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Vine Stars Wanted $1.2M Each to Stay on the App

Meanwhile, word has it that two of Vine's cofounders are already on to their next project.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Before Twitter announced plans to kill off Vine, the app's biggest stars reportedly banded together and pitched a plan they thought could save it.

Mic reports that 18 of the app's top creators had a meeting with Vine's Creative Development Lead Karyn Spencer last fall, during which they demanded $1.2 million each to keep pumping out content for the platform.

The meeting was organized by Marcus Johns and Piques, who, along with other Vine stars, "had noticed a sharp dropoff in engagement on the app," Mic reports. In exchange for the huge payouts, they each promised to create 12 pieces of original content a month, or three vines each week.

"If Vine agreed, they could theoretically generate billions of views and boost engagement on a starving app," the report notes. "If they said no, all the top stars on the platform would walk."

The group — which reportedly included Jerry Purpdrank, Christian Delgrosso, Curtis Lepore, Alx James, and DeStorm Power — also urged Vine to make several product changes and open "a more direct line of communication" with creators. They wanted Vine to do a better job of tackling harassment on the platform, the ability to add links to Vine captions, a better recommendation page, and more editing tools, and they wanted these things right away.

"They never made changes, or when they did it was too late," Piques told Mic.

Vine rejected the proposal, and the stars stopped posting original content. And the rest, they say, is history.

Meanwhile, word has it that two of Vine's cofounders — Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll — are already on to their next project: a Periscope-like app called Hype. According to Fortune, Hype is a "live video broadcasting app that lets users add music and animations to their videos." The app is currently in beta.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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