Daniel Robert Middleton (born 8 November 1991), known online as DanTDM (formerly The Diamond Minecart), is a British YouTube personality, professional gamer, and author. His online video channels have covered many video games, mainly the popular game Minecraft. His channel has been listed among the top YouTube channels in the United Kingdom. In 2014, Business Insider estimated Middleton's annual income to be somewhere between $213,000 and $2.15 million. In July 2015, his channel was listed as one of the most popular YouTubers in the world by viewership. He has earned several Kids' Choice Awards as well as set Guinness World Records for his gaming and presenting. In 2017, Middleton topped the Forbes list of Highest-Paid YouTube Stars, earning $16.5 million (about GB£12.2 million) in one year. As of August 2018, Middleton has over 13 billion views and 19 million subscribers, making him the 38th most-subscribed YouTuber.
Video DanTDM
Early life
Middleton was born on 8 November 1991 in Aldershot, England, as the elder of two siblings. His parents divorced when he was a child. He attended the University of Northampton, and started a YouTube channel in 2010 dedicated to Pokémon while at university, in which he called himself "PokemanDanLv45".
Maps DanTDM
Career
In 2012, Middleton created The Diamond Minecart, a gaming channel whose audience consists of mostly children ages 5-10. He changed his YouTube channel name to TheDiamondMinecart // DanTDM, and then, on 12 December 2016, to just DanTDM. He produces videos out of his home studio in Wellingborough. In an interview with The Big Issue, Middleton describes his process in making videos: he gets up around 9am and starts working on the video an hour later. He checks for Minecraft updates, edits the videos in the afternoon, and uploads the finished product at 8:30pm, after which, he checks for comments. He said "There isn't another game where free content comes out every day made by fans, and some of it is mind blowing." On weekends, he prepares videos in advance. In addition to Let's Play videos, he makes mini films that involve original characters.
Middleton has been a regular guest at the Insomnia gaming festivals. He was also featured twice on CBBC's Technobabble, where he commented on several videogames, and once on ITV's Lorraine, where he talked about being a YouTuber.
He released a graphic novel called Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal on 6 October 2016. The graphic novel features characters from his YouTube shows including: DanTDM and his dog Grim, the scientist Dr. Trayaurus, evil lab boss Denton and sidekick Fin. The novel reached the number one spot on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover graphic books in Japan for eleven weeks. He was a featured guest at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and went on a book tour that included parts of the UK and a visit to New York City. In 2017, he has gone on another tour to the United States to 21 venues. In that same year, he went on another tour in Australia.
His online video channel had focused primarily on the popular game Minecraft, but as of 2016, he has allocated part of his channel to playing other video games, such as Roblox and Tomodachi Life.
He was in an episode of the Netflix animated web series Skylanders Academy where he voiced a character named Cy.
In 2017, he created a web series called DanTDM Creates a Big Scene starring himself and featuring other social media entertainers and actors. The series premiered on April 7, 2017 exclusively for YouTube Red, YouTube's subscription service, The show "follows DanTDM and his group of animated friends as they battle to keep their live show on the road". and ran for 6 episodes.
Personal life
In June 2013, when his channel exceeded 100,000 subscribers, he posted a video showing his real-life self for the first time, thanking the fans, and announcing plans to create video blogs about his real life. The channel was called MoreTDM in 2014, in which he posts videos about his daily "non-Minecraft" life.
Middleton married his girlfriend Jemma on 17 March 2013; she also enjoys Minecraft: "we spend a lot of time gaming together, and I bounce ideas off her as well".
Middleton mentioned in his 2013 "Draw My Life" video that he has a brother.
Awards
- Guinness World Record for "Most goals scored in a game of Rocket League for a team of 2". and "Most goals scored in a game of Rocket League (team of three)."
- Guinness World Record for "Most views for a dedicated Minecraft video channel".
- Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the category UK Favourite Tipster: 2015 and 2016
Books
- Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal (HarperCollins, 2016)
Notes
References
External links
- DanTDM's channel on YouTube
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia