The Book Basement Bulletin #7
On today's issue: Brewing a multi-million dollar media company and an inside look at creator monetization
Introduction
Good morning my amazing readers, my trip to California is ending. As you’re reading this, I’m either on a flight or at the Phoenix airport. It’s been a lovely trip that included lots of book buying. I’m excited to start recording new episodes of the podcast as I haven’t in around a month or so.
Three Things Worth Sharing
This week I read Beach Read by Emily Henry. It’s the first Emily Henry book I’ve read, and it was a refreshing read. The characters are vivid, and the overarching plot that brings them together is charming but surrounded by walls of trauma, overcoming past events, and coping with how the past has affected your future. The entanglement of the various characters, subplots, tiny details, and small adventures, makes Beach Read a never-ending joyride. I also love when the characters of books include journalists, authors, or just any kind of writer in general as you can see the author giving insight into the craft of writing. If you have a hammock, or if the sun is particularly bright on any given day, crack open this book, and be reminded that you don’t really need a happily ever after, after all.
I’m currently loving the Deep Dive podcast episode with Alex Lieberman, the co-founder of Morning Brew. If you don’t know what Morning Brew is, it’s a daily newsletter with a digest of the most topical bits of information from the given day. It was bought by Insider for 75 Million dollars (that’ll get you a few cups of coffee) and the episode breaks down the history of how MB came to be what it is today, procrastination (seeing as how we’re all affected by it), and the logistics behind starting up an internet business. This episode will be entertaining to you regardless of whether you’re into business or not because if you want to do anything in life, looking at someone who succeeded at one of the trickiest, hardest parts of it will give you a foundation on which you can build your own Morning Brew.
I’ve always wondered how YouTube sponsorships work. Isn’t it incredibly interesting how as of a couple of years ago, YouTube was a platform where home videos, homemade pranks, and small, independent creators shared unedited, raw rants to their dozen or so followers? Now it’s turned into a millionaire-making machine (to some extent) where teams made up of dozens of employees make their living working for YouTubers. Personally, the monetization aspect of the platform has always been fascinating to me. This is why, when Mista GG, a YouTuber I follow for movie reviews and his other miscellaneous content, uploaded a video where he shared his negative experience working with one particular company, I was hooked. YouTuber's sponsorships are seen as uncharted territory, as no creator is allowed to share their going rate or how much they were paid by a given company as they signed a nondisclosure agreement. GG’s video was really valuable, as it painted a different image of sponsorships, taking the viewer into how companies very easily take advantage of smaller creators. I would recommend this video to anyone who has this same particular interest in the monetary aspects of the creator economy.
Quote of the Week
“Always place your becoming above your current being.”
Jordan Peterson, Monday’s of Meaning Newsletter
You’re never a finished product. Until your last breath comes out of your lungs, you’re never done developing, learning, and acquiring knowledge. Becoming should always be prioritized. Seize every situation to learn something new. Sit down and talk to an old friend, watch an educational YouTube video, or listen to a new podcast, all of these will help you become. Statues don’t breathe, stone can’t think, why do we see ourselves as immutable when we are capable of these things? You can become, so make it your uttermost goal. Only first, you need to embrace the fact that, unlike the Pietà, you are not set in stone.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, if you did, then share it with someone who could also derive value from it. I took a break from Instagram during the vacation, you can expect the same regular posting to be resumed shortly. Be sure to check out this week’s podcast episodes and see if you missed any. Have a lovely day reader. :)