Happy New Year to all of my fellow creator nerds, and a very very warm welcome to all of you new readers!

I hope everyone’s year is off to a killer start and we’re all feeling ready to take 2024 head-on. I know I am! I’m insanely fired up and looking forward to all of the exciting things to come over the next few months!

From growing personally as a creator by creating even more content and exploring new formats to releasing the 2.0 version of CreatorPad, there are so many exciting things on the horizon that I can’t wait to share with you.

But until then, we have some housekeeping to do. Let’s dive into the latest creator news!

Children Prefer YouTube to Netflix

A Nielsen study reveals that viewership among children is beginning to pick up on YouTube while it falls on Netflix. These numbers, albeit not insanely significant, still signal that creators and their content have the power to overthrow these streaming behemoths.

• YouTube's share of children (2-11 year-old) viewers climbed four percent since September 2021

• Netflix on the other hand, is down four percent in the same period.

While channels like Cocomelon remain a top choice among kids on YouTube (averaging 1.2 billion weekly views 🥴), love for Shorts is also booming among the youths. But none of this seems all too surprising, right?

• It’s no shock to find that YouTube is more popular and beginning to beat out a streaming beast who has, let’s be honest, been pumping out mediocre content over the last few years.

Creators are pumping their hearts and souls into their work and parents and children are choosing those who provide greater value and care for craft.

Sure, it could be argued that YouTube’s algorithms and recommendations are playing a large role in this shift, but I believe creators are truly producing stronger content because there is more opportunity to grow a dedicated fanbase now than ever before.

• From strictly entertainment content to edutainment and beyond, creators are carving out their own lane and beating out massive streaming platforms with their own killer content.

So creators, keep pushing. It’s only a matter of time until these massive streaming platforms continue to see the true value of creators and their ideas across all niches, and they want to scoop up your creative brainpower to capture more audience eyeballs.

Cali Moves to Protect Child Creators

California is lookin’ out for the little ones with some new legislation. Senator Steve Padilla is pushing for the Child Content Creator Rights Act, which would require creators who feature minors in (at least 30% of) their content to set aside some cash for the child actor/creator.

• The law is still in its early stages, but it is expected to be heard in the Senate in January.

• Illinois also passed a law protecting minors featured in creator’s videos back in August. This law guarantees compensation for minors featured in vlogs.

This shift in the space to support child talent is not only super necessary but is something that all states should push for as the creator space continues to become the norm.

• Padilla, who introduced this bill says it best, "these children are generating significant revenue for content creators, but they are not receiving any of the financial benefits."

If you’re a creator who is cashing in off of a kid, why not set that child up for continued success as they continue to grow? While I’m unsure of how this will be enforced, I love to see this move being made and I can only hope that other states will follow suit!

Colin & Samir’s 2024 Predictions