What are 5-Minute Crafts?
5-Minute Crafts is a DIY YouTube channel owned by a Cyprian-based media publishing company, TheSoul Publishing. It was created in 2006, and it still remains active. This channel posts DIY-themed videos with various tips and tricks.
What is TheSoul Publishing?
Even though the company is based in Cyprus, it was founded by two Russian people: Pavel Radaev and Marat Mukhametov. After their business took off, they moved their centre to the United States. The company is self-funding: meaning that it funds itself with money from paid ads and other resources. Since the 5-Minute Crafts became popular on Facebook, TheSoul Publishing bought a small portion of Facebook advertisements. Since the company did so well, people started to look into it. Once they found out that the company’s background lay in Cyprus and was operated by Russians, people came up with several conspiracy theories.
Who owns the 5-Minutes Crafts?
Since the company found itself under the microscope of American media, it released a statement. A spokesman explained that people should stop making up assumptions just because the company doesn’t have roots in the United States. His main point stated that the company creates family-friendly content without any political agenda. Since their videos reach a global audience and aren’t problematic, most people went with that explanation. But even a few years later, some people are still suspicious of TheSoul Publishing’s business. As it turned out, it might be producing some political content, but it is so low-profile that it doesn’t make waves.
The history of 5-Minute Crafts
The YouTube channel was created on 15th November 2016, and the first video was posted the next day. It was called 5 Essential DIY Hacks That You Need To Know, which shows the viewers basic home-repairing skills. The fact that the video was filmed the same way as the later videos show that the concept of this channel was well thought through before release. Since the videos were easy to comprehend for the general public, they gained a lot of popularity. Since TheSoul Publishing already owned some Facebook adds rights, they started to show these videos on Facebook as well. This made the 5-Minute Crafts even more popular because everyone saw it at some point. In 2017, the channel got so popular that it started to make content in multiple global languages, such as Arabic, French, German and Korean.
How did 5-Minute Crafts become viral?
Since their videos are easy and fun to watch, they started some global challenges, which made them even more famous. One trend arose in 2018 when people would film themselves cleaning their apartments and would note 5-Minute Crafts in the resulting video. By the end of 2018, 5-Minute Crafts became the fifth most subscribed channel on YouTube. As their views rose even higher, the company started to expand to other platforms. One of the most interesting expansions was to Pinterest, where they created their own channel. In 2021, they won the “Best use of Pinterest” award by The Drum Awards for Digital Industries.
The format of 5-Minute Crafts videos
5-Minute Crafts are usually compilations of DIY and craft videos, with the camera focused on hands working on a project. There are many useful hacks, such as how to sneak candy to class, how to keep a mug from spilling over or how to erase markers from a shirt. Their hacks are divided into categories for better overview, such as for girls, pets, back to school and homemaking. Once the channel got more popular, they started to film short science experiments and game ideas. Even though every hack takes only 1 minute or so, 5-minute crafts videos are usually much longer because they include multiple hacks at once. Their most popular video is 42 Holy Grail Hacks That Will Save You A Fortune, with over 284 million views.
Are 5-Minute Crafts fake?
Since it became one of the most popular YouTube channels, 5-Minute Crafts had to face critique from all sides. Even though their channel consists of allegedly easy hacks, it seems like most of them don’t even work. Other YouTubers, parents and TV reporters tried a lot of those DIY crafts, and they all agreed that they didn’t work. Surprisingly, the fact that they don’t work isn’t the worst problem. The main problem is that some of the filmed tricks could be potentially dangerous if performed by children, who are the desired audience. Some hacks involve cooking tips, which is another risky category. Since the channel is children-oriented, it’s likely that children will want to try those tips themselves. And since fresh corn doesn’t magically turn into popcorn, some poor kid could end up burning down the kitchen while waiting.
Is 5-Minute Crafts fetish content?
Since 5-Minute crafts joined TikTok, their videos seemed to change a little. People noticed that, unlike their YouTube content, their TikTok videos often don’t make any sense. Other creators started to point out that those videos have only one purpose: to make users keep watching. Because let’s face it. While scrolling through TikTok, you are most likely to watch an entire video just because it shows something crazy or absurd. A TikTok user Lena Rae came up with another solution in 2022. She introduced herself as a former sex worker who has possibly seen it all and stated that 5-Minute Crafts is fetish content. She made several videos where she proved her point. In one video, there is a girl in unbuttoned jeans pouring water all over herself. It is supposedly a hack on how to make your clothes fit better, but it really does seem a little sketchy.
Net Worth of 5-Minute Crafts
As of 2023, 5-Minute Crafts’ net worth is estimated to be 25 million USD. They have almost 80 million subscribers on YouTube and other millions of followers on other platforms. Since not all their sources are counted, it could be even higher.
Interesting facts about 5-Minute Crafts
- They joined YouTube in 2016.
- They are one of the most subscribed channels on YouTube.
- They are the most popular DIY-themed channel in the world.
- Besides YouTube, they have huge platforms on Facebook, TikTok and other social media.
- They have over 78 million subscribers on YouTube, with an additional 11 million on TikTok.
- Their most popular video is 42 Holy Grail Hacks That Will Save You A Fortune, with over 284 million views.
- As of 2023, their net worth is estimated to be 25 million USD.
