DanTDM

**Daniel Robert Middleton**[5] (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.[6] In 2014, *Business Insider* estimated Middleton's annual income to be somewhere between $213,000 and $2.15 million.[7] In July 2015, his channel was listed as one of the most popular YouTubers in the world by viewership.[8] 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.[9] As of June 2019, Middleton has over 14 billion views and 21 million subscribers.

## Early Life

Middleton was born on 8 November 1991 in Aldershot, England, as the elder of two siblings.[10] His parents divorced when he was a child.[10] He attended the University of Northampton,[11] and started a YouTube channel in 2010 dedicated to Pokémon while at university, in which he called himself "PokemanDanLv45".

## Career

In 2012, Middleton created *The Diamond Minecart*, a gaming channel whose audience consists of mostly children ages 5–10.[11] He changed his YouTube channel name to *TheDiamondMinecart // DanTDM*, and then, on 12 December 2016, to just *DanTDM*.[13][a] He produces videos out of his home studio in Wellingborough.[11]

He released a graphic novel called *Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal* on 6 October 2016.[14] 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.[15][16][17] The novel reached the number one spot on *The New York Times* Best Seller list for hardcover graphic books in Japan for eleven weeks.[18] 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.[14][19][20][21] In 2017, he has gone on another tour to the United States to 21 venues.[22] In that same year, he went on another tour in Australia.[23]

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*.[24]. Middleton, onto 2019, rarely plays *Minecraft*, and instead primarily focuses on *Fortnite* and other random games; yet, as of May 2019, Middleton is making a comeback to Minecraft.

In 2017, he starred in a web series called *DanTDM Creates a Big Scene*[25] starring himself and featuring other social media entertainers and actors.[26][27] The series premiered on 7 April 2017 exclusively for YouTube Red, YouTube's subscription service,[28] The show "follows DanTDM and his group of animated friends as they battle to keep their live show on the road".[29] and ran for 6 episodes.[30]

## 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.[1] The channel was called MoreTDM in 2014, in which he posts videos about his daily "non-*Minecraft*" life.[31]

Middleton married his girlfriend Jemma on 17 March 2013.[32]

## Awards

* Guinness World Record for "Most goals scored in a game of *Rocket League* for a team of 2".[33] and "Most goals scored in a game of Rocket League (team of three)."[34]
* Guinness World Record for "Most views for a dedicated Minecraft video channel".[35]
* Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in the category UK Favourite Tipster: 2015[36] and 2016[37]

## Books

* *Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal* (HarperCollins, 2016)

## Notes

Although DanTDM's channel name has changed, the channel still lists itself as TheDiamondMinecart within its URL

## References

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18. **^** Listings on *The New York Times* Best Seller list per week: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, when it fell to the second spot.
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23. **^** Grixti, Shannon (July 19, 2017) "YOUTUBER DANTDM IS TOURING AUSTRALIA AGAIN" Press Start AU.
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37. **^** "2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards – UK Favourite Tipster". *2016 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards*. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2016.