Entertainment
LaRussell Shocks With New Challenge
On Wednesday December 31st, Bay Area artist, LaRussell, announced his groundbreaking challenge to sell 100,000 album copies in 30 days, fully independent.
The challenge builds on another one of his ground breaking initiatives, his pay-what-you-want pricing, offer-based ticketing, and community-backed merch sales. He’s recently announced on his Instagram that he sold 1000 pre-sale copies within 24 hours of the announcement, along with one supporter paying $5000 for the album and several others paying $1000.
This revolutionary sales method was largely influenced by the late Hip-Hop Legend, Nipsey Hussle, and his mixtape “Mailbox Money”. Nipsey sold each physical tape for $1000 each and sold 60 copies attracting the support of hiphop giants like Jay-Z. Digital copies sold for $12 each and made $50,000 from both Itunes & Spotify. The iconic mixtape release challenged traditional ideas of artist value, scale, and independence.
The Marathon Has Continued
This week, the Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur announced an ambitious new goal to sell 100,000 albums in 30 days during the month of January. The announcement wasn’t framed as a flex or a gamble, but a statement to the music industry that what independent artist have the potential to achieve today is limitless.
The Announcement
LaRussell shared the campaign across his social platforms, including a video announcement posted to X, where he spoke candidly about the intention behind the goal.
“I’m setting a goal for myself to sell 100,000 albums,” he said. “Even if you got to buy an album for a dollar, two dollars, whatever — please help me hit this goal. I just want to show the world that this is possible independently and at home within our own region and our own people.”
Rather than positioning the album as a fixed-price product, LaRussell emphasized accessibility and participation, calling on supporters to contribute at whatever level they could.
“I’m really out to prove something to the rest of the world and the industry,” he added. “And I need my home team behind me.”
The announcement immediately sparked conversation among fans and independent artists alike, many pointing out that the campaign reflects the evolution of systems LaRussell has already been building.
Primary source: LaRussell’s announcement on X
Why It Matters
Selling 100,000 albums in a month is a rare feat even for major-label artists and almost unheard of for independent rappers in today’s streaming-driven landscape. LaRussell for several years has been showing the world that the modern way artists exist in “the music business” can be one of self empowerment & ownership.
In a recent appearance on the Money Talks with Jesse podcast, LaRussell broke down the thinking behind his pay-what-you-want approach to music, merch, and live shows.
“I started off Proud to Pay like Nip,” LaRussell explained. “I was thinking of how I could do the $100 album Nip did, but in a way that worked for broke [people] — because all I knew was broke [people].”
Instead of setting premium prices, LaRussell removed them altogether, allowing fans to make offers while maintaining backend thresholds that protect his value.
“If somebody offers $5 for a hoodie, I don’t have to accept it,” he said. “But if it meets the threshold, it’ll automatically accept it. That way I still have some say in what I feel like I’m worth.”
That same philosophy extends to his live shows. Through WhatsTBA — a ticketing platform he co-founded. LaRussell personally reviews offers for performances, deciding which to accept or reject based on context, demand, and community alignment.
“Artists aren’t just going to leave their home without money,” he said. “At a certain level, you get a guarantee. Or you do splits. Or you do a flat and take care of everything else.”
The model isn’t theoretical. According to LaRussell, merchandise alone generated approximately $170,000–$180,000 in the third quarter of 2025, with hoodies and limited-edition race car jackets driving the bulk of sales. Importantly, he noted that removing suggested prices actually increased support.
“When you say ‘make an offer’ and give people nothing but their mind to decide what it’s worth, it changes the process,” he said. “You’re not just buying a hoodie. You’re supporting young Black men building something different.”
What’s Next
LaRussell’s January challenge will test whether community-backed economics can scale to numbers traditionally reserved for major-label releases. For those who are pro community and pro ownership, this is your moment to support a vanguard of the independent movement.
He also addressed why more artists haven’t adopted similar grassroots strategies.
“Embarrassment. Ego. Shame,” LaRussell said. “The internet made it uncool to start small. But everybody starts somewhere.”
Whether LaRussell hits 100,000 albums or not, the campaign stands as a real-time case study in independent infrastructure — one built long before the announcement, and now being tested on the biggest stage yet.
January won’t just measure sales. It’ll measure belief.
Snapchat rolled out the yellow carpet for their inaugural award show, the Snappys? The event was hosted at the company’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California. For the Snappys, the Snapchat building was converted into a theatre and event space, hosting top content creators invited to the event and nominated for awards. The Snappys were streamed live last night on the Snapchat app. So who took home awards and what bumps in the road happened at the event?
