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Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

What Snap Didn’t Say About Spotlight

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 22, 2021 4:28pm PDT
Snap’s second-quarter results left us with a lot of questions about how its TikTok competitor Spotlight is performing. The company’s splashy pledge last year to give away $1 million every day to people who make the most viewed short videos on Spotlight gave it an immediate boost. That program propelled the feature to 125 million monthly... Snap’s second-quarter results left us with a lot of questions about how its TikTok competitor...
Images of live-shopping app NTWRK. Photo: NTWRK
Creator Economy

How Live-Shopping Startups Compete

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 21, 2021 4:00pm PDT
As our latest table below shows, the race to find the modern version of QVC is getting crowded. At least six startups are competing to win customers with live shopping. And Amazon and Facebook are also making inroads.Here’s how the field looks: Most live-shopping services share features such as creator or celebrity hosts, commenting in real-time... As our latest table below shows, the race to find the modern version of QVC is getting crowded....
Photos of Simsim, courtesy of the company.
Creator Economy

What YouTube’s Shopping Deal Means for the Creator Wars

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 20, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment
For years, YouTube was the lone platform offering social media creators a way to make money directly. But now social networks are trying to woo internet personalities with splashy creator funds, tipping, marketplaces to connect them with advertisers for deals, and even giving cash for using certain products like Instagram... For years, YouTube was the lone platform offering social media creators a way to make money...
Rex Woodbury. Photo: Index Ventures
Rebuild America’s Economy for ‘Solopreneurs,’ Says Index’s Woodbury
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 19, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Rex Woodbury. Photo: Index Ventures
Creator Economy

Rebuild America’s Economy for ‘Solopreneurs,’ Says Index’s Woodbury

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 19, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Rex Woodbury, a 27-year-old principal at venture capital firm Index Ventures in San Francisco, started out as an influencer in college, amassing 236,000 Instagram followers. Posts about his daily life led to deals for sponsored posts with BMW, Under Armour and Marriott. That experience laid the foundation for his work as an investor, where... Rex Woodbury, a 27-year-old principal at venture capital firm Index Ventures in San Francisco,...
Makeup artist and influencer Jeremiah Jacques. Photo: Jeremiah Jacques
Creator Economy

Why Advertiser Spending on Influencers Will Reach $4 Billion

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 15, 2021 4:00pm PDT
We got an early look at new data from eMarketer/Insider Intelligence that shows just how much money advertisers are spending on sponsored posts from influencers. Influencer marketing on social networks in the U.S., including Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, is projected to rise to $3.7 billion this year, up 34% from last year. By 2023,... We got an early look at new data from eMarketer/Insider Intelligence that shows just how much...
Creator Economy

How Facebook’s $1 Billion Creator Warchest Compares

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 14, 2021 4:24pm PDT
As our latest chart shows, Facebook is late to join the parade of tech companies offering to pay creators for showing up on their platforms. It’s making up for that latecomer status in size—and variety. Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram will pay social media creators $1 billion through 2022, one of the largest direct financial... As our latest chart shows, Facebook is late to join the parade of tech companies offering to pay...
Substack CEO Chris Best. Photo: Substack
Creator Economy

Substack to Offer Free Classes to Help Writers Earn Their First $1,000

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 13, 2021 4:20pm PDT · 2 comments
The top 10 publishers on Substack bring in more than $20 million a year in subscriptions, underpinning the newsletter platform’s revenue growth. Now Substack is trying to broaden the pool of writers who can earn a living from paid subscriptions. Next month, it will launch a new program called “Substack Grow” that offers a free, six-session... The top 10 publishers on Substack bring in more than $20 million a year in subscriptions,...
Basketball stars and twins Hanna Cavinder (left) and Haley Cavinder. Photo: AP
Why Many More College Athletes Are About to Become Creators
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 12, 2021 3:58pm PDT
Basketball stars and twins Hanna Cavinder (left) and Haley Cavinder. Photo: AP
Creator Economy

Why Many More College Athletes Are About to Become Creators

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 12, 2021 3:58pm PDT
Get ready for a wave of college-athlete influencers. On Cameo, Spencer Rattler, quarterback for the University of Oklahoma’s Division I football team, is charging $177 for personalized shoutout videos. He also recently created his own merchandise line, including t-shirts and hats.A scroll through Instagram reveals Fresno State... Get ready for a wave of college-athlete influencers. On Cameo, Spencer Rattler, quarterback for...
Creator Economy

Creator-Related Job Postings at Amazon, Google Spike

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 8, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Companies have taken note of the millions of people who consider themselves social media creators. That’s showed up in job listings: Hiring for roles related to creators, such as engineers building features for them or managers overseeing influencer marketing, has exploded. In the past three years, job listings with the word creator in the... Companies have taken note of the millions of people who consider themselves social media...
Willa CEO Kristofer Sommestad. Photo: Willa
Creator Economy

The Startups Competing for Creators’ Wallets

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 7, 2021 4:08pm PDT · 1 comment
Our recent dive into the startups reshaping how independent musicians get paid generated a lot of interest from readers. Today we wade into another subsector that’s a tad less glamorous—but just as important. These startups are developing software that manages the back-end tasks of a creators’ business, from tracking earnings on Stir to handling... Our recent dive into the startups reshaping how independent musicians get paid generated a lot of...
Doja Cat attends the iHeartRadio Music Awards on May 27, 2021, in Los Angeles. Photo: AP
Creator Economy

