Showing 32 results for:
Popular topics
Over the past several years, Druski has been an internet sensation. The influencer and actor’s popularity has grown from his comedic skits including his Coulda Been Records “auditions.” Earlier this year, he even transformed his social media presence into a full-blown headlining comedy tour, “Coulda Woulda Shoulda,” in the U.S. The debut tour kicked off in March 2023 in Richmond, VA, and stopped at a total of 30 venues. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DRUSKI (@druski)
Sep 26, 2023
Snoop Dogg is not happy with how streaming giants compensate Black creators.
Aug 9, 2023
The saying Black people have to work twice as hard as their white peers is no different when it comes to the influencer space.
Dec 28, 2022
Keke Palmer is working to make sure rising creators can enter the industry on softer soil. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech)
Dec 2, 2022
Earlier this year, Snap announced the Black Creator Accelerator — a program to help remove systemic barriers for Black creators. Now, the social media giant is in celebratory mode for its inaugural class.
Sep 20, 2022
Black creators have been at the forefront of trends, and that will likely not end anytime soon. The interesting fact about their impact is that they have not always been paid or recognized for their contributions to the industry. From comedic skits to product recommendations, Black people have been at the center of culture — providing the entertainment and “up-to-date” information the world craves. Recently, Forbes recognized the work of some of these Black creatives. Not only have they been in their creative bag, but they have also overcome some systemic challenges and earned quite a bit of income in the process. Check out the list of Black creators that made the Forbes list.
Sep 7, 2022
Over the years, TikTok has received a lot of flack from Black creators for not receiving the same opportunities as their white counterparts. In light of the situation, the social media giant’s competitors swooped in to offer them more — one of them being Triller. But according to The Washington Post, there are allegations that the app has not followed through on its promises. Triller made its name recruiting talent with lavish perks and content houses in the Hollywood Hills. Now, dozens of influencers are struggling to get paid. ‘We were made to look like fools,’ one creator said. https://t.co/we5A6zuCOp — Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) August 3, 2022
Aug 4, 2022
Snap is looking to support Black talent on their journey toward securing the bag. During VidCon 2022, the social platform announced a new accelerator program for emerging Black creators, TechCrunch reports. Under Snap’s 523 initiative, 25 program selectees will be paid $10,000 monthly for a year — totaling $120,000. The $3 million funding is intended to help Black creators thrive on social media through their platform. In addition, Google Pixel, UNCMMN, and Westbrook Media have hopped on board to partner with the new program. “Black creators face unique systemic barriers across the creator industry — from disparities in compensation and attribution, to toxic experiences and more,” the company wrote in a press release, according to the outlet. “We believe one of the ways we can help remove some of those barriers is to provide mentorship and financial resources to emerging Black creators in the early stages of their professional career.” 523 launched in December 2021 as a move to...
Jun 24, 2022
In today’s day and age of social media, simply tagging someone in a post could potentially change the course of their careers. With viral sensations and challenges ruling over our timelines, it’s also become a trend for Black creators to not receive proper recognition as the originators for the majority of what blows up online. Meta’s Alexis Michelle Adjei, Cameryn Boyd, and Alexandra Zaoui made the active choice to step in and help the underrepresented group get their due credit. “I feel like it was every day on these different platforms overall — on Instagram, of course — of seeing dances, designs, and songs, and [Black creators] would make these amazing viral trends,” Adjei shared with AfroTech. “It was beautiful to see everybody do their own takes on it, but when you went back to look at the originator they were often Black and brown folk who were really being the trendsetters. And they were getting lost in the story. When it would come to what would be displayed or what would...
Mar 21, 2022
If it weren’t for injuries stemming from baseball, Micah Johnson would have never had an NFT collection worth millions of dollars. Johnson’s story was recently told in Fortune Magazine, where he revealed that, per CryptoArt, the primary and secondary sales of his NFT collection totaled $19 million. But that’s not how things were meant to go in his initial plan. Johnson started out as a baseball player. From 2015 to 2017, he played for teams like the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and The Atlanta Braves. But after suffering a series of injuries, including a torn shoulder and a fractured wrist, Johnson hung up his baseball mitt and picked up a paintbrush, devoting his time to becoming a full-time visual artist. But things changed again in 2019 when Johnson realized he was expecting a child with his long-term partner. He’d learned about NFTs as a way to possibly make more money selling his art, and put together his first NFT collection. The first sale from his digital art...
