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The creator economy magazineAnalyses of the European creator economy from primary sources. Pick a topic and read.
Abu Dhabi fund targets the creator economy, led by Hollywood veterans
Abu Dhabi's Ethmar International Holding and the US firm Guggenheim Brothers Media have set up a fund of $50 million to $75 million for the creator economy. It is led by people from UTA and Lionsgate and targets creators, their tools and intellectual property.
Diary of a CEO pays a fact-checker. A medical doctorate graduate checks its health episodes
Steven Bartlett pays a medical doctorate graduate to check the health episodes of Diary of a CEO before release. The role began in June 2025, half a year after a BBC World Service investigation. For a podcast with a billion plays, this is an operational decision by the studio.
YouTube is removing paid music licences from Creator Music
From 10 August 2026, YouTube is removing paid one-time music licences from Creator Music and keeping only free tracks and tracks with revenue sharing. Unused licences will be refunded. For one licensed track, the creator's share falls to about half.
Premium podcasts are sold away from where they are heard. TrueFans tries to join both in one app
Fans today pay for premium podcasts on Patreon and listen through a copied RSS feed. TrueFans now unlocks paid episodes inside the listening app and can import private feeds from elsewhere. Consumer podcast revenue reached $2.2 billion last year.
Meta paid creators almost $3 billion in 2025 and now pays stars to post on Facebook
Meta paid creators almost $3 billion through its monetisation programmes in 2025, 35% more than a year earlier. Creator Fast Track now pays creators from other platforms a fixed sum for Reels in the US and Canada.
Peacock is coming to YouTube Premium
NBCUniversal is bringing Peacock into YouTube Premium. From early 2027, US subscribers get the full library, including the NFL and the Olympics, inside YouTube. Peacock has just posted its first quarterly profit in its history, and it is reaching for an audience it did not build.
Netflix loses kids’ hit CoComelon and turns to YouTube creators
Four of Netflix’s most-watched children’s titles in the first half of 2026 started on YouTube. Netflix licenses them because the audience is already there. CoComelon, whose viewing dropped by almost 60%, moves to Disney+ in 2027.
Google funded a vertical series by podcaster Alex Cooper
Google Pixel co-financed a vertical series by podcaster Alex Cooper’s company Unwell. TikTok and Sundance are teaching creators to write micro-series, and Mipcom has added vertical content to its main programme. Entertainment is now developed in public before studios arrive.
US late-night talk shows have lost half their ad spend
US late-night ad spend fell from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million in 2024. Sean Evans of Hot Ones told Forbes why stars choose hot wings over talk shows: a clip’s second life, a child’s plea and the certainty that someone will see the stop.
MrBeast’s chocolate brand earned more than his videos
Feastables, MrBeast’s confectionery brand, made $251 million in revenue in 2024 and was profitable. His videos brought in $246 million and ended in a loss. Traditional firms build a product and then pay heavily to find customers. A creator already has the audience.
Gap pays employees commission for posts about its brands
Gap Inc. has opened its creator programme to employees in offices, stores and distribution centres. Its external version drew nearly 30,000 posts reaching 154 million people in under a year. Starbucks and Ulta Beauty run similar schemes.
The US podcast industry agrees what a podcast is and how to count listens
A podcast is now on-demand content that is fully understandable through listening alone, whatever the distribution. The AMP Accords count a listen after 30 continuous seconds, for audio and video alike. Spotify has measured this way since June.