TheSoul Publishing explained

Founder:Pavel Radaev
Marat Mukhametov
Predecessor:AdMe
Hq Location City:Limassol
Hq Location Country:Cyprus
Key People:Arthur Mamedov (CEO)
Anastasiia Vinogradova (CCO)
Products:Digital media

TheSoul Publishing is a global digital media publisher based in Limassol, Cyprus which oversees multiple brands that monetize based on short-form content.[1] [2] [3] Founded in 2016, it focuses on video content,[4] [5] most of which has been categorised as content farm material.[6] TheSoul's brands include YouTube channels such as 5-Minute Crafts,[7] Bright Side,[8] La La Life, Teen-Z, and 123 GO![9]

Although TheSoul is headquartered in Cyprus, its videos are produced all over the world with multiple offices throughout Europe and North America.[10] It develops videos across 100 channel brands in 19 different languages.[9]

History

TheSoul Publishing was launched by web developers Pavel Radaev and Marat Mukhametov, who are Cyprus-based Russian nationals, in the Cypriot city of Limassol in 2016.[11] It grew out of the duo's Kazan-based company AdMe, which focused on digital advertising and content distribution.[12] [13] Later that year, TheSoul launched its YouTube channel 5-Minute Crafts, which became 13th most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world as of April 2023. In 2017, the company launched Bright Side, which became its second-most popular YouTube channel.[14]

In 2019, TheSoul said it had 550 employees and produced 1,500 videos a month.[15] In 2021, it was recorded that the company had 2,100 employees,[16] 80% of whom work remotely[17] and follow a "no meetings" policy.[18] As of October 2022, the company's employees are based in over 70 countries and six continents.

In March 2021, TheSoul was named Digital Studio of the Year by Digiday at its Video & TV Awards.[19] In September, the company published a video launching its virtual YouTuber musician character Polar,[20] which received over 3 million views by December.[21] TheSoul also announced a distribution deal with French record label Believe in December.[22] [23] In 2021, the company adapted content from its various DIY-focused channels (including 5-Minute Crafts) for distribution on Pinterest. This began with translating 5-Minute Crafts' videos into Portuguese and Spanish, a move that was recognized with the Best Use of Pinterest Award at that year's Drum Awards for Digital Industries.[24]

In May 2022, TheSoul announced a partnership with Retail Monster to develop licensing and retail programs around 5-Minute Crafts.[25] In November, TheSoul launched a partnership with Samsung TV Plus which brought 5-Minute Crafts and TeenVee to TV audiences in Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.[26] In the same month, TheSoul Publishing partnered with Kidoodle.TV to bring 5-Minute Crafts, Baby Zoo, and Slick Slime Sam to Kidoodle in both English and Spanish.[27] In December, TheSoul Publishing acquired a majority stake in the management firm Underscore Talent.[28] That same month, the company opened its Latvian branch in Riga.[29]

Leadership

In October, the company named its new CEO as Arthur Mamedov, who had been COO since 2016.[30] This came after founders Radaev and Mukhametov, said they would "step away from day-to-day operations to assume non-executive advisory positions". Anastasiia Vinogradova was also promoted to CCO.

Popularity

TheSoul is the largest media production hub in the world and is the largest company on YouTube and Facebook in terms of social media views.[31] The company has over 1.5 billion subscribers worldwide.[32] Most of its channels feature "life hacks" and have been categorised as content farms.[33] The company also has a presence on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.[33] In November 2021, Variety wrote that TheSoul had the ninth most viewed YouTube Short on its 5-Minute Crafts channel, as well as the most viewed YouTube Short overall with over 433 million views.[34] By April 2023, 5-Minute Crafts had amassed over 25.7 billion views and Bright Side had amassed over 10.6 billion views.[35]

Criticism

In November 2018, Vox published an article calling TheSoul's content "cringy", "clickbait", and "bizarre".[36] However, the article also stated, "To answer the implicit question, unlike many viral Facebook posts that came out of Russia over the past few years, TheSoul Publishing's content does not appear to be overtly political."[36]