The Big Money in Music Startups

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 6, 2021 4:17pm PDT
TikTok wouldn’t be much as fun without music. A cluster of music-oriented startups have taken note, selling independent musicians access to online production tools and marketplaces that connect them with video performers who can help their songs go viral.Among the 52 startups in our creator economy database, five are focused on music, and they’... TikTok wouldn’t be much as fun without music. A cluster of music-oriented startups have taken...
Kimberly Nicole Foster, who runs the “For Harriet” YouTube channel. Photo: Kimberly Nicole Foster
The Rise of Influencer-Led Courses; How One YouTuber Makes $25,000 a Month
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 1, 2021 4:31pm PDT
Kimberly Nicole Foster, who runs the “For Harriet” YouTube channel. Photo: Kimberly Nicole Foster
Creator Economy

The Rise of Influencer-Led Courses; How One YouTuber Makes $25,000 a Month

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 1, 2021 4:31pm PDT
During the pandemic, Instagram influencer Christina Galbato shifted from posting about travel to teaching her 254,000 followers how to become full-time social media creators themselves. It’s been a lucrative switch. Galbato says she’s making more money from such coaching, including two courses run through Canada’s Thinkific, such... During the pandemic, Instagram influencer Christina Galbato shifted from posting about travel to...
Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo: Cameo
Creator Economy

Cameo Targets $200 Million-Plus in Video Sales This Year

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 30, 2021 4:22pm PDT
The pandemic shut-downs proved to be great for Cameo’s business of selling personalized video messages from celebrities such as Snoop Dogg or “Tiger King” star Carole Baskin. After growing faster than it expected last year, the startup, which takes a 25% cut of these video sales, aims to book $200 million to $300 million in celebrity shoutouts... The pandemic shut-downs proved to be great for Cameo’s business of selling personalized video...
Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox. Photo: Bloomberg
Creator Economy

Why Facebook’s Substack Competitor Will Do Just Fine

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 29, 2021 4:49pm PDT
It’s easy to dunk on Facebook when it rolls out another copycat product, in this case, its newsletter publishing platform that goes head-to-head with Substack. Facebook’s new Bulletin site, as the breakdown below shows, shares many basic features of its rivals. And the social network’s tactic of spending big to draw early buzz, as it did with... It’s easy to dunk on Facebook when it rolls out another copycat product, in this case, its...
Illustration by Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

The Most Overlooked Creator Economy Startup of 2021

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 28, 2021 4:00pm PDT · 1 comment
Today we released our first-of-its-kind database of startups in the creator economy. To begin, we focused on U.S. startups that raised outside capital this year. This is just a start: we’ll keep updating it so it’s the most useful database of companies in this fast-growing sector.  The most surprising revelation from our data? The... Today we released our first-of-its-kind database of startups in the creator economy. To begin, we...
Dare Ajibare Photo: SJ Spreng/Whalar
Why Netflix and Hulu Are Releasing Influencer Shows; Q&A With 'Captain Dare'
By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 24, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Dare Ajibare Photo: SJ Spreng/Whalar
Creator Economy

Why Netflix and Hulu Are Releasing Influencer Shows; Q&A With 'Captain Dare'

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 24, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Major entertainment companies have woken up to the allure of online influencers. Hulu has teased a preview of its upcoming show about the family of TikTok superstars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. ABC is developing a reality competition from Venture 10 Studio Group called “#FollowMe,” where aspiring online stars participate in various challenges.... Major entertainment companies have woken up to the allure of online influencers. Hulu has teased...
Homebrew partner Hunter Walk. Photo courtesy of Homebrew
Creator Economy

Investments in Creator Economy Startups Hit $2 Billion; An Interview With Homebrew’s Hunter Walk

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 23, 2021 4:00pm PDT
The deals & debut section of this newsletter is always hopping—and that’s starting to show up in the numbers. Investors have poured at least $2 billion into U.S.-based creator economy startups so far this year, according to data compiled by The Information. For the full list of VC-backed startups, tune in next week when we launch our creator... The deals & debut section of this newsletter is always hopping—and that’s starting to show up...
Images courtesy of Twitter
Creator Economy

Twitter Cuts Creator Fees, Patreon CEO Weighs in on Apple Tax

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 22, 2021 4:00pm PDT
When Facebook announced early this month that it wouldn’t take a cut of revenues from new creator-focused features like fan subscriptions for at least the next 18 months, it put pressure on other social networks to reconsider their own fees.Twitter made its move Tuesday when it announced people can apply for Super Follows, which allow users to... When Facebook announced early this month that it wouldn’t take a cut of revenues from new...
Views of Facebook's new podcast product. Photos courtesy of Facebook.
Creator Economy

Why Facebook Needs to Get Into Podcasts

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 21, 2021 4:00pm PDT
Facebook could have chosen many moments over the last ten years to launch podcasts, say in 2018 when Google rolled out its own podcast app, or a year later, when Spotify bought popular producer Gimlet Media. Facebook’s decision to try podcasts now says a lot about how the medium has emerged as a part of a must-have toolset for creators—as well... Facebook could have chosen many moments over the last ten years to launch podcasts, say in 2018...
YouTube video producers Colin Rosenblum (l) and Samir Chaudry (r). Photo: Jesse Leon
The Week Social Audio Went Mainstream (Table); An Interview With YouTubers Colin & Samir
By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 17, 2021 4:00pm PDT
YouTube video producers Colin Rosenblum (l) and Samir Chaudry (r). Photo: Jesse Leon
Creator Economy

The Week Social Audio Went Mainstream (Table); An Interview With YouTubers Colin & Samir

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 17, 2021 4:00pm PDT
This week marked the evolution of live social audio from a company to a feature. Since Clubhouse popularized the concept during the pandemic, Twitter, Facebook and now Spotify have rushed in with their own versions. I’ve spent some time listening to conversations across all four products this week, and the experience feels pretty similar... This week marked the evolution of live social audio from a company to a feature. Since Clubhouse...