Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. Photo: Mythical Entertainment Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Startups

Jellysmack Hires MTV Ex-Exec; Q&A With Rhett & Link; Discord’s Pre-Public Moves

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 15, 2021 4:22 PM PDT
The explosion of interest in the creator sector has shown up in job listings data. In the past three years, job opportunities with the word creator in the title or description have soared 4,645 times, to 92,900 positions, according to data firm Thinknum. Sean Atkins, the prior president of MTV, is the latest to jump to a creator-economy... The explosion of interest in the creator sector has shown up in job listings data. In the past...
From left to right, YouTube personalities Jackie Aina, Emma Chamberlain and TikTok star Addison Rae at the Met Gala on Monday night. Photo: AP Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Entertainment Microsoft

Influencers Blanket Met Gala; LinkedIn Launches Creator Fund

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 14, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
The Met Gala’s guest list was notably different than past years, with a parade of homegrown internet stars on the red carpet on Monday night. That’s a huge contrast to prior years where the exclusive guest list focused on A-list celebrities, including top actors and singers. This year, at least half a dozen social media creators attended,... The Met Gala’s guest list was notably different than past years, with a parade of homegrown...
Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea. Photo: OpenSea. Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Crypto Startups

OpenSea CEO Says Era of ‘Pure Collectible NFTs’ Is Over

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 13, 2021 4:05 PM PDT
Earlier this year, artists such as Beeple made headlines for earning hefty sums through the sale of digital collectibles known as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume, was a beneficiary of these types of sales, handling $3.4 billion in transactions last month alone. Now Devin Finzer, CEO and... Earlier this year, artists such as Beeple made headlines for earning hefty sums through the sale...
Photo: Whatnot. Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Live-Shopping Startup Whatnot Raising at $1.5 Billion Valuation
By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 9, 2021 2:38 PM PDT
Photo: Whatnot. Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Startups

Live-Shopping Startup Whatnot Raising at $1.5 Billion Valuation

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 9, 2021 2:38 PM PDT
Whatnot is raising new capital at a valuation of $1.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. It’s the third round of funding this year for the live-shopping startup and triples its valuation from the last round, according to an estimate from data provider PitchBook. Existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz are... Whatnot is raising new capital at a valuation of $1.5 billion, according to a person familiar...
Koji’s Annie Morita Photo: Morita Editorial
Creator Economy
Startups Apple

A Startup Building an App Store for Creators Hires Apple App Store Ex-Exec

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 8, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Koji, one of a group of fast-growing startups that offers landing pages that creators can connect to their social-media bios, is taking a cue from two very large companies—Apple and WeChat—by offering a web store of smaller, web-based apps created by outside developers. To further those aims, it has hired Annie Morita, a former Apple executive... Koji, one of a group of fast-growing startups that offers landing pages that creators can connect...
Illustration: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Google

What TikTok’s Growing Threat to YouTube Means

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 7, 2021 4:00 PM PDT · 2 comments
TikTok’s rise is often seen as a major threat to Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram. And for good reason. Instagram head Adam Mosseri has talked about how TikTok is ahead and he’s laid out plans for making Instagram’s home screen look a lot more like the short-form video app. But the way TikTok is rattling YouTube has generated less... TikTok’s rise is often seen as a major threat to Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram. And for...
Clubhouse host and comedian Leah Lamarr. Photo: Andrew Max Levy
Creator Economy
Startups Apple

Where Apple Could Loosen App Store Rules Next; Clubhouse’s New Icon

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 2, 2021 2:20 PM PDT
Earlier this week we quoted a creator-economy startup founder who predicted Apple would keep chipping away at its rules on in-app payments to make it easier to bypass the company’s 30% fees on digital purchases. That forecast is coming true more quickly than we expected. Late Wednesday, the iPhone maker said it would allow reader apps, such... Earlier this week we quoted a creator-economy startup founder who predicted Apple would keep...
The Next Creator Economy Unicorns
By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 1, 2021 4:02 PM PDT · 2 comments
Creator Economy
Startups

The Next Creator Economy Unicorns

By Kaya Yurieff · Sept. 1, 2021 4:02 PM PDT · 2 comments
Our latest chart looks at the creator economy startups that have achieved unicorn status, according to our database of companies in this sector. The list is quite varied. While two focus on creator- or celebrity-run online courses (Kajabi, MasterClass), the others offer very different products, such as Patreon’s membership platform or Cameo... Our latest chart looks at the creator economy startups that have achieved unicorn status,...
Photo credit: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Startups Amazon

Why Creator Boycotts Are Spreading; Amazon Starts Social Audio

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 31, 2021 4:00 PM PDT · 1 comment
On Wednesday, some Twitch streamers plan to boycott the live-gaming service for a day in response to “hate raids,” where trolls flood chats with bots spewing harassing messages. People of color and streamers who are LGBTQ+ are often the targets. Emily Bello, who runs a video game live-streaming account on Twitch with her husband, told me... On Wednesday, some Twitch streamers plan to boycott the live-gaming service for a day in response...
Photo: Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy
Startups Apple

Startup Sees Apple ‘Firewall’ Lowering Over App Store Fees

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 30, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Apple’s recent decision to allow app makers to tell customers about payment options outside its mobile App Store largely underwhelmed developers. But Sahil Lavingia, founder and CEO of Gumroad, a seller of services for creators, said there’s reason to believe Apple could eventually concede to future demands. “It feels like the narrative is... Apple’s recent decision to allow app makers to tell customers about payment options outside its...
Chart credit: Joanna Lin Su
Creator Economy
Startups

