#Streaming Platform Exploitation

[rich4a1]

Spotify’s Discovery Mode: The New Payola Hurting Indie Artists

Making a Scene Presents – Spotify’s Discovery Mode: The New Payola Hurting Indie Artists In the early days of the music industry, the word “payola” was practically a scandal. It referred to the shady practice of record labels secretly paying radio DJs to play their artists’ songs, manipulating what listeners heard and artificially inflating a track’s popularity. It was unethical, it was illegal,…

[nugothrhythms]

Just one more reason to not use Spotify -_-

Link to story here

[txttletale]

So I'm very much on the fence about AI art stuff, and know you are a bit outspoken on it. Was wondering your position on the writer and actor's strikes - they *are* fighting against the technology pretty unilaterally, but they are also doing so to protect their livelihoods against corporate interests and aren't talking about banning it entirely, just adopting some industry standards on it. Curious to hear your thoughts on the matter.

the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are not specifically about AI, but primarily about wages and residuals on streaming platforms. that said, their AI stances are obviously correct and i support them.

in fact, notably, WGA's stance is pretty opposite to what a lot of anti-AI posters keep insisting: one of their major victories against studios is an agreement that if a writer works on a script created by a large language model, they get a full writing credit and the LLM can't be credited as a writer in its own right. the position that "AI art has no human input" is ironically exactly what big corporations want to be the case legally, so that they don't have to credit or owe royalties to artists who work in production pipelines involving AI.

SAG's contention is similarly specific: they are against AI being used to replace actors by imitating their likenesses or voice, and specifically against contracts that give studios such a right becoming industry standard.

both of these positions are 1. being pursued by organized industrial action, instead of by individuals Posting and 2. to do with specific exploitative applications of AI as implemented into corporate production pipelines, not broad abstract questions of What Art Is or personal level use, which is what separates them from the "anti AI" movement as represented by the people clogging my inbox

[tojisth3rdwife]

JJK men as content creators

Toji: very unserious fitness vlogger/foodie

Toji was no stranger to exploitation for financial gain. Nor did he have any shame over it. The idea to start making content stemmed from people approaching him in the gym for advice after seeing his impressive physique.

He wasn't much of a talker, although his dry sense of humor became his trademark along with his abs, so the majority of Toji’s content consisted of workout and nutrition advice. None of it he recommended anyone do since he wasn't a professional, stating that if it didn't work for you, don't go blaming him for it. One of his most popular segments was when he went to different restaurants in the area for food reviews on his cheat days. When owners noticed how a position review from him brought in a lot of business, they stopped charging him meals if he ever returned. And we all know how much Toji loved that.

"Alright, listen up. You want results? It’s not about fancy machines or trendy diets. It’s about putting in the work and pushing your limits. No shortcuts. Just grit and grind. Today, we’re hitting those weights hard and showing those excuses the door. Let’s get it."

Nanami : cooking/ASMR

Upon first impressions, one would think Kento wasn't the type of person who uses social media. He had Facebook like most millennials and has an Instagram but barely uses it. He wasn't the type to share his life with the world in that way and found the concept too invasive and troublesome for him to be bothered with. “What the point of telling strangers what I'm doing? I have no interest in what anyone else does.” he’d say.

But one day after allowing one of the teachers at Jujutsu High to try one of his homemade baked creations, it was suggested that he had his cooking show. Noting that he has the wholesome ‘husband/boyfriend’ aesthetic going for him, as well as a voice that sounded like a hug from behind after a long day at work. Kento started his channel slowly walking viewers through his favorite recipes , as well as some new ones he’d been meaning to try, while speaking gently into a highly sensitive mic that added an ASMR element to every video.

He doesn't show his face, feeling the anonymity made him most comfortable to be himself, but the way his audience swooned over the fixed view of him in his button-up and apron with the sleeves rolled up his veiny forearms, or his deft hands/fingers as he used a knife or kneaded dough.

Kento earned himself a whopping 400k subscribers in less than a year.

"Welcome back, everyone. Today, we're going to create something simple yet satisfying. Just listen to the gentle sound of the flour as it sifts through my fingers... The perfect blend of precision and comfort. Let’s start our journey into baking together, one soft whisper at a time."

Geto - podcast bro , the toxic kind

We all know with the global pandemic came the need for creative streams of income. Especially via social media. With somewhat of a platform of his own, being a cult leader and all, Suguru was approached by his daughters with the idea to reach more people by starting a podcast. Skeptical at first, Geto wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea of getting in front of a camera just to talk for an hour.

