YouTube and National Public Media Announce Custom Podcast The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy

YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing platform, and National Public Media (NPM) today announced their collaboration on a new custom podcast series The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy. Launching on September 22, host Brittany Luse will explore the rise of the creator economy through interviews with YouTube creators who have pushed the boundaries of the craft and have transformed what it means to be a content creator today. The five episode series will be released weekly on Wednesdays.

The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy is the first custom podcast series from NPM and YouTube. NPM offers custom audio production to brands via its in-house creative studio NPM Creative, which provides best-in-class audio and visual storytelling. Custom audio is the latest evolution in its suite of robust offerings, which also includes native sponsorship design and digital creative services. NPM Creative has worked with over 70 of today’s most recognizable brands including Chipotle, Wise and Sierra Nevada.

The podcast showcases YouTube’s commitment to the creators on its platform and how those creators are changing the economy as we know it. Over the past decade, YouTube creators have built a unique ecosystem where they can share their stories, build businesses and engage with people all over the globe. The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy takes listeners behind the scenes to hear from those who are changing the rules for small business success, one video at a time.

“In just under a decade, the creator economy has grown into a multi-billion-dollar force within the media industry. Ten years ago, creators were considered hobbyists and today they are running thriving businesses,” explains YouTube’s Brianna LaFleur, who shares an executive producer credit on The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy with NPM’s Erica Osher. “NPM and YouTube are the perfect partners for a collaboration of this kind and we are really excited to take listeners behind the scenes of the videos they watch every day.”

“We’ve been so pleased with the level of collaboration with YouTube from day one,” added Osher. “We are proud to share the amazing stories of how the creators built their channels and their careers”

“The Upload represents the evolution of NPM’s custom audio work for brands, as audiences want to understand the story behind businesses and individuals, produced in an authentic and dynamic way,” said NPM CEO Gina Garrubbo.

The podcast features conversations with creators and is hosted by Brittany Luse. Luse is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and co-host of For Colored Nerds podcast. She formerly co-hosted and executive produced The Nod with Brittany and Eric, a daily streaming show. Luse also hosted and produced The Nod and Sampler podcasts. Her writing has appeared at Refinery29 and Harper’s Bazaar. Luse and her work have been profiled by The New Yorker, The Guardian, NPR, Essence Magazine, and Teen Vogue, among others.

The five-episode series will focus on five widely-known YouTube creators: Lilly Singh, Emmy Cho (Emmymade), The Lau Family (MadewithLau), Caleb Marshall (TheFitnessMarshall), and DDG. The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy will be available wherever podcasts are found: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, via smart speakers with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and more. Subscribe now to be the first to hear new episodes.

About YouTube

Launched in May 2005, YouTube’s mission is to give everyone a voice and show them the world. We believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories. YouTube is a Google company.

About National Public Media

National Public Media is a full-service corporate sponsorship organization, working with brands, agencies, producers and broadcasters to develop campaigns that deliver on sponsor objectives while fueling the mission of public media. NPM serves as the exclusive sponsorship representative for the NPR network, which reaches 163M people monthly across platforms, and designs multi-market campaigns with public media stations around the country. National Public Media is committed to excellence in audience research, measurement tools, product design and creative consultation and production for each of its brand and station partners.

National Public Media is jointly owned by NPR, PBS and Boston’s powerhouse PBS station WGBH.