Variety brings news of an intriguing survey asking US teenagers who the most influential celebrities are. Only three of the top 10 are ‘traditional’ stars: late actor Paul Walker (sixth), actor Jennifer Lawrence (seventh) and musician Katy Perry (ninth). The top five places are all taken by YouTubers: Smosh, The Fine Bros, PewDiePie, KSI and Ryan Higa. “YouTube stars scored significantly higher than traditional celebrities across a range of characteristics considered to have the highest correlation to influencing purchases among teens,” claimed Variety. “YouTubers were judged to be more engaging, extraordinary and relatable than mainstream stars, who were rated as being smarter and more reliable. In terms of sex appeal, the two types of celebs finished just about even.” With major labels eagerly signing up Vine and YouTube music stars, these trends have clearly been noticed already within the music industry, but TV and Hollywood are still waking up to the implications.
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Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…