But with his dashing good looks, easygoing personality, and controversial views, it was no surprise that he amassed such a fanbase overnight. His show consisted of him tackling hard subjects, discussing world news, and hot topics, reading fan mail, and offering his candor, as well as having the occasional guest that may or may not know what they got themselves into.

"Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today, we’re diving deep into the topics no one wants to touch..the uncomfortable truths and the gray areas that challenge our perceptions. Let’s be real: society loves to paint everything in black and white, but the reality is far more complex. So, buckle up as we unpack some hard-hitting ideas that might just make you rethink everything. And remember, if you can’t handle the heat, youre probably a monkey."

Gojo- vlogger, travel, fashion, aesthetic, hauls.

Being someone who comes from money, old money at that, Satoru has access to more cash than he knows what to do with. So it's no surprise that outside of work( and sometimes for work), he spends his days traveling and shopping.

Vlogging came easily for him since he enjoyed talking about himself so much anyway, and with an audience so invested in his daily life, Satoru recorded everything. Him waking up. His skin/hair routine. What he ate in a day. Going on missions. Comedic skits with some of the first years who would participate. Travel vlogs and clothing hauls. There was a little bit of something for everyone on his page.

“Whats good my faves, its ya boy Satoru..back at again with another clothing haul. Im fresh off the plane from when I was Paris for fashion week, link to that vlog in the top right hand corner, and man am I jet lagged. But I wanted to show you all what I brought back while I have the time..”

Megumi- gamer/streamer on twitch.

After a talk with Gojo about him needing to find things to do outside of trying to advance as a sorcerer, Megumi picked up video games as a hobby. He was gifted a gaming PC and a PS5 by his mentor and began playing to blow off some steam after training. When he was injured after a mission, Megumi had not much else to do. Yuji was the one who suggested he stream on Twitch after watching him beat an entire game that took most people days in one night, praising him on his skills and suggesting letting others watch him play too.

After a while, his obsessive need to be good at everything he tries turned into him becoming one of the top-watched gamers. His dry personality and snide comments made for entertaining dialogue during game play and he often would give his critique on the game once he’d beaten them. He’d even get chances to be a beta player for unreleased game demos.

“The graphics were ok. Combat mode is a little glitchy but overall it’s a decent game. If this is just the demo, I’m interested in what they’ll do for the full game release. Otherwise I gave it a 7 out of 10.”

Sukuna- reactions

This started as a joke when his nephew wanted him to react to some viral trend and while the king of curses was rarely impressed, his archaic way of expressing himself was what made people most interested in his opinions.

Sukuna began a series of reactions where he sat upon his throne, gazing at the camera with all four eyes blazing with contempt and boredom as he watched viewer recommendations. Those ‘try not to laugh’ challenges were his most viewed.

If something managed to make him smirk or even chuckle, he gave it 4 thumbs up and would congratulate the OP for their talents in entertainment. Majority of his audience was comprised of women between the ages of 25 and 40. He acts like he has no clue why.

"This is, without a doubt, the most extravagant display of foolishness I've ever witnessed in my life. Yet, I recognize that many humans find cats charming and entertaining, so I suppose this video could be seen that way. Regardless, it's utterly pathetic. On to the next video..."

[bumbled-bees]

Lily’s Inconsistent Autism Claims

Lily’s inconsistent claims about being autistic reveal a deeply manipulative pattern, one that both exploits and alienates her own audience — many of whom are autistic themselves. By repeatedly shifting her narrative, Lily not only undermines genuine autistic experiences but also manipulates her community’s perception of her behavior and motives.

Lily has, at various points, claimed to have been diagnosed with Asperger’s as a teenager, yet she frequently downplays or outright denies this diagnosis when it no longer benefits her. When acknowledging her diagnosis might require her to show empathy or understanding toward other autistic people, she suddenly insists she’s not autistic and distances herself from the label entirely.

Her inconsistency isn’t just confusing; it’s manipulative. By claiming her autism only when it’s convenient, Lily effectively weaponizes the diagnosis to shield herself from criticism while denying others the same grace.

The Hypocrisy: Her Attitude Toward Other Autistic People

Despite claiming autism when it’s convenient, Lily has openly expressed disdain for autistic people who struggle with masking. Masking — the exhausting process of suppressing natural autistic behaviors to blend into neurotypical social expectations — is widely acknowledged as mentally and emotionally draining. For many autistic individuals, the inability to constantly mask is not a sign of laziness or defiance, but a deeply ingrained struggle.

