This Week: We’ve crossed a tipping point. The Creator Economy is now the media economy. Creators no longer need to beg for brand deals or broad distribution. Four developments from last week highlight how creators have become the dominant coin of the global media and marketing realm.
CREATORS SAVE TELEVISION?
MrBeast may have lost money on the first season of Beast Games, but Amazon doubled theirs, according to the Wall Street Journal ($). Now other streamers are courting creators to blunt YouTube’s takeover of the TV. Jimmy Donaldson and team deserve tons of gratitude for unlocking television – as traditional media woos Dude Perfect, Mark Rober and other top creators. I expect to see lots of creators taking the money and producing the shows.
But it’s not going to work. Yes, some creators will make great TV. But most creators don’t fit inside those linear borders. We will see an explosion of creator-first TV shows because most traditional execs are lemmings (this is why we have a zillion Survivor clones). Some will break through. But just like “Peak TV” during Covid, there won’t be enough eyeballs, money, or true hits for these investments to save TV. Peak Creator TV will join Peak TV as just another failed strategy for a failed business model.
When we opt for YouTube on our smart TVs, we want more than episodic 30/60 minute formats. We want that crazy random creator sandwich up on the biggest screen in the house. We want to be entertained, yes, but also informed and inspired. Linear TV was always a dumb pipeline of content – like those concrete spillways funneling rainwater from LA’s mountains to the sea. The burbling brooks and roiling rivers of YouTube, TikTok, Twitch and other creator-first platforms have spawned an entirely different viewing habit – unconstrained by traditional formats. By the time TV realizes how much the game has changed, YouTube will have already won.
- TV Upgrade: YouTube revealed more details on its new Shows feature, which will make lean-back big screen viewing better for creators and fans.
- Cliffhanger Slop: Trung Phan explains why he’s not watching any new streaming shows.
MOVIES EVOLVE
At SXSW, Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez used an industry party at his Austin-based Troublemaker Studios to announce a new incubator to let fans invest in – and perhaps shape – low-cost indie films. It’s a bit too Hollywood, with a shark-tank style contest to find the best indie ideas, but Rodriguez has been a technology innovator for years and I expect AI will play a big part.
In LA, the Avengers: Endgame directors announced a new AI-infused studio ($) that will presumably compete with A24. Joe and Anthony Russo hope to build the AI version of ILM or Pixar – all on a relative shoestring budget. And as this breathless story explains, other studios are eagerly wooing creators too.
Hollywood is finally looking outside its bubble for fresh creative talent. But AI, low-cost global producers, and declining theater audiences are disrupting the traditional cinema model. It’s worse than you think, says @Ted Gioia, as Star Wars is on the block as ticket sales crater.
- A Sphere in Every Garage: I’m more excited about the inexorable march from the Las Vegas Sphere to home version. It’ll take 10 years or more, but we’re already seeing a new 5,000 seat mini-sphere under development.
- More SXSW: @Lia Haberman has an exhausting look at SXSW – exhausting because I don’t know how she captured it all – I’m exhausted all over again just reading it. Nice job and worth a read.
BRANDS GET IT
Unilever plans to allocate 50% of its global marketing budget to the social and creator economy and will increase the number of creators they work with by a factor of 20. This is a massive shift from one of the world’s biggest advertisers and marks a dramatic embrace for creators. It will also provide a huge boost to micro and nano creators in Latin America and Asia.
New CEO Fernando Fernandez said, “There are 19,000 Zip codes in India. There are 5,764 municipalities in Brazil. I want one influencer in each of them.”
My Take: This is long overdue – and great news for creators everywhere. Brands know TV is grasping at straws by forcing creators into their rigid formats. I expect other large advertisers to make similar moves – if not as dramatic – over the next few years. Ad spend typically lags behind audience behavior, but the world is waking up to the inexorable march from traditional megaphone mass-media to direct relationships between creators “just like me” – and customers.
- Hit the Gas! EMARKETER finds that US influencer spend will top $10B this year – not in 2026 as it previously forecasted.
CREATORS TAKE CHARGE
For years, YouTube’s annual May Brandcast was the place to be, an Upfront style event with top creators and emerging stars on display. But as top creators gain power – and YouTube focuses more on ad products and programmatic – Brandcast feels less like a content showcase and more like an Apple keynote.
Creator financing and tools company Spotter just flipped the script with its own event, echoing the original TV Upfronts. Co-produced with Colin and Samir and featuring former Brandcast stalwarts MrBeast, Dude Perfect, Ryan Trahan and a handful of others, it’s focused on sharing upcoming projects and locking in brand participation.
What does Spotter get out of it? Beyond selling its own YouTube roadblocks, a chance to pal around with 150 top CMOs as it establishes a must-attend annual event. How will YouTube react? This should be additive, but historically Big Red has had trouble sharing revenue with other companies (full disclosure, I hold a tiny amount of Spotter options).
MUCKED-UP META
More bombshell announcements about Meta’s apparently despicable history, from a new tell-all book by former exec Sarah Wynn-Williams. From allegations about Sandberg’s mile-high club to Zuckerberg’s megalomania, it’s not good. Meta was worried enough to invoke an arbitration clause to slap a free-speech defying injunction on the book’s promotion. Guess Zuckerberg’s new anti-censorship stance doesn’t extend to books ABOUT his company. Wired’s Steven Levy thinks Meta’s effort is borne out of spite.
SPONSOR: Creators do punch well above their weight! Nielsen reported that Whalar campaigns had a ROI of $2.41, surpassing all other media channels. More importantly, creators are efficient – while making up less than 1% of total media, they contribute 3x the impact. Check out the full Media Mix Model (MMM) study here to learn more about how creators are media investments.
