Pitch a Creator!

I’ve been a bit quiet here, I know. But a lot has happened in the past month.

I launched Creator Economy Rocks, stepped into my role as a Cannes Lions ambassador, kicked off a mini-manifesto (#PitchACreator), went to Snoop Dogg’s ice cream launch party… and a few other things in between.

I want to share some of these moments with you, and more importantly, what I’m learning from them.

This will be a bit of a longer thread, so grab my hand and come with me, we have a lot to talk about. :)

:)

Last week, I had the honor of being invited to speak at Machine Cinema's GenTalk.

MC is probably the coolest and most curious community right now exploring, discussing and playing with AI. Most people there come from Hollywood, filmmaking or digital arts.

My role was to bring the “word of the Creator Economy” to that audience. 🙌🏼

The most important shift I see right now is what I’d call the third wave of gatekeepers and how creators are starting to disrupt it.

• First Gatekeeper = Media (2005–2015)

The first time creators disrupted an industry was when blogs, YouTube, podcasts and social platforms gave people the ability to distribute ideas without permission. Before that, influence and information were concentrated in traditional media.

• Second Gatekeeper = Commerce/Retail (2015 - ?)

When content platforms became marketplaces, creators stopped being just a distribution layer for brands and started becoming businesses themselves. They took the influence they used to “rent” to brands and started using it to build their own products and own the upside. Retail absorbed it fast and we saw DTC, creator live shopping, storefronts, affiliate programs and even established brands launching products with creators.

• Third Gatekeeper = IP (happening now…)

For most of the last century, Hollywood controlled production and distribution of entertainment products. Now creators are knocking on the door with a totally different way of building IP and entertainment: with speed, community and direct distribution.

Creators want in. They’ve hit a ceiling on social platforms, and are starting to move from posts to IP. They’re building entertainment businesses (not just content channels) in a fundamentally different way from Hollywood, because it’s collaborative, not top-down.

At the same time, Hollywood is going through one of its most structural crises in decades.

In this “Posts to IP” ladder, there are actually a lot of opportunities:

If Hollywood isn’t hiring, can the Creator Economy absorb the talent? Think microdramas, vertical shows and series, even long-form IP. Creators are hiring writers, producers, professionals who can help them go from content to IP.

During my talk at Machine Cinema, I floated an idea: What if instead of pitching studios, you start pitching creators?

Creators already have audience. They already have distribution. Many of them already have capital… they just need the talents, or the provocation or someone who understands how Hollywood works.

So, if there is a creator you believe in and that you really like, go pitch them!

In this ownership era, writers, producers, editors, directors… they don’t have to just be hired talent. They can be co-builders. Maybe even co-owners of the IP.

Why not?

Funny thing happened: right after my talk, I came across this article here, saying that:

“Last week, here in a private dining room at a trendy Hudson Yards restaurant over platters of pasta, three start-up founders pitched their companies to an invitation-only, exclusive group of potential investors: 15 creators who have more than 25 million collective followers.

The ask? For a cash investment, creators get a stake in the next brand to make it big. And, for the start-ups, they hope to bring on board investors with a large social media following and a stake in promoting the new brand."

How cool is that?

I’ve seen a lot of models where brands and creators collaborate on products (like Own.ai, and other “influence for equity” deals), but I believe this is the first time I've seen a real pitch room for creators as investors.

Which takes me to the Snoop Dogg party. I was invited by an OG Creator Economy colleague (and now friend) who is partnering with the rapper to launch his ice cream brand in foreign markets. He started a company last year focused on co-building products with creators and part of his funding is coming from a huge retail company.

It makes a lot of sense: One side brings capital, R&D and distribution. The other brings audience and a built-in marketing engine.

The Creator Economy has so many different playbooks. I’m obsessed with understanding them and thinking about how the industry can grow, diversify and mature.

Which takes me to my next adventure…

I met Hanna Simonson at one event at The Lighthouse and we immediately clicked! She is fresh, smart, fast and curious (not furious… or maybe a bit).

At first I was curious what a recruiter was doing at a creator-focused event. That became obvious very quickly when she told me that “creator-led companies are strengthening their foundations and operating more like businesses rather than just channels".

The Creator Economy is maturing and teams are starting to operate more intentionally in an industry that was historically built on the fly.

Hanna and Noori are placing senior talent across the most ambitious creator-led companies right now.

She invited me to one of her Noori Supper Clubs, a private dinner for a selected group of founders, operators and leaders across tech and the Creator Economy.

I asked her what these recent hires signal about the industry and here is what she told me.

• Business infrastructure: “roles across recruiting, HR, legal, and CEO-level operators".

• Community as the enginee: “Creator companies are seeking community engagement leads for major YouTube creators launching members-only subscription based platforms. These profiles typically come from retention marketing and programming backgrounds and really understand the Creator Economy. The goal is to build a place where audiences can find community, participate more directly, and further invest in the creator’s mission.”

• Business beyond content: “the hires reflect the need to expand into new verticals beyond content alone. The goal is a strong content engine that supports broader business ventures.”

• Editors are in: “Teams are also building out their own rosters of video editors instead of relying only on freelance support, strengthening their internal content engines”. [Caveat: teams now expect editors to use AI tools, but without losing their taste and point of view. That’s becoming a real issue. Many know how to use the tools, but struggle to maintain a distinct voice.]

• Youtube strategy for brands/tech-cos: “some of the world’s most recognized brands are turning to agencies that specialize in building YouTube infrastructure from the ground up because they want their own ecosystem on the platform. In the same way tech companies are seeking creative directors with YouTube experience to shape their presence".

Yea! These are all super revealing signals for the industry. The Creator Economy is structuring up.

Once a creator company has all those roles filled, it starts to have operational ingredients/skills a studio has, plus a pre-existing audience and distribution that Hollywood would kill for. BOOM!

.ROCKS is an intelligence layer for the global Creator Economy, combining AI-powered signals, sharp research and real-world access through immersions.

Our next immersion happens May 18–21 in Los Angeles, where a small group of leaders will go on tour with me, visiting studios, platforms, creator companies and people building the next era of entertainment.

If you want to understand where media, community, commerce and IP are converging, take a look at HollyTube. (here).

Oh, I still need to tell you what’s happening around Cannes Lions this year… but this is already a lot.

More in next issue. We have a lot to unpack. 🙂