Kyedae’s retirement, Sidemen scoop, and end of ChatGPT Ghibli memes.
This week in the creator industry brings a mix of surprises, gossip, and news updates. First off, Kyedae, a popular streamer known for her Valorant broadcasts on Twitch and her explosive rise to stardom during the pandemic, shocked fans by announcing her retirement from streaming. According to a post on X, Kyedae revealed that streaming was never her ultimate dream, and she had been contemplating stepping away for years.
Meanwhile, MrBeast, the renowned YouTuber with a massive following of 385 million subscribers, faced backlash over his Las Vegas resort experience. Attendees reported that the event fell short of expectations, prompting MrBeast’s team to issue refunds to disgruntled customers. The drama escalated in the YouTube community as Ian Jomha and Ethan Klein, also known as iDubbbz and h3h3productions, engaged in a public spat over internet drama and criticism.
On the business front, the Sidemen, a popular creator group based in the U.K., launched a new line of ice cream products under their Sides brand. In other news, Alpharad listed his Southern California residence for a whopping $5 million, boasting integrated technology and other luxurious features that might attract fellow creators as potential buyers. Additionally, CreatorFest, a European creator economy event, is set to return in 2025 with an even bigger and better lineup than last year’s inaugural event in London.
In platform news, TikTok faced another setback with the departure of Michael Beckerman, the app’s U.S. public policy chief. His exit adds to a growing list of executive departures from the company since the beginning of the year. Twitch’s plan to cap storage for streamers was temporarily put on hold after receiving pushback from users. Similarly, Kick’s new multistreaming feature allows content creators to simulcast on various platforms like Twitch and YouTube, although it comes with a catch of potentially reduced earnings compared to exclusive streaming on Kick.
Turning to pop culture, the internet was atwitter over Christopher Nolan’s short film “Tarantella,” which was briefly available on YouTube before a takedown notice was issued by his production company. Meanwhile, Meta’s Ray-Bans made an appearance in OK Go’s latest music video, showcasing the band’s penchant for high-concept, hi-tech visuals. And Coachella returned with a virtual bang on YouTube, despite musician Reggie Watts criticizing the festival’s embracing of influencer culture.
In a bizarre turn of events, Japanese lawmakers raised concerns about the usage of Ghibli-style imagery in ChatGPT, questioning whether it infringes on copyright laws. On a lighter note, popular streamers have been embracing the indie game “Schedule 1,” which simulates the life of a virtual drug dealer, with big names like CaseOh and Moist Cr1TiKaL making appearances in the game. Amidst all the chaos, one thing remains clear: never ask the internet for suggestions on naming rare medical conditions, unless you want to get caught up in a “Ligma” debacle.