Special Mid-Year Update: 19 Trends That Will Reshape the Creator Economy Through 2026
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!
TOP STORIES
OPEN SAUCE
Fabulous weekend at Open Sauce 2025. I produced and hosted a day-long industry track on Friday that veered from a discussion with deep discussions about the future of creators to a no-holds barred funfest AMA with 4 top STEM creators. Also moderated Hank Green, Michael Stevens (VSauce), Arin Hanson (Game Grumps) and Gavin Free (The Slow Mo Guys) on the main festival stage Saturday. There must have been two thousand screaming geeky fans in attendance. More on my Open Sauce reflections this week on LinkedIn, but the 30,000 fans, creators, makers and industry execs had a smashing time. And some actually smashed things. These verticalized celebrations of creators and content – to me – are the future of fan and industry fests.
TRENDS FOR 2H25 AND BEYOND
Two weeks ago, I rated my December trend predictions for 2025 – so far, I’m running at a 92% success rate! But what’s emerging that I might have missed? Here’s what I’m watching now:
AI Backlash Inbound: When MrBeast’s ViewStats launched an AI thumbnail builder two weeks ago, creators revolted… arguing it would put human artists out of work. Jimmy Donaldson quickly pulled the feature, but it was quickly cloned by many other tools. This is just the start of what I expect to be a major trend through 2026 and beyond. Open Sauce only confirmed it, as the AI panel on my industry/creator track urged creators to be themselves and be unexpected to combat AI, while all four of the speakers on my mainstage session – along with the thousands in the audience — were vocally dismissive of AI content. Even the 6 of the 7 animators on another session were very anti-AI. Expect more creators and viewers to turn on AI… and call out those who embrace it.
It’s like the crypto backlash with one key difference: cancelling crypto didn’t hurt creators. Rejecting AI probably will.
Creators Have Arrived, Now What: This one’s from @Jasmine Enberg. Her big takeaway from Cannes (shared with me just after stepping off a red-eye to speak at VidCon): The marketing world now fully accepts the power of creators.
We’re entering the professionalization era, where success means proving ROI value to the C-Suite. CMOs want credibility, fit, and measurable impact, not just scale. Some of the creators I talked with at Open Sauce didn’t agree – but the world really has caught up to them. HT: @Wendy Wildfeuer from Motom, who’s building the proof.
Creators Need InfoSec: Hacked creators, stolen channels, theft and brand destruction are real. Old friend @Patrick Ambron nailed this at VidCon with his session on how to protect yourself from hackers, doxxers, stalkers, identity thieves, scammers, stalkers and blackmailers. This will only grow. In fact, I expect the CCSO (Chief Creator Security Officer) to become as essential as the creator COO by 2026.
Traditional Media Brain Drain: Congrats to @Scott Lewers, the new CCO of Mark Rober’s Crunchlabs! We worked together at Discovery years ago, where he ran much of their content business. He’s part of a growing wave of execs leaving traditional for the creator economy. This talent migration will only accelerate as traditional media contracts, and the smart ones see the writing on the wall.
Micro Strategies Go Macro: Smaller creators with passionate audiences are delivering big results. @Abby Ho predicts micro targeting = long-term loyalty. According to Ho, “Gen Z trusts creators who reflect their worldview” more than brands. As GenZ’s diffusion of fandom solidifies, this trend will only accelerate. Expect brands to increasingly build networks of micro-creators to tap into this (and the next trend too).
Clipping: The Micro Game’s Secret Weapon: A new way to activate micro-creators has flipped the script. It’s called “clipping”. Brands upload product-centric videos, and any creator can download, tweak, and repost them across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. Creators get paid based on performance… up to $5 per 1,000 views. Brands get viral content at scale.
UGC platform Whop has nailed this model. @Reed Duchscher just explored its cousin: “Aura Farming” (a must-read from his latest newsletter). Even AI meme edits can earn like premium storytelling for savvy creators.
AI Transforms Search: Generative AI is blowing up traditional search, and Google knows it. Perplexity just launched its own browser, Comet (although it’s not generally available). OpenAI’s is coming. Even Google now has an “AI Mode.” Generative engine search is here: a trusted AI assistant that gives you answers, not links. This trend is accelerating. Google better hope YouTube wins the media war, because its once unassailable browser and search moat looks increasingly shaky.
