TheSoul Publishing
PredecessorAdMe
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
FounderPavel Radaev
Marat Mukhametov
Headquarters
Limassol
,
Cyprus
Key people
Arthur Mamedov (CEO)
Anastasiia Vinogradova (CCO)
ProductsDigital media
Websitethesoul-publishing.com

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 by Cyprus-based Russian nationals Pavel Radaev and Marat Mukhametov in 2016, it focuses on light-hearted video content,[4][5][6] most of which has been categorised as content farm material.[6] TheSoul's brands include popular YouTube channels such as 5-Minute Crafts (the 13th most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world as of April 2023),[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, from which it creates content for its 1.5 billion collective subscribers.[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,[6] 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 hit YouTube channel 5-Minute Crafts, which grew to become 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.[19]

In March 2021, TheSoul was named Digital Studio of the Year by Digiday at its Video & TV Awards.[20] In September, the company published a video launching its virtual YouTuber musician character Polar,[21] which received over 3 million views by December.[22] TheSoul also announced a distribution deal with French record label Believe in December.[23][24] Throughout 2021, the company set out to adapt 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.[25]

In May 2022, TheSoul announced a partnership with Retail Monster to develop licensing and retail programs around its flagship franchise, 5-Minute Crafts.[26] In October, the company named its new CEO as Arthur Mamedov, who had been COO since 2016.[19] This came after the company's founders and co-CEOs, Pavel Radaev and Marat Mukhametov, said they would "step away from day-to-day operations to assume non-executive advisory positions".[19] Anastasiia Vinogradova was also promoted to CCO.[19] 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.[27] 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.[28] In December, TheSoul Publishing acquired a majority stake in the management firm Underscore Talent.[29] That same month, the company opened its Latvian branch in Riga.[30]

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, ahead of companies such as Disney, Sony Pictures, Viacom, and WarnerMedia.[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 growing influence 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]

References

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

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