Feb 16, 2022
Evolving with social media is no small feat, yet Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion have made it look easy. The online world has watched the two influencers and best friends grow up from six-second Vines to becoming YouTubers — because before TikTok, YouTube was where a class of Black content creators entered the space and took the Internet by storm. And things were clearly just beginning, as Thompson and Dion seemingly went on to make even bigger moves in the entertainment industry. In my opinion, their success is marked as wins, especially when up against not being awarded the same level of opportunities as their white counterparts. However, t he two have stayed ten toes down in the game for nearly a decade — even though the way Black content creators get treated hasn’t really improved much. Take, for example, how Black TikTokers are the creative masterminds behind some of the biggest trends on the platform, but still, Forbes’ list of the highest TikTok earners featured no Black...
Feb 15, 2022
Triller, the app that is best known for working with the likes of Eminem and the VERZUZ brand, has announced a new equity program for Black creators. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the app has launched a funding program that will provide Black creators posting on the app $2,000 in cash and $2,000 in company equity per month. The contracts with the creators begin on Jan. 1, and participants are required to sign a one-year contract with the app to qualify for the payments. The program is called the Triller Assembly for Black Creators, and more details about it can be found here. The objective of Assembly for Black Creators is to empower Black creators and talent to deepen the pipeline of Black-owned content across entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, sports and other genres available to consumer brands for integration and advertising opportunities. Creators who are participating in the program are required to post eight videos to Triller per month and eight different posts with...
Nov 22, 2021
Solange made it clear with her widely acclaimed album “A Seat at the Table” that she’s dedicated to protecting what Black people own, and she’s just announced her inaugural free library that does just that. Under her studio and platform Saint Heron, the singer has revealed its new community library filled with rare books and art by Black creators for research, study and exploration, Variety reports . As previously reported by AfroTech, Saint Heron’s mission is to preserve, collect and uplift the stories, works, and archives of Black and brown artists within our creative communities. https://www.instagram.com/p/CU-n3_YvBEz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link “The Saint Heron Library continues the work we have been building by preserving collections of creators with the urgency they deserve,” Solange said. “Together we seek to create an archive of stories and works we deem valuable. These works expand imaginations, and it is vital to us to make them accessible to students, and our...
Oct 14, 2021
Just when we thought the days of OnlyFans was over, rapper Tyga has come up with a solution to still get content creators paid on a new platform. Following the news of OnlyFans’ rebrand to ban adult entertainment content on its platform, the former Young Money artist has announced the launch of an alternative called Myystar — which will support content creators who wish to create whatever kind of content they’d like, explicit or not, without pushback. According to the rapper’s latest Instagram post, he has since deleted his OnlyFans account to get behind his own movement. “Just deleted my Onlyfans, starting my own platform @myystar8 more futuristic , better quality & only 10% fee,” he wrote. “Creators will also be able to make content of their choice!” Tyga then encouraged users to apply to get invites to the platform. View this post on Instagram A post shared by T-Raww (@tyga)
Aug 23, 2021
Back in May, Spotify announced a monumental initiative designed to invest in and amplify the work of Black creators in music and beyond. Today, the streaming giant has teamed up with Black woman-operated creative agency FourTwo Creative to rollout a new campaign continuing the momentum of the new budding creator hub. Frequency Podcast Campaign — which features a two-part video series highlighting select Black creators who have chosen podcasting as their creative avenue — was created by both parties in an effort to spotlight a space where Black voices are moving the needle and becoming a dominant force in audio. “Podcasting is yet another medium that allows Black creatives to have a space where they can say what they feel and tap into audiences who can relate,” FourTwo Creative tells AfroTech. “It’s a medium that’s also a level playing field of creating one’s own platform—there are so many resources available that allow creatives to start with what they have and produce quality...
Aug 11, 2021