Lily has reportedly stated she has "no sympathy" for autistic people who don’t mask, openly condemning them as if failing to meet social expectations is a personal failing. This mindset is not just ignorant — it’s cruel. It disregards the immense effort masking requires, especially for those who are overwhelmed, anxious, or fatigued.

What makes this even more insidious is that many of Lily’s own viewers are autistic. She’s cultivated a left-leaning, marginalized audience that includes neurodivergent individuals, abuse survivors, and members of the LGBTQ+ community — groups that often see themselves in her carefully curated “underdog” persona. For her to belittle and invalidate autistic struggles while selectively claiming that same identity for herself is both manipulative and harmful.

This attitude is especially hypocritical given her own well-documented struggles with overstimulation and irritability. During the infamous "gift sub incident", for example, Lily became visibly agitated during a stream when the constant alerts from gifted subscriptions overwhelmed her. While this response seemed to reflect genuine overstimulation — a common autistic trait — Lily refused to extend the same understanding to others facing similar struggles.

The Emotional Toll on Her Audience

The most concerning aspect of Lily’s behavior is how this affects her audience — many of whom are autistic themselves. Because Lily’s community largely consists of marginalized people, including neurodivergent viewers, her inconsistent stance on autism creates an unsettling power dynamic.

For autistic viewers, this sends a damaging message: If Lily can mask “perfectly,” why can’t you?

When Lily denies her autism or belittles those who struggle with masking, she risks alienating the very people who supported her, fostering shame and self-doubt among her viewers.

It sets a precedent in her community that autism is only “valid” if it’s managed in a way that meets her impossible standards. Worse still, her pattern of weaponizing her diagnosis to excuse her own poor behavior distorts what it means to be autistic, reinforcing harmful stereotypes about aggression, rudeness, and selfishness.

By fostering this toxic environment, Lily exploits her neurodivergent audience’s empathy while failing to show any in return. She builds her platform by drawing in marginalized groups, then dismisses or outright attacks those same groups when they don’t align with her views or challenge her behavior.

Tying It to Her Broader Patterns

This pattern ties directly into Lily’s broader tendencies. Just like her misuse of “boundaries” to justify hostility, her shifting autism narrative is another way she controls the conversation. If she’s criticized for her behavior, she claims autism to demand sympathy. But if she’s called to show compassion or understanding for others, she denies the diagnosis entirely to absolve herself of that responsibility.

Lily’s inability to maintain a consistent stance on her autism speaks to her larger pattern of impulsivity and short-term thinking. Rather than presenting a stable identity, she continually shifts her narrative to “win” whatever argument she’s currently having — even if that means directly contradicting herself. In doing so, she creates an environment where her audience is encouraged to rely on her word alone, without questioning her motives or verifying her claims.

Conclusion: A Manipulative Cycle

Lily’s selective identification as autistic — combined with her cruel attitude toward those who genuinely struggle — is yet another calculated tactic designed to manipulate her audience. By using autism as both a shield and a weapon, she exploits her neurodivergent viewers’ empathy while avoiding accountability for her actions. The result is a toxic, confusing environment where her audience is left unsure of what’s real, what’s performative, and whether their own struggles are being mocked behind the scenes.

Whether Lily is truly autistic or not isn’t something we can confirm with certainty. While her claims of a past Asperger’s diagnosis and her visible overstimulation during the “gift sub incident” may suggest authenticity, her exploitative behavior undermines any genuine credibility. What’s clear is that Lily treats autism — like so many other aspects of her identity — as a tool for manipulation. Rather than embracing the realities of autism with honesty or compassion, she distorts it to suit her immediate needs, often at the expense of her vulnerable, neurodivergent audience.

A/N: I know I don't give much information about myself, but I will confirm that I am autistic. Diagnosed and all.

