O’Neil Rowe went viral on TikTok a little over a year ago. Now, he’s a full-time content creator.
Rowe created a dance challenge that about 1 million people imitated on TikTok, a social media platform with more than 100 million monthly U.S. users where people share stories and remake each other's dances and audio clips.
As he gained followers, the 20 year old realized he could cash in on his popularity, as more brands flock to TikTok. Around the same time, Atlanta social media manager Keith Dorsey was creating a TikTok house he calls The Collab Crib where creators can live together and make video content.
TikTok houses have become a trend on the West Coast, matching social media influencers with brands looking to advertise on the platform. For brands, it's an easier way to reach young audiences with none of the production costs of a traditional commercial. For creators, it's an opportunity to make money through social media. Some see the chance for careers in film or music.
Atlanta has one of the largest Black populations of any U.S. metro, and The Collab Crib serves as a creative hub for Black social media influencers.
Black creators often get overlooked by companies or get paid less than their white counterparts, according to a Bloomberg report. The Collab Crib is helping to change that outcome. Founded six months ago, its TikTok account now has almost half a million followers and deals with brands such as Amazon, Facebook and the Atlanta Hawks. Rowe has more than 760,000 followers, with his count soaring after he joined Collab Crib. Fellow residents Kaychelle Dabney and Kaelyn Castle both have more than 1.5 million followers.
“Individually, we deserve brand deals,” said Rowe, who is starting a music career. His handle: @koolasoneil.
“It took all of us as a group ... to really get noticed," he said. "We made a voice for ourselves and created our own audience together.”
Constant content
The Collab Crib is in suburban Fayetteville, Ga., a neighborhood on a sprawling golf course. The entryway is tiled with a huge chandelier in the middle and a curved staircase on the side. The lower level is tailored for social media content — ring lights in the corners and a bright pink backdrop for videos in a front room.
Work looks fun for the seven young creators. They laugh and check their phones. Some dance to a thumping boombox. Most conversations are about videos.
Castle, a 24-year-old influencer, walked through the front door, singing about reaching 2 million followers. Then she posted a short clip of her singing Beyonce's “Best Thing I Never Had." It has more than 440,000 views, and the audio was used for a handful of new videos from fans.
The Collab Crib creators must put out a stream of new videos to stay relevant and earn money. They release at least one video on every platform — Instagram, YouTube and TikTok — every day.
Castle has a video series “Tell me something hot girl,” where she and other women give joke advice. Rowe and his friends do a series about dad jokes in different locations.
Working with brands
Most Collab Crib members are under 25 years old.
They used to feel overwhelmed about negotiating with brands. One minute, Rowe was posting dances. The next, he was trying to figure out if brands were paying him enough.
Now, Collab Crib has catapulted Rowe and fellow members to social media fame.
Dorsey manages the money, facilitates partnerships and negotiates brand deals for the creators. For a creator with 1 million followers, posting one advertisement or sponsored post could mean anywhere from $2,500 to $20,000, depending on the company, Dorsey says. A higher number of views and likes means more money for the creator and the house.
Dorsey facilitated at least 20 deals for The Collab Crib in the past six months. Amazon Video premiered Tom Clancy’s “Without Remorse” at the house, and the Atlanta Hawks gave the residents a suite at the beginning of the playoffs in exchange for branded content.
Facebook Watch is planning to feature The Collab Crib in a mini reality television series. Three, 10-minute episodes will come out per week, following the members and their lives, Dorsey said.
A collective voice
As Black creators, The Collab Crib members say they must be even more aware brands may try to pay them less than social media stars with similar follower counts, or they may have to work harder to get recognized.
Media reports revealed last February that a viral TikTok dance called the Renegade, which became an internet sensation and reached celebrities such as Lizzo and Kourtney Kardashian, was created by Jalaiah Harmon, a Black 14-year-old girl from Fayetteville. The dance was popularized by mostly white TikTok stars. Harmon didn’t receive credit until months later. The experience spurred changes to how credit is given to original creators and started conversations about how Black creatives are treated.
The Collab Crib helps repair some of those inequities, members say. With a community of creators, it’s harder for brands to overlook their influence. They gain more followers. They see more deals.
They’re also capitalizing on Atlanta’s positioning as an entertainment mecca. The film industry has seen explosive growth in the state, and big names in rap and hip-hop call the city home. Young people are making social media the newest wave in entertainment, and Collab Crib members aren’t going to let Atlanta miss out on this trend.
Dorsey is already planning for a Collab Crib expansion. Soon, he wants to launch another house. Next year, he plans to put one closer to Atlanta. The Collab Crib is also starting a weekly event series at Midtown's Atlantic Station development to bring together all the city’s social media creators.
