for the Superwoman (Lilly Singh) channel on YouTube comes from the United States, 8% from the United Kingdom, 7% from Canada, 6% from India, and 3% from Australia. Now, it’s easy to understand her appeal in Canada (she was born and raised in Toronto) and India (her parents are originally from Punjab). But, anytime she sees her numbers in Australia going up, she’ll throw them a shout-out – and her viewers Down Under love it.
• The authors acknowledge, “When John Green spoke to a gathering of our largest advertisers, he told them that he and his brother earn more money from their channel’s merchandise sales than from ads. In fact, he said advertising makes up only 20% of their total revenue and that share has been declining over time.” Three months later at VidCon 2015, Green explained, “Our educational channels Crash Course and SciShow are funded mainly by viewers who voluntarily support the shows through Patreon, and selling posters and t-shirts through DFTBA Records provides more revenue from merch than we’ve ever made from ads.”
• The book observes, “Perhaps nothing has pushed advertisers out of the comfort zone more than partnering with Internet creators. And there is no creator who knows more about partnering successfully with brands than Casey Neistat.” The YouTube personality, filmmaker, vlogger, and co-founder of Beme offers this advice to brands: “Tell them to find the creators that they actually like, create a dynamic relationship with them, and then empower the creator. ‘Here’s our product, here’s what we’re trying to accomplish. What can you do? How can you organically work this in a way that your viewers will find to be meaningful?’”

Three Key Online Video Trends

Publishers will find plenty of trends in the digital video marketing business that are radically changing the media landscape. Here are the dealmakers who have spotted three key trends:

• Kyncl and Peyvan explain how Scooter Braun, the founder of SB Projects, has built one of the most successful music management businesses in history. In 2007, Braun saw a YouTube video of a 12-year-old Canadian kid at a talent show. Following an extensive search, he was able to reach the mother of Justin Bieber on the phone. In 2012, his COO sent Braun an email with a link to a hilarious new YouTube video featuring a Korean American. The video was “Gangnam Style” by the K-pop artist Psy. Braun banged out a two-word response: “Find him.” Braun represents both artists. The JustinBieberVEVO channel has 32.4 million subscribers and almost 16.5 billion total views, and the OfficialPsy YouTube channel has 10.8 million subscribers and over 6.4 billion views.
• Streampunks says Brian Robbins, the founder of AwesomenessTV, got his major break in Hollywood while still a teenager, as an actor on the TV show Head of the Class. He played Eric Mardian, a bright rebellious high schooler who wore leather, rode a motorcycle, and hated school. But Robbins met someone in 2010 that he had never heard of before: Lucas Cruikshank, a young YouTube star who had invented a character named Fred Figglehorn. That night, Robbins asked his kids if they’d heard of Fred. “Of course we know Fred,” they replied. Robbins realized, “My kids were living in this whole alternative universe that no one in Hollywood was paying attention to.” Founded in June 2012, AwesomenessTV targets teenagers and preteens, aka Gen Z. Its YouTube channel now has about 5.7 million subscribers and gets over 58.7 million views a…

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