[7nines7]

“I will take your scraps and make something beautiful”

(A oneshot about Elon and donald trump written at 0:55 am by a teenage girl , NOT proofread)

Longing, yearning and stolen glances while no one’s looking. That’s what Elon clung to when he kept getting reminded that he and his love were just an adventure, a rebound, a dirty little secret to Trump. Elon had grew up witnessing Trump’s numerous successes and losses, he had always been entranced by his peach like skin and his piercing gaze who made him shiver whenever Donny placed it on him. Elon grew up and as he did he knew his feelings were…wrong. They went against he believed in as a conservative man, a man shouldn’t love another man it’s…wrong but why why did it feel oh so right, so warm whenever their eyes met and he smiled, whenever they shook hands and donald’s hand lingered on his longer than necessary, when he kissed his neck under the moonlight while whispering sweet nothings in his ear. He knew it was dirty, it was unbecoming of an uprising right wing figure but he couldn’t help but indulge in that sweet sweet poison even if it slowly drained him of everything he had. His love was : strong , passionate, angry, but unrealistic and unrequited as Trump would never be satisfied with only elon, no he needed more , he needed someone more powerful, someone who didn’t obey his very word . His spring love, his good looking boy : Kim Jong un. As Elon stirred in the night tossing and turning his mind wandering to his lover’s, how donald was never and never will be fully his like Elon is his, as he swallowed that bitter pill in the night it got stuck in his throat and kept plaguing his mind and soul slowly ensnaring him in its jaws devouring his thoughts and gnawing at his bones. And now Trump asked him to leave because he got emotionally attached to a cold bastard like donald because he was “wearing thin he said” when the whole reason he was is because donny refuses to give him an acceptance of his feelings or a rejection, instead keeping a middle ground to keep exploiting him and his resources and now even after he fired him he humiliates him publicly on Elon’s own platform saying “When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it's electric cars that don't drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he'd be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, "drop to your knees and beg," and he would have done it..” as elon read it tears streamed down his face as he dropped the phone and sat in a corner eyes wide open in fetal position, as a thousand thoughts passed through him like a a tornado and the need for revenge and anger spread like wildfire gave him strength keep in mind anger blinds you but when you’re blind your other senses strengthen so he grabbed his phone from the ground he started typing with a quiet resolve “If I can’t have you, I will ruin you. I’ll smother you with all my love until you cease breathing and your heart will beat for no one because of me, yes all love is selfish and corrupt like your wicked heart your love shall be mine in the end” so to further drag down trump with him he wrote “Donald is in the epstein files. that is the reason why they haven’t been made public”.

[cultfriends]

what are your opinions on the uprise of ai and how it's changing art as a whole

it aint just AI but the current streaming era that's threatening artistry and drastically shifting the landscape. The pro rata system / collaborative filtering model on many streaming platforms push artists to homogenize their sound, and be more generally palatable in order to become discoverable and make any money in existing platforms. only thing AI cant do is form deeply personal, parasocial connections, which is ( unfortunately) now the driving factor behind an artist's success in the streaming/ social media-driven industry

but with programs that use an artist’s catalog to train generative AI models and “recreate” their voice.. oh god. that is basically an unauthorized commercial exploitation of their identity. kill em

[neo-smpwriterrr]

Last post kind of blew up, so I think it's time for me to make a full post on my take on all this shir going down.

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: This is before the second crash out stream, apparently that green fuck is gonna drop another stream but because I have a job and life to live unlike this jackass I won't be viewing it till Tuesday at best.

Now to start talking about some of the serious shit, it is my opinion that dream should not be allowed a platform after this. I'm all for freedom of speech and all that shit don't get me wrong but when someone like him as used his platform to manipulate and exploit the minors in his server as well as to intimidate Victims like caitibug. This guy shouldn't be allowed anywhere close to the same audience he used to weaponize them.

It's only a matter of time before the whole server leaks, and the guys already admitted to heinous shit.

Also I find it disgusting that one of his offshore comments made at Tommy was about it Wilbur yelling at him to keep quiet about a possible predator in the server. These pathetic excuses of adults failed everyone in this server and after all these years I think it's time to finally get rid of them.

To any dream stans out there, whether you just liked his manhunt videos or speed runs or still defend the guy. I am not here to shame you or anything like that, if anything I understand the position your in right now. I don't feel comfortable completely shitting on dream stans because I've also been in a situation where I've idolized a content creator and defended them on every hill. It's hard to see someone for what they really are.

As a kid, from about 11 to 14 I watched skydoesminecraft, he was one of the first YouTubers I watched. It's sad to say it but I really looked up to the guy, he was one of the reasons I wanted to make videos as a kid or just be apart of the YouTuber sphere. In hindsight, I'm glad I wasn't remotely close to any of it. But watching someone I looked up to for years get exposed with damning proof, it was a while different level of disappointment.

So when I see dream stans still defend him, and especially those fans who are obviously kids or at least where younger when they watched him. It's hard for me not so show sympathy.