In December 2019, the company's channel Smart Banana was criticized by Lawfare for making "history videos with a political tinge".[14] One video falsely claimed that Ukraine is part of Russia, another gave a "heavily sanitized" summary of Joseph Stalin's reign and incorrectly claimed that Alaska was a gift from Russia to the United States, and a third video predicted that the United States would likely collapse within 20 years.[14] The Lawfare article's claims were picked up by American political commentator Rachel Maddow, who likened the videos to Russia's interference in the 2016 United States elections.[37] However, Vice found no new political content on any of TheSoul's channels in the lead-up to the 2020 United States elections, and described it as more of a content farm than a channel intended to sway public opinion.[38] Shortly after the Lawfare article was published, TheSoul apologised for posting "historically questionable" videos and removed the content, as well as announcing an editorial decision to no longer create history videos and stating that it had never worked with "any government or semi-government organization of any country".[39]

In June 2020, TheSoul's animated subsidiary channel Actually Happened was deleted, and references to the channel were removed from the company's website.[40] [41] The channel, which had over 4 million subscribers, hosted cartoons of supposedly real events presented as firsthand experiences of American teenagers; the stories were often questioned.[42]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: How a Start-Up in Cyprus Became the Next Big Thing in Online Content . Hollywood Reporter . 20 August 2021 . 2 August 2022.
  2. News: Vallese . Zach . 2023 . In the three-way battle between YouTube, Reels and TikTok, creators aren't counting on a big payday . CNBC . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230722125312/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/27/in-youtube-tiktok-reels-battle-creators-dont-expect-a-big-payday.html . July 22, 2023.
  3. Web site: 2023 . TheSoul Publishing - Short-Form Video . Shorty Awards.
  4. Web site: What publishers can learn about TheSoul Publishing's road to 1B social subscribers . What's New in Publishing . 18 June 2021 . 3 February 2023.
  5. Web site: '5-Minute Crafts' Owner TheSoul Publishing Acquires Majority Stake In Underscore Talent . Hollywood Reporter . 4 November 2015 . 3 February 2023.
  6. News: Cooper . Daniel . Meet the biggest media company you've (probably) never heard of . 24 April 2023 . Engadget . 20 May 2021.
  7. Web site: What publishers can learn about TheSoul Publishing's road to 1B social subscribers. 18 June 2021. What’s New in Publishing | Digital Publishing News.
  8. Web site: Digital Studio TheSoul Publishing Dominating in Viewership for Newly Launched YouTube Shorts . Variety . 18 November 2021 . 9 August 2022.
  9. Web site: Digital Studio TheSoul Publishing Dominating in Viewership for Newly Launched YouTube Shorts. Matt. Donnelly. 18 November 2021.
  10. Web site: TheSoul Publishing, a major producer of digital content, has acquired a majority stake in Underscore Talent . 6 December 2022 .
  11. Web site: '5-Minute Crafts' Owner TheSoul Publishing Acquires Majority Stake In Underscore Talent . Hollywood Reporter . 6 December 2022 . 14 December 2022.
  12. News: Rapoza . Kenneth . These Two Russian 'Fake News' Outfits Get Billions Of Hits On Facebook . Forbes . 22 September 2017.
  13. News: Ganzhur . Elena . Станок, печатающий деньги в YouTube: как два приятеля из Казани создали крупнейшую фабрику контента для соцсетей. A machine that prints money on YouTube: how two friends from Kazan created the largest content factory for social networks . 24 September 2021 . Forbes.ru . 27 September 2019 . ru.
  14. Web site: Kaplan. Lisa. The Biggest Social Media Operation You've Never Heard of Is Run Out of Cyprus by Russians. Lawfare. 18 December 2019. 28 December 2019.
