Jim Louderback

Inside the Creator Economy

Click to Cancel outlawed

More “Kidwashing” from Meta

In Commentary, NEWSLETTER

Hi, I’m Jim Louderback and this is my weekly creator economy newsletter. If you’ve received it, then you are either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.

If the latter – and you want to subscribe, get it here!

This Week: Creators beware, the FTC just added an important rule about subscriptions – plus walking dead Triller, SE Asia and Meta’s too-little too-late efforts to protect kids. I also invent the term “kidwashing” – think greenwashing, but for PR-motivated moves to protect kids – and read to the end for a look at a surprising variant of F1 fandom.

Click to Cancel outlawedRULES TIGHTENED ON SUBSCRIPTIONS AND RECURRING PAYMENTS.

The FTC just enacted rules to make it simple for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions, along with providing more details for “negative option” plans. Big implications for cable TV companies and shady app vendors, but important for creators too. As SAAS, subs, and other recurring revenue streams gain importance for creators, they will need to ensure compliance with the new rules. Those rules go into effect in six months – but some may be active before the end of the year. On the flipside, this will help creators who sign up for products and then can’t figure out how to cancel.

META FACES LAWSUITS OVER HARMING KIDS

Last week it was TikTok, now this week Meta sits on the hotseat. A judge in California refused to throw out a case brought by more than 30 states focused on whether they harmed kids via addictive algorithms. It’s become a pandemic. Two of the three biggest video platforms are under fire for addicting kids and teens to their platform, while Snap and YouTube face lawsuits from parents claiming they led their kids to harm. The platforms reacted with typical platitudes, but we’re past the point of ignoring the smoke. A blaze is burning and there will be an accounting – and hopefully a quenching.

DEAD APP WALKING

Just in time for Halloween, long-suffering Triller finally went public last Wednesday. The beleaguered short form social app debuted at less than 10% of what it promised just a few years ago – and then promptly dropped by nearly a third in just two days. I’m not an investment professional, but I wouldn’t touch this deal for all the skibidis in Walmart.

INDONESIA IS EN FUEGO

I couldn’t find the actual report, but a recent GroupM study found that Indonesia has 12 million creators producing up to a million pieces of content a month (which doesn’t really add up – many of those 12 million can’t be overly active). Indonesia is also seeing a rise in nano and micro creators, and they expect Shoppertainment to be a $1.1 trillion business in SE Asia in 2025 – which dwarfs today’s entire creator economy. I can’t wait to talk about this with the leaders of the creator networks and influencer marketing agencies in SE Asia at One Billion Followers Summit in Dubai in January! (ht @ankur mehta)

YOUTUBE’S PRODUCTAPALOOZA

As part of its annual mega release, YouTube announced more than two dozen new features rolling out across its products. Top creator focused updates including badges for fans, and faster access to watching videos. Users also get some highly requested goodies, from fine-tuning playback speed, landscape browsing on mobile (which they probably won’t call Go90), a new mini-player and a sleep timer to pause playback. Playlists get significant updates too, with expanded collaboration, custom thumbnails and voting. I’m less than excited about the new design tweaks, as many of YouTube’s recent design efforts have been less than inspired. Still, expect a fresher TV interface with new ways to interact with Shorts and shopping too. Nothing revolutionary, but on balance these new featurettes should make the experience slightly better for everyone.


KAJABI WANTS TO BE YOUR CREATOR SUPERMARKET

With a rebrand and the announcement of new tools, Kajabi is making a play to become a one-stop shop for off-platform creator monetization. New tools include paid and free downloads, a newsletter feature and invoicing, along with a whizzy new look and feel. Along with the glow-up, the company repackaged some of its older research to amplify just how little TikTok pays creators – along with how almost half of monetizing creators make $10k or less a year. Congrats to Kajabi for the rebrand and continuing to be a positive force for creators and the creator economy. I hope they build out that “click to cancel” next.

SPONSOR – @Whalar Group is acquiring UK Talent Management company Sixteenth. This strategic partnership merges the expertise of both Sixteenth and Whalar Talent, combining forces under the name Sixteenth to establish one of the leading global 360° Creator talent management companies. This is more than an acquisition—it’s a transformative shift in how Creator careers are built, managed, and scaled. Check it out here: https://variety.com/2024/biz/global/whalar-group-management-acquires-sixteenth-1236173220/

  • My take: We covered this last week, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get about where Whalar Group is going. This is a bellwether move that shows where talent, representation and influence are headed. Congrats!

QUIBIS:

YOUTUBE

META

TIKTOK

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

CREATOR TECH – AI, WEB3, VR, MORE

RESEARCH

INSIDE THE FORMULA ONE FANDOM

— Morgan Ward

Formula One (F1) racing has been around since 1950, but an extremely passionate female fanbase has recently given it new life. Much like the love for boy bands – where young women can live in the “kingdom of the girl” — F1 fandom merges the ideal of attractive male competence and niche subculture. Fans get deeply invested in relationships: between the drivers on each team, the drivers and their pets, and the drivers and their cars. This unique fandom simultaneously leans into fictionalizing relationships between drivers and speculating on the road-worthiness of their tires. Connecting to the fandom can be as easy as piggybacking on the drivers’ social accounts – or as expensive as sponsoring a team. If you’re considering the latter, there are developmental female teams that need recognition! Support women!

Go Deeper

100% written by me (and Morgan) – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).

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I’ve built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies – including Discovery and Paramount. Subscribe here on LinkedIn to get this newsletter every Monday.

Let me know what you think – email me at jim@louderback.com. Thanks for reading and see you around the internet.

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