Who I can't feel any form of sympathy or empathy for is dream, he was a grown man then and he's even older grown man. He knows right from wrong but also knows that doing wrong gets more eyes on him than doing anything right.

Apart from deplatforming the guy, I think we all need to avoid giving him even a second of our attention. Especially since this guy has made it his whole brand to leech off other content creators to take the credit for himself.

As of now, the next stream of this idiots on the horizon. And while i can't tune in anyways because of work and personal stuff. I wouldn't even entertain watching it on his platform. Watch it through clips or reposts, someone's bound to repost it.

And to the many victims of dream over the years, we can really only give our condolences and show support to them. People like Tommy, Jack, Tubbo are just the more vocal individuals. Many people were hurt by this guy and we should all show our support to them, especially Caitibug.

And as I said in my last post about all of this, don't let George and sapnap off with a slap on the wrist for there part to play in this. Those two are equally, if not more guilty of horrible shit, don't let them get off Scott free. Especially George.

With all that being said, I'm gonna go back to working on this rewrite. In all honesty, the more and more I work on rewriting the server, the more I get this shitty taste in mouth about it. I plan on continuing on the Neo smp rewrite but it's gonna take longer. The trio is being written out all together, I also decided to keep this going as a passion project. I'll be posting an update on what I've been working on soon, a new character sheets and worldbuilding is coming soon.

[rich4a1]

How Universal Music Group and Spotify Rewrote the Rules—At the Expense of Indie Artists

Making a Scene Presents How Universal Music Group and Spotify Rewrote the Rules—At the Expense of Indie Artists In a move that sent ripples through the music world, Spotify announced in late 2023 that artists whose tracks fail to reach 1,000 annual streams would no longer receive any royalties. While the platform justified this decision as an effort to combat streaming fraud and better allocate…

[stevenbasic]

Growing into the Job, Post 367: That was Then, This is Now, Epilogue

Amelia Eklund was making bank. Who knew a girl could earn so much money being a casual, relatively disinterested cam girl? So far she was doing it through one of these new companies that took a little cut but handled it all. She heard the money went to the Movement so yeah, whatever, great. These services were getting super popular, with a bigger and bigger stable of girls that did this every day. And not just the slutty ones that used to be on like Streammate or Twitch or whatever, but regular girls who let internet guys look at them for a couple minutes here and there. It was a good way to make some extra cash and exploit these dorkey losers, which had an appeal in and of itself. You didn't even have to take clothes off, really. It was still half an unspoken secret, but men were becoming so submissive; they’d stare at a girl's foot for an hour, or a bra tag, and pay big shit for it. It wasn't just the few weirdos ethier, it was like all of them. It seemed every guy was becoming crippled with these similar fetishes, couldn’t help themselves. Tons of guys, now, would spend much of their day just surfing around from girl to girl, dropping dollars just to watch a pretty girl put on her makeup. So, women were making money on it all over the place, casually. It was just one of the ways the bulk of the nation’s wealth was slowly being transferred, changing hands from male to female. The men seemed helpless to stop it, and girls like Amelia were taking full advantage. Every day there were more and more guys on Amelia’s morning stream.

Like, this morning, Tuesday. Amelia had - after only like twenty seconds - more than 300 viewers, each paying $10 just to see her OOTD. Granted, her popularity had skyrocketed - as had his lololol - after she’d streamed her boss getting swarmed on Melissa’s couch, beat off to a whimpering mess under a sea of them and then watching all the girls surrounding him grow, right on camera. He’d been in a daze, didn’t remember the moment, but the world fucking loved it. Who knew, right? Everyone was jonesing these days for big women and short, weak, pathetic little guys,  man-children. And watching one of these twerps actually make girls grow? A goldmine. The Tiktok video, with all the shares or reblogs or re-posts or whatever by others, onto all the different platforms, had already collected more than thirty million views since Saturday. As many women watched as men. Maybe there were more women, actually.

Amelia got tons of DMs from girls: who WAS that guy?? Can I have a piece haha? So vulni!! The hilarious thing was he didn’t even know about it yet, that he was internet-famous after, like, one minute of being on camera. And yeah it helped Amelia’s cam-girl career start to really take off.  