Matt Friend, a comedian known for his impressions, hosted the awards show. Friend has performed at previous Snapchat events and has an active following on the platform. In his monologue, Friend made jokes poking fun at the recent abundance of award shows in his monologue (TikTok had their first award show in December) and at content recycled between social media platforms.
Kehlani was scheduled to perform but did not attend, cancelling for personal reasons. Some top influencers did attend the event including nominees like David Dobrik, Dixie D’Amelio, JoJo Siwa and Harry Jowsey, but turnout was lower than expected. Roughly half of all Snappy winners did not even attend the event. Lifetime Achievement winner DJ Khaled accepted his achievement award virtually, also announcing Kehlani’s scrapped performance. Additionally, some social media users reported issues trying to watch the show live on the app.
Despite the setbacks, the award show was still a relative success, with Dobrik, Kylie Jenner and former NBA player Dwight Howard winning awards. Dobrik dedicated his win to Snapchat Head of Content Partnerships Jim Shepherd. Shepherd was quoted in Snapchat’s press release for the award show toting the platform’s commitment to creators. During the event, it was announced that paid creator subscriptions would be available to all Snap users. Winners took home a golden statue of the company’s ghost logo à la the Oscars.
2026 Snappys Winners
Best Use of Creative Tools – Zaina Sesay
Best Storyteller – Rachel Levin
Spotlight MVP – AdamW
Top Lens Creator – Mohamad el Asmar
Community Builder – Cheyenne Davis
One To Watch – Ella Moncrief
Off-Platform Buzz – Nic Vans
Comeback Star- Kylie Jenner
Breakout Creator – Ashton Hall
Lifetime Achievement – DJ Khaled
Creator of the Year – David Dobrik
Top Beauty Creator – Leilani Green
Top Lifestyle Creator – Ari Fletcher
Top Athlete Creator – Dwight Howard
Top Music Creator – Leon Thomas
Top Food Creator – Jack Mancuso
Top Fashion Creator – Ashley Graham
Top Comedy Creator – LaLa Milan
Top On-Camera Correspondent – Lauren Ashley Beck
Top Gamer Creator – Dimucc
Top Family Creator – Justus and Kayla Tucker
Top Fitness Creator – Katie Austin
Google, owner of YouTube, and Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, had been found liable in a notable case on childhood social media addiction. A jury in Los Angeles, California found that the two tech companies had deliberately built addictive social media applications that harmed the mental health of the 20-year-old plaintiff, according to BBC News. Both Meta and Google said they disagree with the court’s verdict and would be appealing the decision, releasing separate statements to news organizations about the case. The plaintiff in the case, known as “Kaley” or “KGM”, was awarded $6 million in damages, $3 million each in compensatory and punitive damages, with Meta expected to pay 70% of damages and Google the leftover 30% owed. The ruling could have major implications in many similar social media cases currently being tried across the United States.
Although Google was a defendant in the case through its platform YouTube, the case focused primarily on Meta, specifically because of Instagram. Notably, Meta chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the court in February in his first appearance in front of a jury. Snap and TikTok settled with the plaintiff for undisclosed amounts before the case went to trial. The lawsuit for “Kailey” is the first in a region-wide consolidated case (where a court merges multiple lawsuits) of roughly 2,500 against the four tech and social media giants, Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok. In an unrelated but notable case, Elon Musk’s XAI, parent company of X (formerly Twitter) is currently being sued by the city of Baltimore, Maryland over allegations of sexually explicit images generated by its AI agent Grok.
The plaintiff said that she started using Instagram at nine years old and was using YouTube at age six, without being blocked from using either platform. She went on to claim that she stopped interacting with her family and began having symptoms of anxiety and depression at age 10. She was reportedly diagnosed with both conditions later by a therapist. According to the Associated Press, Meta argued that the mental health struggles faced by Kaley were unrelated to her social media use. Lawyers for YouTube argued that their platform was more like television than a social media platform, also pointing to company data they said showed that Kaley’s usage of the platform had declined over time. Both companies emphasized the safety features of their platforms, echoing similar statements from Zuckerberg during his February testimony.
The Los Angeles case comes just a day after a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million. The company was found liable for misleading users about the safety of its platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Another California court case involving social media platforms and alleged harm to minors is also scheduled to start this month. The UK, Australia and Indonesia are also restricting access to social media for children. Indonesia will ban social media for children under 16 starting March 28, with a similar law for people under 16 in Australia already in place. In the UK, a pilot program testing social media time limits, digital curfews and bans is currently underway. Slovenia, Spain, France, Germany and Denmark are also moving to ban social media for minors. Today’s ruling is likely to influence other court cases around the country as governments around the world are considering limiting social media access for children.
