Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag were planning to celebrate the 15th anniversary of ‘Superficial’ when disaster struck: the California wildfires burned down their Pacific Palisades home.
“It’s just the weirdest, craziest time,” says Pratt Variety via Zoom. “When everything was happening, I saw an email pop up saying the album was going live, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I just made a TikTok to remind people to stream. I was looking for something income-wise.”
On January 8, he shared the news that both his home and his parents’ home had been lost to the fires, posting videos of their evacuation and the damage they saw happening from afar via security footage – including the beds of one of their two sons. catch fire in the shape of a heart.
“I know people say, ‘You’re rich, you’ll be fine.’ Yes, I wish. Everything in our house was paid for by Heidi and I, who kept us busy in every way possible,” he said wrote on TikTok at the time. “Everything we worked for was in this house… we’re starting from scratch now.”
So Pratt started posting – a lot. The number of followers has increased by more than a million since the fire (he Reached two million on Friday), and he has encouraged viewers to stream Montag’s music. Even though he was constantly hyping Montag’s album, he didn’t expect the album to actually rise to the top of the iTunes and Spotify charts, or for celebrities like Paris Hilton, Julia Fox, Emily Ratajkowski, Alix Earle, Flavor Flav and many more would rise. post it on social media.
However, he is not sure whether he is actually making a profit. “I have no idea how much money [the music has made]. I don’t know if it will come under checks or when, but everyone keeps saying don’t expect any money. I’m more excited about the energy and opportunities that come from it. I don’t think these streams and all these graphs [make money],” says Pratt. “Based on what people tell me, the music business is about touring, it’s about merchandise, it’s about all the things that come with it; that’s how the artists make money, unless you do billions of streams, which I still do energetically [pushing]. It’s not happening yet! I’m optimistic because this is really the only way to get through all of this.”
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag arrive at the 2007 season 3 premiere of The Hills
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Pratt has been outspoken on TikTok and Snapchat about making longer videos and posting them often to make money. While we often hear about creators making so much, he says, his RPM (meaning revenue per thousand views) is extremely low: 10 cents. Pratt says he watched a video a fan made outlining TikTok’s financial model to find out why his rate is so low, and discovered that because he doesn’t talk about topics, the TikTok algorithm monetizes can generate with advertisements (for example on a cooking account) with its RPM is lower. And because he won almost a million new followers in a week, his RPM will also be lower because the TikTok algorithm doesn’t know what to do with his account.
“I heard that last night at 3am and I thought, great. I have never been more excited to gain a million followers in a week. I think I would make more money from my followers and just be engaged,” he says.
Unlike music, he can immediately see how much he earns on TikTok.
“I made about $4,000 this week on TikTok, but on TikTok Live, where people can just give directly to me, I think maybe $20,000. So that’s phenomenal and life-changing. That’s the power of individual supporters, people who just support you and have your back,” says Pratt. “And that’s most powerful when you don’t have to rely on ads, AI and algorithms, when only real people want to give. It’s incredible and unbelievable.”
Additionally, as soon as he can get into his Pratt Daddy office in the Palisades, he will start shipping new “shallow” T-shirts, and there have been about 5,000 orders. While he used to print them himself, a larger company now helps. He has also reached out to companies to collaborate on making hummingbird feeders – something he often shared from the backyard of his home.
Pratt is hopeful that paid partnerships will also be helpful. Lo Bosworth, who starred in “Laguna Beach” and later met Pratt on “The Hills,” said her women’s wellness company, Love Wellness, is ready to work with him. Nothing is official yet, but he says he really appreciates her support.
Since the fires, many fans and celebrities have been asking for a studio to produce a reality show with the couple. While Pratt former Huluhe says he is open to any meeting with producers who want to document his family’s rebuilding process.
“I wish we had started filming already because it’s so raw and so real. We are connected to so many people whose stories go unheard, and to all the small businesses we are a part of. It would be a great opportunity to document it,” he says. “We’re already doing it on social media, so I’d like to give my thumb a rest and have a bigger camera while I deal with emails and things that come in.”
For now, Pratt is doing his best to look at the silver lining — the anniversary of the “Superficial” album falls at the same time as the fires — and helping Montag remember that. “Since I met Heidi, because I complain about a lot of situations, she’s been like, ‘God uses everything for good.’ I’ll ask how and she says, ‘It could be God’s timing, you don’t know God’s timing,’ he says. “She’s distraught and I’m like, ‘Honey, God’s timing. We don’t know. Something great can come from it.”
“I obviously feel crazy,” he continues. “I fake the positivity.”
One thing that isn’t fake is gratitude. “We are so grateful. There will always be negative trolls and people who try to tear you down, but there are so many more people who really support our family and want us to be successful,” says Pratt before ending our interview. “I also understand how fortunate we are, and I look forward to the future and to being in a position where I can help other people.”