Honestly - and she’d never admit this outloud, but the thrill she got wasn’t just from the money she was raking in; it was from seeing those viewer numbers go up. It was more than a thrill, actually, there was something darkly electric about it. Like, every new viewer seemed to bring her more energy, and that energy made her tingle and buzz. And besides soaking her panties, she could tell it was all going somewhere, like it was being collected and channeled into something. The bigger those numbers were, the more simpy little men that signed on to her stream, the bigger that buzz became. She would only find out later that it was all going to Melissa. 

So, yeah. Amelia looked at her live viewer count. She was bored already but the numbers helped. She’d make a couple grand this morning before work by giving the simps what they wanted for a minute and taking their cash. She knew she could call them ‘good boys’ for ‘looking at mommy’ and watch the tips explode. But not today, nah. She didn’t really feel like talking. Everyone wanted big mommy, all the time; this morning they'd have to settle for this.

The comments came in a rush:

omigod look at her put her hands behind her head like that. 

she’s bigger than she was yesterday. 

that sweater can’t contain her

Her simps loved to fill her chat box, just talking about her. Sometimes they tried to get her attention. 

goddess please smile for us

you are so beautiful

please tell us your bra size again

how can I send you more money?

Every once in a while there’d be someone interesting, someone with something to say. Sometimes they were rebellious jerks, but most of the time they were just confused twerps trying to figure this all out. She rarely had the patience for them, and most of the time she could quiet them down by just filling their screens with her tits. 

why does she look taller whats happening

LOG OFF NOW SHES PART OF THE CONSPRCY

remember back in the day when camgirls would just do what you told them?

That last comment caught Amelia’s eye, and it actually brought not just a chuckle out of her, but a response. Quickly, right before logging off, she smiled crookedly into the camera and typed out a reply to that misguided cretin:

That was then, assholes. This is now. 

======================================

more more more:

[possumcollege]

NOBODY needs to be defending these people. Major publishers, studios, streaming services, Tesla, Apple, Adobe, Amazon, social media companies- there isnt a single altruistic bone caught in their teeth. Profit from the output of exploited and captive labor IS their product now. When their contacts look like the one in question, the company is clearly stating that shareholders are the customers, not us!

Why else would it be anything but a stupid idea for Amazon to just nuke the majority of Comixology's self-published titles when they consolidated their services? If our experience was really foremost in their minds, why would they repeatedly purge, censor, demonitize, bury, and delete popular accounts with robust followings if not to allay the moral brainworms of shareholders and investors?

Forfeiting rights to our IP is not a "shitty deal," it's surrendering any potential ability to make money off of your own creative work. It's selling your property to a board of accountants to pitch into a portfolio. It's theirs to trot out as long as it's profitable and bury the instant its projected profit dips too close to the cost of maintenance. Hell, we've seen services drop popular series just because their projected profits started to flatten out! Mothballing it also has the added bonus of removing it from the market to further minimize potential competition. Like how there just weren't spider man movies for ages because the owner of the property didn't think it was worth developing but worth too much to sell.

They will make more money from suing you for trying to reclaim IP they mothballed than you did selling it to them in the first place. I guaranteee their budget for lawsuits is a lot deeper than the one they pay their "original" artists from.

By virtue of being a big, profitable, corporation, "their" IP is going to have an astronomically higher value in a court of law than any individual creator. The financial "damage" will be higher for infringing on their copyrights than any amount you can claim on your own. When it becomes theirs, their connections, their infrastructure, their reputation makes it an asset with much more value than you or I can possibly claim. So if you try to steal a bite back from them it's a bite of a *potentially* multimillion-dollar series. In their eyes, they bought the totality of your work, which you agreed was worth the price they gave you. It's value becomes more dependent on who owns it than whether it's even good.

You may not have the same potential to become flash-in-the-pan, short-term succesful without their resources, but you will still own your rights to distribute, alter, preserve, promote, and negotiate your share if you still own your work. That is worth everything as a creator who is passionate about what you've made and committed to protecting it.

The most effective power we can exercise as artists is our ability to say, "no" when someone else wants to pay us a disadvantageous fraction of our worth. You may lose potentially lucrative opportunities but "opportunities" presented by companies like Facebook or Twitter, whose real product is a platform for ads and data collection, with content as bait, are not opportunities to thrive on as independent artists. This specifically is an opportunity for the company to acquire property.

The myth that the publisher's strength is something for us to exploit, without them getting the lion's share is a trap that they feed from at will.

