They F*cked The Country Up With This One

Why the CapCut Ban has me, and many other creators, STRESSED!

Before I started writing this post, I had to check one more time to see if CapCut was still banned in the United States. Yep, it is still banned. Mind you, it is 10:32 a.m. on Monday, the 20th, and by the time you guys read this, Mr. President MIGHT have the editing software back up and running. However, the damage is already done!

When the TikTok ban was announced early this year, we were all worried. Some people prepared for it, others didn’t think it would happen, but we knew it was coming… It came and went in a matter of hours. I left the platform months ago because I didn’t see the point of trying to grow on it now if it was going to be shut down. This is why Brittani’s Bubble isn’t on TikTok and I don’t plan on going over there now that it’s “back”.

But this isn’t about TikTok, there are plenty of newsletters and Medium articles about it, and everybody on every social media platform is talking about it, but that’s not what crushed me. I woke up at 7 AM Sunday, grabbed my phone, and started to scroll Threads. As expected, the TikTok ban was the talk of the app, but as I was scrolling, I came across a post saying that CapCut shut down in the middle of their editing. To which I replied CAAAAPCUUUT?! (Insert Soulja Boy Drake meme here.)

I was like oh no, they didn’t take The Cut too! But sure enough, I went to open the app and there was an unremovable pop-up stating that the United States had banned CapCut, as well as Lemon8, with TikTok. Sundays being the day that I record and edit my YouTube videos you could only imagine how I felt. How the f*ck was I supposed to edit my videos now?

Later that morning I did end up recording audio for what was supposed to be a video on my “secret page” about the ban. Girl, it took me 3 HOURS to even figure out how to get the audio uploaded onto these other editing platforms. For starters, Premiere Pro makes my ass itch. Yet, I thought because I recorded the audio in Audition, it would be an easy transfer, right? WRONG? Premiere Pro is neither beginner nor user-friendly, and anyone who says otherwise is engagement farming.

Next, I tried the app VN I downloaded, and the majority said it was “just like CapCut.” Maybe in aesthetics and price, but it was also complicated. Not Premiere Pro complicated, but in the sense that if I just wanted to edit a video quickly after downloading the app (like I did), at least for long-form content, it was a pain in the ass.

I got the farthest with DaVinci Pro. I was able to upload audio AND visuals, but I just couldn’t figure out how to split my visuals and add content in between. I’m sure watching a few tutorials, I can figure out how to do that, but I just didn’t have the time right then.

iMovie is trash.

It got to the point where I just said F- it took the raw audio and uploaded it as a podcast. The very podcast you all received Sunday. I just wanted to get that information out there as soon as possible, and in the process, I became a podcaster, so that’s cool. lol

But, I can only imagine what other content creators are going through right now. Sure, many people were already leaving Capcut because they were putting everything behind a paywall (if you’re looking for a good laugh, check out the CapCut subreddit when you get a chance), but a lot of us were sticking it out not thinking it would go down with the ByteDance ship. On top of that, I’m a Pro user, and we had just got a notification that we were basically “grandfathered in” to the old pricing unless we canceled…. that’s another thing because:

Yeah, the Apple App Store went ahead and canceled my CapCut subscription. I guess it’s because they had to remove it from the app store, but this means that if CapCut comes back and I sign back up for Pro, it would be under the new, higher price. So that sucks.

All this to say, until I find a new video editing platform that doesn’t make me want to throw my laptop out the window, you’ll be getting written and audio content from me going forward.

I don’t know which day I will be releasing my Podcast each week yet, but whatever day it is, my Substack subscribers (Free & Paid) will get it a day before it goes out to the other platforms. Also, I’m going to be doing bonus episodes for my paid subscribers, so if you are interested in that, it’s only $5/ month and the first of many exclusives for my paid homies.

Until next time…

BYE!