TI Creator Economy: Charting SoftBank’s Creator Economy Bets

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 26, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Our latest chart highlights an underlying theme of SoftBank’s strategy when it comes to backing creator economy startups: Artificial intelligence is key. Of the two creator economy deals that SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led this year, both are AI-related. All of its creator economy investments this year were for Series C rounds. The most recent... Our latest chart highlights an underlying theme of SoftBank’s strategy when it comes to backing...
OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely. Photo: OnlyFans.
The Numbers Behind The OnlyFans Flip-Flop; Clubhouse Teases a Creator Marketplace
By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 25, 2021 4:24 PM PDT
OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely. Photo: OnlyFans.
Creator Economy
Entertainment Startups

The Numbers Behind The OnlyFans Flip-Flop; Clubhouse Teases a Creator Marketplace

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 25, 2021 4:24 PM PDT
OnlyFans is giving performers and observers serious whiplash. At first, the company banned sexually explicit content, although it said nudity would still be allowed. Less than a week later, it overturned the ban, saying it received “assurances” from banking partners that it can support payments for all types of creators.On one hand, the back and... OnlyFans is giving performers and observers serious whiplash. At first, the company banned...
Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy
Entertainment

The Race for Social Shopping is Wide Open; OnlyFans CEO Speaks Out

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 24, 2021 4:12 PM PDT
Nearly every social network now offers some sort of in-app shopping, including Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest. And why not? These features could lead to new sources of income, say by sales commissions, and help attract creators, who often promote products. But despite the wide interest, it’s not clear how successful any of them have been.On... Nearly every social network now offers some sort of in-app shopping, including Instagram,...
Photos featured on the Accidentally Wes Anderson Instagram account. Photo credit: Wally Koval, @accidentallywesanderson, @sarahisle, @wherehayleygoes, @friiidaberg, @colewhitworth
Creator Economy
Startups

The OnlyFans Fallout Continues; Q&A With Instagram Account ‘Accidentally Wes Anderson’

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 23, 2021 4:10 PM PDT
OnlyFans’ big announcement last week that it will ban sexually explicit content is still prompting a lot more questions from some performers—and observers—than answers. The latest: Over the weekend, OnlyFans responded to a backlash among sex workers to its policy change by acknowledging their importance to the U.K startup’s sucess. “The... OnlyFans’ big announcement last week that it will ban sexually explicit content is still...
Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy
Entertainment Venture Capital

Who Wins as OnlyFans Sheds Its Porn Past

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 19, 2021 4:21 PM PDT · 1 comment
OnlyFans was one of the startups that became synonymous with the rise of the creator economy last year, as it grew to a $383 million-revenue company on subscriptions and tips that went directly to performers, who were largely producing sexually explicit content. So it’s huge news that it’s getting out of the business that made it such a... OnlyFans was one of the startups that became synonymous with the rise of the creator economy last...
TikTok star Olivia Rodrigo at the White House. Photo: Bloomberg
Influencers Discover New Source of Funding: the Government
By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 18, 2021 4:14 PM PDT
TikTok star Olivia Rodrigo at the White House. Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

Influencers Discover New Source of Funding: the Government

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 18, 2021 4:14 PM PDT
The Biden administration has been teaming up with social media influencers to fight Covid-19 vaccine misinformation, inviting pop star Olivia Rodrigo to visit the White House and enlisting popular comedic creator Benito Skinner, a.k.a Benny Drama, to make a viral video urging vaccine shots. Local governments have also been tapping into... The Biden administration has been teaming up with social media influencers to fight Covid-19...
Pelé in 2005. Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy
Startups

A Market for Buying Shares of Creators Finds Its Way

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 17, 2021 4:06 PM PDT · 1 comment
Investing directly in creators—a chance to bet on the future success of an internet personality and buy into their future earnings—has been gaining steam. The idea is a natural outgrowth of viewing creators as an asset, not dissimilar to an early-stage startup, that could rise in value with more followers and sponsorships. But this market is... Investing directly in creators—a chance to bet on the future success of an internet personality...
Robert Kyncl. Photo: YouTube
Creator Economy

YouTube’s Chief Business Officer on TikTok, Shopping and Future Deals

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 16, 2021 4:22 PM PDT · 1 comment
As YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl oversees global partnerships with media companies, artists and creators. Those internet personalities are starting to gravitate to a product YouTube rolled out nearly a year ago: a quick and easy way to produce short-form videos, like the ones popularized by TikTok. “That was a missing... As YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl oversees global partnerships with media...
Stationhead CEO Ryan Star. Photo: Stationhead
Creator Economy
Entertainment Startups

The Startup Where Superfans Turn Into Streaming DJs; Reddit’s Boffo Quarter

By Sylvie Venuto · Aug. 12, 2021 4:54 PM PDT
As an independent rock musician, Stationhead CEO Ryan Star recalls getting frustrated every time he tried to convince a radio station program director to play his songs. “We don’t break the hits, we play the hits,” was the common response. Six years later, the startup Star co-founded—a form of fan-organized radio for the streaming age—has become... As an independent rock musician, Stationhead CEO Ryan Star recalls getting frustrated every time...
Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. Credit: Quora
Quora CEO D’Angelo On Paying its Writers; High Schoolers Love Shared Calendars
By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 11, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. Credit: Quora
Creator Economy
Facebook Startups

Quora CEO D’Angelo On Paying its Writers; High Schoolers Love Shared Calendars

By Kaya Yurieff · Aug. 11, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Question-and-answer sites can feel like a forgotten era of an older internet. Yahoo Answers, founded in 2005, shut down this year. But Quora, started four years later, is chugging along—and reinventing itself. Last week the company announced new subscription products aimed at creators, or the popular writers, on its site. On Tuesday, I... Question-and-answer sites can feel like a forgotten era of an older internet. Yahoo Answers,...