People like the poster up top are opportunists who see the process as a pipeline towards trading low-investment content for financial treats and maybe a share of ad revive. They're stalking horses for companies to exploit more talented but less experienced artists who are facing a daunting and overwhelming market where their work becomes harder and harder to show, let alone sell. A quick deal may feel like a win but it's selling the cow to save money on bottling the milk. Artists like this serve the publisher by making it seem like signing away your rights are just a necessary part of the game. However it's a game they are playing with exceedingly cheap stakes that weren't going to succeed on their own merit. So what if Mr. Business Perspective loses rights to his sexy Mario Bros. parody to a huge company? The point was always to unload it because it's a product, a bartering chip, a trinket. He's a Business Man, so he sees tactics that maximize profits to the business as maximizing their ability to buy whatever shiny tripe he cranks out. The business is his customer, not the reader. The business is his ally, not the creative community. Fuck him and fuck anyone who tells you the exposure is worth a damn if you don't retain rights to your work.

[acapelladitty]

🌵🍬🔪🎨

🌵- share a link to a playlist you love

I don't really listen to playlists but I'll take this opportunity to tell you to stream Disease by Lady Gaga 🤣💖

🍬- post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

If Jonathan Crane was your partner then he would absolutely not respect your fears or limits. I see a lot of headcanons etc about how he wouldn't exploit his significant other like that and I respect the self-indulgence of the concept but feel that the reality would be...uhh...very different.

🔪 - what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I follow some nsfw creators on different platforms and some of the kink activities I've seen described have forced me into research to see exactly how that would work 🤣🤣

🎨- link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

To pick a favourite is impossible because I have been gifted many beautiful and fantastic pieces of fanart over time so I'll just choose a random piece that I adore.

These were commissioned many years ago by a lovely artist in London and they have NEVER left my walls since I got them. The colours and compositions are beautiful.

[lxcke]

It’s disappointing that I need to say this, but I’ve discovered several unauthorized accounts on other platforms pirating and exploiting my work. For clarity: I only publish content on YouTube, and I do not offer official downloads. This channel represents my sole source of income, as I am disabled and unable to work in conventional settings. Any redistribution of my music outside of my YouTube channel is unauthorized and illegal. If I identify individuals or accounts engaging in this, I will pursue legal action.

Do not upload nightcores or copies of my songs with edited pitch. You are stealing my music and profiting off of it.

Do not rip my audio and thumbnail and post it to SoundCloud, Spotify, or other streaming services.

Please do not redistribute my music or modify it to get around copyright moderation. I will be checking for this regularly from now on.

Thanks,

LXCKE

[mariacallous]

An online course founded by far-right influencer Andrew Tate was breached by hackers, revealing the email addresses of roughly 325,000 users.

The self-described online university, known as The Real World, offers users “advanced training and mentoring” for around $50 per month. Formerly known as Hustler’s University, the platform focuses on topics such as health and fitness, financial investment, and e-commerce businesses.

“Money making is a skill,” the website states. “We will teach you how to master it.”

On Thursday, the hackers made their actions known by flooding the course’s primary chatroom with emojis they uploaded while Tate was streaming an episode of his show “Emergency Meeting” on Rumble.

The emojis included a transgender flag, a feminist fist, an AI-generated image of Tate draped in a rainbow flag, another where his buttocks are enlarged, and the cat character used in the “boykisser” meme.

The Daily Dot was provided with approximately 794,000 usernames for what are believed to be the site’s current and former members, as well as the contents of the platform’s 221 public and 395 private chat servers. A list of 324,382 unique email addresses that appear to belong to users who were removed for failure to pay was also handed over.

In a statement on the breach, the hackers claimed that after accessing the data they were able to leverage a vulnerability “to upload emojis, delete attachments, crash everyone’s clients, and temporarily ban people” from the platform.

The Real World claims it currently has over 113,000 active users. If accurate, the site at minimum would generate upwards of $5,650,000 every month.

A source with knowledge of the breach told the Daily Dot that “hacktivism” was cited as a motive, and that the platform’s security was described as “hilariously insecure.”

Analysis of the chat logs by the Daily Dot shows everything from inspirational quotes and progress updates to complaints over the “LGBTQ agenda.”

“Maybe it’s just the MSM, but I am starting to fear for my own safety and the future of the USA,” one user wrote following the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. “Shootings every day, LGBTQ agenda, the matrix, I live in a very good area with a very good home life but I am sick of all this garbage happening here.”

Tate, a 37-year-old former reality TV star and kickboxer, is known best as a leading figure in the “manosphere.” The manosphere is described as a series of websites, blogs, and forums that primarily promote masculinity, although critics argue that a significant portion of the content is toxic in nature.

Tate previously described himself as a misogynist and is known for his disparaging views towards women. A dual U.S.-U.K. national, Tate is currently awaiting trial on human trafficking charges in Romania. In total, Tate is facing five legal investigations stemming from Romania and the U.K. Other allegations include those involving the rape and sex trafficking of minors, as well as forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women. Tate has denied the charges.

The email addresses from the dump were provided by the hackers to HaveIBeenPwned, a service that alerts users when their credentials are leaked. Those email addresses as well as the chat data were also handed over to the journalism collective DDoSecrets, which hosts hacked and leaked data in the public interest.

[alarrytale]

Unpaid labor for the idea of “I need you and you need me”? They’re absolutely using his fans’, who are often teenagers too, naivety establishing such a toxic notion, there should be some uncrossable line at some point. Also he’s really not in a position to drive away his hardcore fans, he knows who’s always been there for him right until aotv came out and some of us refused to invest in child exploitation. Calling him clueless and a victim of current events is insulting him and contributing to the idolization.

It’s called ✨self sabotage✨ and no pura vida (whatever version of this puerto rican cultural concept he appropriated for himself) or bought bots on streaming platforms are gonna protect him from the leaping fall he’s taking when the fandom has become so lackluster by his own actions.

Hi, anon!

The union leader in me is balking at "unpaid labour", but unless these moderators get a schedule they have to keep to and there's an expectation that they'll do this, and it's not just something they take on for fun when they feel like it, then it's not really labour.

I do think that LTHQ's approch to this is all wrong and will make fandom worse. I really do not know what's happpening over there at LTHQ anymore. It seems like they're out of good ideas, not willing to invest or put any work in, and think that Louis' fandom is something that is not. The fan/Louis/LTHQ relationship has become even more antagonistic and the fan/fan relationship is about to do the same. None of this is good.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Payton Armstrong, Jack Winstanley, Noah Dowe, Ben Van Bloem, and Kayla Gogarty at MMFA:

After rolling back its election misinformation policy last year, YouTube allowed right-wing media figures to undermine confidence in the 2024 election results even before any votes were cast, with streamers asserting that “the only way this election can be won from the left is if it's stolen,” suggesting that “illegal ballots” might be “slipped in” in Pennsylvania, and claiming that Democrats are trying “to rig and steal the election” including with an “illegal alien push.”

In December 2020, after states certified their election results, YouTube began removing content with false claims that widespread fraud had changed the outcome of the election, but the platform reversed that policy in June 2023, saying that it would “stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections.” (The decision was cheered by right-wing media.) Over the last year, right-wing creators have exploited YouTube’s policy rollback, especially in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election. In July, for instance, Media Matters reported that after becoming co-chair of the Republican National Committee in March, Lara Trump repeatedly engaged in election denial on her show that streams on YouTube.  Right-wing podcaster Steven Crowder even acknowledged the policy change during an August stream on the platform, saying, “Here’s another way that they try to steal this election from you. And we’re allowed to say that on YouTube now, which is great.”

New Media Matters study finds hundreds of videos on YouTube with election misinformation

In a new study, Media Matters reviewed YouTube content streamed or uploaded between May 1 and August 31 by 30 right-wing channels or channels that hosted notable right-wing figures. We found 286 videos — totaling at least 44 million views and including at least 93 monetized videos — that contained misinformation about the 2020, 2022, and/or 2024 elections. 

According to our study, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was the most prolific election misinformer, accounting for 77 of the 286 videos, and right-wing streamer Benny Johnson had the most videos that we observed with preroll ads. We found that in the two months after WABC canceled Giuliani’s radio shows (May 10 through July 12), he relentlessly claimed on YouTube that the 2020 election was “stolen” and Democrats were “going to cheat” in the 2024 election. More details on these findings can be found here.

We also found Johnson pushed election misinformation in dozens of monetized YouTube videos from May through August. These videos — which each included preroll ads, paid promotions, and/or Super Chats — have earned millions of views. More details on these findings can be found here.

YouTube permitted numerous right-wing pundits spew out content undermining the confidence of the 2024 election results to push out nonsense about “stolen” and “rigged” elections.

See Also:

MMFA: YouTube is profiting from Benny Johnson’s election misinformation

MMFA: YouTube has provided a home for Rudy Giuliani's election denial after WABC canceled his radio shows