On March 31, Snapchat will host the inaugural Snappy Awards at its Santa Monica headquarters, becoming the latest major platform to build its own awards show from scratch, complete with nominees, categories, a celebrity host, and a lifetime achievement honoree, DJ Khaled. The show, which will span 21 categories recognizing creators across entertainment, comedy, music, sports, beauty, fashion, and gaming, represents Snapchat’s most visible effort yet to position itself as a serious player in the creator economy.
Comedian and Snapchat creator Matt Friend will host, and the nominee list reads like a who’s who of the platform’s most active faces: David Dobrik, Khloe Kardashian, JoJo Siwa, Catherine Paiz, and Landon McBroom are all up for Creator of the Year. In the music category, Alex Warren, fresh off a 10-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Ordinary,” competes alongside two-time Grammy winner Leon Thomas, rapper JT, singer ENISA, and Shenseea. Other categories feature nominees like media executive David Bullock (known by his nickname “Alaska”), Kylie Jenner and NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
The categories themselves tell a story about what Snapchat values, or at least what it wants to be known for valuing. Alongside traditional honors like Best Storyteller and Breakout Creator of the Year, the Snappys include craft-focused awards like Best Use of Creative Tools and Top Lens Creator, platform-specific metrics like Spotlight MVP, and a category called Off-Platform Buzz, which essentially rewards creators for making Snapchat content that people talk about elsewhere. Vertical-specific awards cover food, gaming, fashion, beauty, sports, and athletics. It is a wide net, cast deliberately.
Jim Shepherd, Snapchat’s head of content partnerships, framed the event as recognition of the creator community’s growing influence. “The Snappys Awards Show is a reflection of how powerful the creator community on Snapchat has become,” said Shepherd. “The Snap Stars we’re honoring aren’t just entertaining audiences–they’re driving conversations, building businesses, and shaping culture. This show represents our long-term commitment to giving creators meaningful recognition and real opportunity as they continue to define what’s next.”
The decision to give DJ Khaled the event’s first Lifetime Achievement Award is the kind of choice that makes perfect sense. Before Instagram Stories existed, before TikTok was a global force, Khaled was the most entertaining person on Snapchat, with his captivating stories and absurd sense of humor. His most legendary series of snaps involved him narrating getting lost on a jet ski journey after coming home from Rick Ross’s house, accompanied by his usual motivational commentary.
Khaled used Snapchat the way the platform always hoped people would: as a place for raw, unscripted moments rather than polished content. The platform says the award recognizes his lasting impact as a creator, artist, and entrepreneur. Khaled’s most recent album, God Did, came out in 2022, he has leaned other aspects of entertainment. He signed a nine-figure deal with Influence Media Partners last year that includes TV and film development alongside an investment in his music catalog. He remains a figure whose career was meaningfully shaped by how he used Snapchat early on, and the platform clearly wants to remind people of that connection.
The Snappys arrive in the middle of a race among social platforms to create their own award shows. TikTok held its first U.S. awards in December at the Hollywood Palladium, handing out 14 awards in a live ceremony hosted by La La Anthony. The event had some setbacks, including LED screens that malfunctioned for part of the night, but it drew big names as presenters, including Paris Hilton and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, and it furthered the use of traditional, live awards shows for digital platforms.
Instagram took a different approach. In October 2025, it launched Rings, which honors just 25 creators annually with physical gold rings designed by Grace Wales Bonner and digital gold halos around their profile pictures. Rather than a live show, Rings operates more like a juried prize, with a selection panel that included Spike Lee, Marc Jacobs, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri..
YouTube has featured its play button system for years, awarding physical plaques when channels hit subscriber milestones. But those are automatic and based on subscriber numbers. What TikTok, Instagram, and now Snapchat are doing is qualitative and curated, which makes the awards function more like marketing than pure celebration. Each show is a testimonial for why creators should invest their time on that particular platform.
Snapchat saw more than a 40 percent year-over-year increase in creators posting content during the last quarter of 2025, driven in large part by its Snap Star monetization program. The company also recently launched a Subscriptions product that lets fans pay creators directly, following a model established by YouTube and Twitch. The Snappy Awards are a showcase for those initiatives, a way to present Snapchat as a place where creative work can become a career.
As platforms become more interchangeable and creators increasingly distribute their work everywhere, these award shows serve a specific strategic function. They create platform-specific narratives. They give creators a reason to feel loyal, or at least to feel seen. And they generate the kind of coverage and conversation that keeps a platform in the mix when a creator is deciding where to post next. Snapchat is certainly setting itself apart with the Snappy Awards and establishing itself as a creator-first platform. A full list of Snappy nominees is available here.
