*By Michael Teich*
For the right price, users can get a video shout-out from celebrities – actress Bella Thorne and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, to name a couple – through app Cameo.
"Selfies are the new autograph," Cameo's CEO, Steven Galanis, said Friday in an interview on Cheddar. "We thought the most personalized, authentic thing you can do with someone that's not there is getting them to say something to you."
Through the marketplace app, fans can request a message of their own devising that a celebrity can either consent or decline to read on camera.
The platform ー which launched in April ー has facilitated 52,000 videos and its talent count has grown to over 3,000, Galanis said. The most expensive shout-out on Cameo costs $1,000, but Galanis said the average video is $40.
Influencers are capitalizing on their popularity with ad dollars from brands eager to reach social media. Total ad spend on influencer marketing will jump from $5 billion this year to $10 billion in the next five years, [according to marketing firm Mediakix](http://mediakix.com/2018/03/influencer-marketing-industry-ad-spend-chart/).
But now, actors, athletes, musicians, and social media personalities can get paid directly from their fans. Galanis said his company takes a 25 percent cut, but the talent sets his or her own price.
"We always tell talent to optimize for amount of fans touched versus price," Galanis said.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cameos-personalized-shout-out).
An Illinois attorney general's office investigation released Tuesday found that 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children in the state over a nearly 70-year period, which was more than four times the 103 individuals the church named when the state began its review in 2018.
Paramount Global is set to absorb Showtime into Paramount+, creating a single streaming option to compete with the likes of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max. The company also plans to raise the monthly price from $9.99 to $11.99 per month after the integration.
HBO released a sneak peek of next week's series finale for 'Succession' after four seasons.
Dua Lipa is teasing her new single from the upcoming 'Barbie' movie.
Warner Bros. released the official trailer for the upcoming musical film, 'The Color Purple,' based on the novel and 1985 original film.
Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. noticed a young boy who had a sign that read he had beaten cancer. Guerrero decided to surprise the young fan.
From the newest 'American Idol' to the end of a 'Bill & Ted's' hot spot, here are your top entertainment headlines.
Cheddar's own Shannon LaNier is taking a staycation, and all week he'll be trying out different summer activities in New York and the surrounding area that will hopefully serve as an inspiration no matter where you live. On Monday, Shannon traveled to Huntington, New York to get a taste of the boating life. He spoke with Maggie Maskery, head of public relations for Discover Boating, about some of the best boat share options.
A guitar destroyed by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain sold for nearly $600,000 dollars on Saturday at an auction in a Hard Rock Café in New York City.
Scores of Boston University students turned their backs on the head of one of Hollywood's biggest studios, and some shouted “pay your writers,” as he gave the school's commencement address Sunday in a stadium where protesters supporting the Hollywood writers' strike picketed outside.
