Transcript 0:00 Keke Palmer and I are almost the same age. She's a few months older than me. And as someone who grew up watching her on TV and listening to her music, it's great to see her still in mainstream media. Well, sort of. 0:15 She's still a Hollywood actress, and it was great seeing her in One of Them Days for my birthday, but there's more to her creative journey than that. 0:22 She started her own production company, Key TV Productions, and has been going hard on YouTube. And for the folks about to run to my inbox or comments section saying, "She reminds me of Issa Rae. 0:34 She's a multi-hyphenate." Yes, she wears many hats as a creator. She's a singer, an actress, a podcast host, a dancer, a writer, and probably more that we don't know yet. 0:46 But she's also posting to YouTube and building a cast and crew for different original series. In the terms of Issa Rae's $40 million deal with HBO, HBO Max, Max, 0:59 she can no longer post any original work on YouTube, hence why her last videos are just company updates and educational videos for filmmakers. I think a better comparison would be Queen Latifah or Whoopi Goldberg. 1:12 Could we see Keke Palmer EGOT? I don't know, but I do wanna take a moment to give her her flowers and break down how I see her creative career in this present moment. 1:24 Despite her early start in the polished world of children's television, Keke has become known for her unfiltered authenticity. 1:33 Her ability to be genuine while maintaining professionalism has helped her build a loyal audience that follows her across platforms. 1:40 From her press runs to, from her recent book, to the laughs that we got out of her, Issa Rae, and SZA on the One of Them Days press run, her podcast receiving exclusive interviews with Lizzo, for example, 1:54 her red carpet hosting appearances, her iconic moments, Keke Palmer is the face of her brand on multiple levels. 2:03 I'm sure she has plenty of industry contacts that she could have tried to sell this idea and production company to the same way Issa Rae did. 2:12 She also could have harnessed her celebrity contracts for talent on her shows, yet she chose relatively unheard of talent and decided to build with people her own age. 2:22 You would think that someone who has reached this level of fame and talent would have made it, but I love that Keke Palmer brings a certain childlike energy to the equation. She's still networking. 2:33 She's still creating with folks on her own terms. She's still showing up fully to every opportunity and interview. 2:40 She's not naive about the darkness and negativity of the media industry, but she's also seemingly optimistic about her potential to still contribute something new and fresh to the space. 2:52 I think she's also learned a few lessons the hard way, like having her own interview-based show. After seeing her on the red carpet a few times, many fans were calling for her to have her own show, myself included. 3:03 Presumably, she got tired of waiting for the perfect opportunity and created her own. 3:08 Her podcast is part of the Wondery Podcast Network, which is a product of Amazon, but she seems to have a lot of say so over who she has on the show and what they talk about. 3:17 She's not showing any signs of slowing down, and I know she has a lot of years left in the tank. 3:23 This next section is for the millennials, but before we get into that, I wanted to share that one way I support this podcast is through paid memberships to my newsletter community, Please Hustle Responsibly. 3:35 For $8 a month or $80 a year, you get an additional article each week with exclusive insights from my creative business experiments and creator economy research, access to our seasonal creative sprints to help grow your audience, and the knowledge that you're supporting one of your favorite creators. 3:51 And what's better than that? I put the link in the description if you wanna check it out. All right. Back to the episode. 3:59 It's hard for me to gauge how much she makes across her various streams of income because like any true creator, she does diversify her revenue streams. 4:07 I do, however, want to speak to the millennials, and specifically the millennials on the Gen Z cusp like us. 4:14 She's a young mom, still pursuing a career and taking care of her family who have undoubtedly taken care of her throughout the years. 4:21 It's not lost on me that there's no way she could do all that she's doing without incredible support from her production teams and her family. 4:30 Her production teams, both indie and traditional, have seen her son on set, as she talks about that often. Her family is likely pitching in as well to give her some relief. 4:39 Community is what multi-hyphenates and millennials desperately need to create at a high level. We simply cannot do it all, no matter how much we try to manifest it so. 4:51 When you're young, you have a lot of energy, but once you hit 30, your body is well aware that it's in a new decade. You still have energy. 4:59 I still have energy, but I'm also extremely aware of how different my life would look with a child, and a spouse, and time constraints, and responsibilities outside of work and myself. 5:12 It would be a lot, and it will be a lot when the time comes. 5:16 I've slowly been coming to terms with what parts of the creative process bring me most joy and how I would like to use my creative talents to make money as someone who also identifies as a multi-hyphenate. 5:28 I'm pretty excited to see which creative areas Keke Palmer will begin to focus on as her child grows and her time becomes more limited. 5:36 If I had to guess, I think we'll see Keke explore elevating her podcast to include a late night talk show style format that incorporates music artist performances, 5:47 probably primarily on YouTube, but maybe we'll see new, more flexible deals emerge between streaming platforms and YouTube. 5:55 My second guess is that we'll see Key TV Productions creating more feature films and series using her YouTube channel to document the behind-the-scenes process. But that's just my two cents. I would love to hear yours. 6:07 [upbeat music] If you've been getting value from Honey and Hustle, I need a quick favor. Would you take 30 seconds right now to leave a review? 6:17 Reviews help other people discover the show, and honestly, they help me know what's landing with you. Whether it's this episode or one from a few months ago that stuck with you, just share what made it worth your time. 6:30 You can leave a review wherever you're listening right now, and I appreciate it in advance. See you in the next episode. [upbeat music]