The opportunity for creators is massive. Optimize your trusted content for generative engine search results (aka GEO) and you’ll rise to the top of this new search paradigm. Grab my free two-part mini-book on “Generative Engine Optimization” by subscribing to the Beehiiv version of this newsletter. I’ll continue to highlight the latest here as it develops.
The Rise of Microdramas: I covered this in May, but it’s also growing. Short-form serialized dramas are sweeping mobile-first markets globally. Forget glossy “Quibi-style” series. This is all about entertaining and bingeable content built for the vertical-first small screen world. YouTube should evolve or augment shorts to complement its TV-first strategy, before it gets outflanked.
TikTok US Situation Resolved: After three (and maybe four) extensions, a sale of TikTok’s US operations will likely close before the end of the year. China could still scuttle the deal, but it looks increasingly likely today.
A new US-only version will also supposedly launch in early September. If it happens TikTok will essentially be split into three: M2 in the US, Douyin in China and TikTok everywhere else.
Not every user will migrate at first, although the current app will sunset in March. I expect a significant dip in monthly users when that happens. But ad spending across Facebook and mobile app-stores will surge as the new owner woos them back.
It’s unclear whether the new app will allow non-US creators to post. If it doesn’t – or if it severely restricts them, expect a thriving marketplace for US-based “auth accounts” to emerge on the dark web. Also expect new partnerships, as US companies team up with big global creators to “in-shore” their content to the US, the opposite of what Adoba, Flywheel and East Goes Global do in China.
Will it reduce AI slop? Unlikely. Depending on ownership, 80% AI-generated content may become the new norm. And if Skydance and Oracle buy TikTok, look for tight integration with Paramount/CBS… which might finally cash in on the Musical.ly era 10 years later.
There’s a scary side to Skydance… I hope we don’t get a Colbert-like purge of certain creators and content… aka the “X-ification” of TikTok. Fingers crossed.
9 OTHER KEY TRENDS TO WATCH
I couldn’t stop at just 10 – here are some other signals that I’m keeping an eye on for the next 18-24 months
AI Content Studios Go Mainstream: AI-native studios will start producing both traditional and creator-first content at scale… blurring the lines between Hollywood and homegrown.
Avatars Cross Over: VTubers, digital twins, and AI avatars expand into real-world spaces, from brand campaigns to events, challenging the definition of “authentic” presence.
TikTok’s Fate Splits the Audience: Even if TikTok settles its regulatory battle, creators will hedge, and double down on Shorts, Reels, and Snap to diversify their footprint. A politicization of TikTok via its new owners could emerge too.
Creator Finance Evolves, But Watch Your Back: New options for equity splits, revenue-based financing, insurance, and receivables lending will emerge… but so will grifters. Be careful.
Community Activations Ascend: Brands lean into community activation to build more sustainable creator partnerships.
The Metrics Reset Begins: New efforts to develop consistent metrics emerge from startups and existing companies as the devaluation of views, followers and likes accelerates.
Peak Creator TV Emerges: Big bets on creators making traditional media will yield a few hits, but many more misses.
Gaming Shakeup: AI and creators will democratize video game development, disrupting an already fragile ecosystem.
The Rise of Private Social: As trust in major platforms erodes, creators and fans shift toward private, niche, and decentralized communities.
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
One of the reasons why I like writing this newsletter each week is it helps clarify my opinions. For instance, I rewrote last week’s lead story on YouTube’s repetitive content shift at least three times as my opinion on what was really going on changed.
Another reason? Part of what I do is produce creator economy tracks at events globally (did you hear about my Open Sauce Creator/Industry day last Friday? It was epic). These typically take six months or more from start to launch. I start by identifying emerging signals and trends that everyone will be talking about in a year – not just what’s hot today. It’s hackneyed, but the hockey metaphor stands – I want to “skate” to where the puck will be.
I’m just starting my second year producing the “Economy Track” for the One Billion Followers Summit in Dubai this January My 19 mid-year trends and signals in this issue are a public version of what I do before reaching out to speakers, crafting compelling sessions and pulling together the narrative event arc.
This year I’m doing it in public! Thanks for reading.
Where’s Jim? With Open Sauce in the books, I’ve got four weeks at home to really get One Billion Followers kicked off – and then it’s off to Europe and Dubai to really accelerate the planning – all before Labor Day!
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100% written by me. AI used sparingly for edits.
I’ve built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies – including an MCN to Discovery and VidCon to 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.
