Streampunks

YouTube's chief business officer, Robert Kyncl, gives a firsthand account of the platform's rise and of the creators who became pop culture stars on it. He draws on his work at HBO, Netflix and YouTube, and the book holds that YouTube has changed media as deeply as film, radio and television once did. He shares behind-the-scenes stories of stars such as Lilly Singh, Casey Neistat and Tyler Oakley and of dealmakers including Scooter Braun and Shane Smith, and explains how the rules of entertainment are being rewritten. Kyncl, who wrote with Google speechwriter Maany Peyvan, rejects fears that technology impoverishes artists or lowers quality, holding that new media is fueling a creative boom. He also gives advice to aspiring creators.

It appears among the books Marvin Liao, a partner at 500 Startups, said he was partway through when interviewed for Book-Talk.