  15. News: Read . Max . The Egg Is Bigger Than Before, or, Mysteries of YouTube's Third-Biggest Channel . 24 September 2021 . The Cut . 26 July 2019.
  16. Web site: Here's what happened when this company banned meetings. Jul 14, 2021.
  17. Web site: 'Productivity is through the roof': Why companies are waging war on meetings to tackle burnout. Aug 16, 2021.
  18. News: Why modern managers are reviving old-school staff handbooks. Financial Times . Jan 6, 2022.
  19. News: Hulu, 60 Second Docs and Comedy Central Digital are Digiday Video and TV Awards winners in 2021 . 25 April 2022 . Digiday . 25 March 2021.
  20. News: TheSoul Publishing Reveals Its First Digital Music Artist . 23 December 2021 . Yahoo . 28 September 2021.
  21. Web site: Polar – Close To You (Official video) . YouTube . 23 December 2021.
  22. News: McGlynn . Declan . Music and the Metaverse: Are we on the brink of a virtual artist revolution?. 27 April 2022 . Rolling Stone . 7 April 2022.
  23. News: YouTube and Facebook content creator TheSoul Publishing launches music division . 27 April 2022 . Music Week . 21 March 2022.
  24. Web site: The Soul Publishing on crafting a DIY Pinterest strategy to boost brand awareness . The Drum . 28 June 2022.
  25. News: Thesoul Publishing Announces Retail Monster As U.S. Licensing Agent For Global Phenomenon 5-Minute Crafts . 14 June 2022 . Total Licensing . 25 May 2022.
  26. News: 24 November 2022 . TheSoul takes channels to Samsung TV Plus in Europe . 6 December 2022 . Digital TV Europe.
  27. Web site: TheSoul sends 150 eps to Kidoodle.TV . 13 January 2023 . Kidscreen.
  28. News: 6 December 2022 . 5-Minute Crafts' Owner TheSoul Publishing Acquires Majority Stake In Underscore Talent . 4 January 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  29. News: 10 December 2021 . 'TheSoul Publishing' paplašina darbību Rīgā un meklē darbiniekus . 1 February 2022 . Delfi Bizness.
  30. Web site: TheSoul Publishing Names Longtime COO Arthur Mamedov CEO . License Global . 14 February 2023.
  31. News: Roxborough . Scott . How a Start-Up in Cyprus Became the Next Big Thing in Online Content . 24 September 2021 . The Hollywood Reporter . 20 August 2021.
  32. Web site: What publishers can learn about TheSoul Publishing's road to 1B social subscribers . What's New In Publishing . 18 June 2021 . 22 June 2021.
  33. News: Barber . Kayleigh . TheSoul grew revenue via platforms with viral social media life hacks . 24 September 2021 . Digiday . 12 February 2021.
  34. News: Donnelly . Matt . Digital Studio TheSoul Publishing Dominating in Viewership for Newly Launched YouTube Shorts . 10 January 2022 . Variety . 18 November 2021.
  35. Web site: Top 100 Subscribed Youtube Channels (Sorted by Subscriber Count) . Social Blade . 25 April 2023.
  36. Web site: Jennings. Rebecca. 2018-11-12. Why YouTube is riddled with bizarre DIY videos. 2021-05-27. Vox.
  37. Web site: Maddow. Rachel. Russia working social media to manipulate American voters (again). 2021-05-26. The Rachel Maddow Show. MSNBC.
  38. News: Koebler . Jason . Viral Russian YouTube Channel Not a PsyOp, Just Good at Making Videos . 24 September 2021 . Vice . 3 November 2020.
  39. Web site: 25 December 2019 . A message from TheSoul Publishing- Internet Archive . deviated . https://web.archive.org/web/20210510052709/https://www.thesoul-publishing.com/post/a-message-from-thesoul-publishing . May 10, 2021 . December 25, 2019 . TheSoul Publishing.
  40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDJzxR6B15M "What Happened To Actually Happened?"
  41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6sfqBBos6o "How Actually Happened Got Actually Deleted"
  42. News: The fake, creepy world of YouTube's animated story channels . 11 October 2021 . The Daily Dot . 9 April 2020.

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