makerstudios
Latest
Disney's Maker Studios changes strategy and lays off employees
Disney-owned Maker Studios is putting its business through a major overhaul in an effort to become profitable. According to The Wall Street Journal, Disney is laying off around 80 people -- some of them are Maker employees, while some are from the House of Mouse's consumer products unit's digital-publishing division. This move eliminates job dupes as Disney fully absorbs Maker Studios almost three years after its $675 million acquisition. The layoffs aren't enough for the YouTube network to start making money, though, so it also plans to shed tens of thousands of creators to concentrate on a chosen few.
Maker Studios parts ways with Pewdiepie after anti-Semitic jokes
Felix "Pewdiepie" Kjellberg's actions have cost him a business partner: Disney's Maker Studios. While the YouTube personality claimed a video published on January 11th was nothing more than a joke, the House of Mouse doesn't agree according to The Wall Street Journal. In the clip, Kjellberg hired a pair of Indian men from quick-task service Fiverr to hold up a banner that said "Death to all Jews."
FTC complaint blasts Disney, Google over child influencer videos
It's sketchy enough when companies send free products to YouTube stars in return for positive coverage, but it's worse when those videos are explicitly aimed at kids. How is a young child supposed to tell the difference between genuine enthusiasm and someone compelled to say good things in return for gifts? That's what a handful of consumer watchdog groups plan to solve. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy and Public Citizen have filed a complaint asking the FTC to stop the practice of aiming influencer videos at kids. Companies like Disney and DreamWorks (via Maker Studios and AwesomenessTV) are allegedly being "unfair and deceptive" by targeting these pseudo-ads at the preteen crowd. Google, meanwhile, purportedly "encourages and benefits" from distributing these videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids.
Maker Studios' YouTube stars are making exclusive content for Vimeo
Maker Studios, the group of popular YouTube hit-makers Disney snapped up for $500 million, has just agreed to release a series of original videos throughout 2015 -- on Vimeo. While it doesn't sound like the group has completely switched allegiances, the deal requires them to make these videos available through Vimeo's Video on Demand service first. Maker Studios has more than 55,000 content creators, including Snoop Dogg, Kevin Smith, PewDiePie (of Let's Play fame) and Lloyd Ahlquist (who created the Epic Rap Battles of History series). Viewers can only watch those clips exclusively through the service within a certain timeframe, though it's unclear if the internet celebs can post their videos elsewhere after that.
YouTube now has unreleased stand-up from Dave Chappelle, Louis CK and more
Stand-up comedians don't get to just walk onto the set of Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show and start telling jokes. Nope, like just about every other creative field, they start small and work their way up -- often for free at first. Yes, even the likes of Tracy Morgan and Sarah Silverman. The Just For Laughs (JFL) comedy festival in Montreal has filmed the countless names that've graced its stage since 1987 and has teamed with YouTube juggernaut Maker Studios to start releasing unseen footage from the fest's archives, according to Variety. Right now its channel only has a handful of clips (including Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock [above] and Bill Hicks), but JFL promises three-time-per-week updates are en route. All told, there'll be some 500 hours of performances and when that well runs dry, the outfit plans to add footage from more recent shows. For now, at least, you'll have something funny to sprinkle between Woodstock clips.