QUIBIS
YOUTUBE
- Brand Connections: Big Red updates its BrandConnect feature, to help creators and brands link up.
- Let’s Hang Out: In a positive development for creator communities outside of LA, YouTube is expanding its “Creator Collective” to all 50 states. However, don’t sleep on organic, platform-agnostic groups in NYC, Las Vegas and beyond.
- Related: I’m helping to build a community in the San Francisco Bay area. Come join us April 2nd – all creators and companies are welcome!
- Ouchie: Skinfluencer Cassandra Bankson gets YouTube’s Pickle Juice treatment. Cassandra’s another co-founder of our Bay Area group, btw.
META
- Post Mobile Age: It’s coming in 10 years, as smart glasses replace the smart phone, says Zuck. Great way to shift the narrative at least. (aside, I own the URL PostMobileAge.com if anyone’s buying).
- The Everything App: And now you can search from inside Instagram’s comment feed. When do we start calling IG bloatware?
TIKTOK
- Too Little Too Late: Yes, TikTok’s new parent pairing feature is nice, as is the vibey way they are trying to get teens to log off after 10pm. But how about figuring out how to identify the REAL age of users, then blocking those younger than 13 and limiting daily time-spent to an hour for 13-17. Anything else is just lipstick on a pig.
- Related: @Sam Lessin tweets about the AI parental control YouTube should have – and TIkTok should too.
- Really? 2% of all US jobs either create content on TikTok or manage TikTok accounts, according to a new study by Double T. This implies that a TikTok shutdown would raise US unemployment from 4% to over 6%. What’s even more head-scratching is that 74% of US companies claim TikTok helped them scale – although only 23% are actually ON TikTok. Take this new study with a big grain of salt.
- The Oracle Knows All: Bytedance likes Oracle as a US cloud provider – maybe Ellison will buy TikTok and let his son run it – along with Paramount.
- No TikTok on TV (For Now): Last week I hypothesized about an imminent TikTok TV app, based on YouTube’s success. @Mike Shields shot that down with a bit of analysis and investigation. I still think it’s a good idea – whaddaya say DoubleT?
OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY
- Up All Night: Hootsuite releases its quarterly report on the best times to post on popular social platforms. Facebook and Instagram’s 5am Tuesday recommendation is loony – WTF is that about? For LinkedIn creators, its text in the morning, video in the afternoon – which makes sense.
- Better Late than Never: Honey’s hijacking of affiliate links was nothing new – the industry knew about it for a long time. Why didn’t Google ban the practice years ago? Complicit? Kickbacks? Well at least it’s happening now.
- Power of LinkedIn: @Brendan Gahan lists the reasons why LinkedIn is such a powerful influencer/creator platform. Full disclosure, I’m on Brendan’s board.
- Chengduwood? Animated Chinese movie Ne Zha 2 grosses over $2B – biggest animated movie ever and 5th biggest all time. Oddly it wasn’t dubbed into English but still spent 3 weeks in the top 10. More signs of a global media audience emerging AND an opportunity missed (and another reason to be excited about the promise of AI localization).
- Indian Creator Fund: India leans into the creator economy with a $1B fund and a new event in early May that hopes to be the Davos of the creator economy.
- Party Time: My friends at Slow Ventures are going on tour to chat about their new fund. I’ll be at their San Francisco stop, and I encourage you to RSVP for NY or LA if you are there. Should be a proper banger.
- OG in SF: Net Influencer has been talking with all my favorite people in the Creator Economy – this time they profile OG creative agency Portal-A (they produced YouTube Rewind – among many other things).
- Storytelling in Audio: I loved listening to ancient radio narratives when I was growing up – from Bob and Ray to The Shadow. So cool to see podcasting bringing audio narrative back – including the latest from TikTok star Alyssa McKay.
- First Party Storefronts: Best Buy is joining the first-party creator storefront trend with a new program designed to entice major creators to build stores on its platform. Many large retailers have seen tremendous success – often 4x more than traditional ecomm and influencer partnerships – via Anchor by Motom and other white-label partners. Good to see Best Buy jumping in too (disclosure – I’m on Motom’s advisory board). The other benefit? Real conversion data.
- Building on Rented Land: Tensions rise between Roblox and creator studios as it leans into building its own brand integrations.
CREATOR TECH – AI, WEB3, VR, MORE
- AI Games “Soon”: Roblox will release a foundational 3D model this quarter, says the CEO, and says they are moving towards fully AI-generated experiences “at remarkable speed”. Read the full interview for more.
- Public AI: Kevin Kelly writes a thought-provoking piece on why we should build an AI of AIs as a public intelligence, similar to the internet today.
- Rocket Science: Eric Schmidt takes his first CEO job after stepping down from Google 15 years ago – this time running Relativity Space.
- AI Tool for Journalists: Great to see Sophina funded and under development, cool new tool from great journalist @Sophia Smith Galar.
RESEARCH
- Surprising Audience Development Trends: Traditional publishers are done with third party data, SEO and algorithmic platforms. That’s the conclusion of startling new research from @Brian Morrissey that analyzes how digital media companies are reacting to the changing world of social, creator and search.
- Community > Subscribers: Good data on the African Creator Economy is hard to come by. But that’s starting to change. If you’re fascinated by the potential of the region – like I am – this report is worth a download. Key findings: YouTube lags IG, FB, and X – unlike in many other parts of the world. But community-first and de-influencing trends are universal.
- Gaming Trends: Want to build a mobile game brand extension? Make sure and include in-app purchases and ads. And target the US, China and Japan. Those are just some of the findings in Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile Gaming 2025 report.
100% written by me – 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 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.
