Articles
The creator economy magazineAnalyses of the European creator economy from primary sources. Pick a topic and read.
CAA puts $250 million into buying creators, and ownership beats commission
The talent agency has taken a percentage of creators' income for a century. Now it has built a company with $250 million that will buy their businesses outright. The value rests on an existing relationship with the audience.
CVC buys most of DistroKid. Music distribution is now an asset
30 to 40% of new music releases worldwide pass through DistroKid. Private equity group CVC is acquiring most of the platform. Tools that lead creators to audiences are starting to be valued as infrastructure.
Over 80% of ads never cross the memory threshold. Radio still pays
An ad needs about 2.5 seconds of attention to leave a memory trace, and over 80% of online ads never reach that threshold. Radio and print hold attention measurably longer and are stored better. The finite medium still pays off.
Netflix licenses video from publishers. Web-native content becomes an asset
From 3 August Netflix adds short lifestyle videos from six publishing houses to its homepage. A format that grew up on YouTube and TikTok is becoming a licensed asset. Continental Europe is missing from the first wave.
Subway Takes, filmed in the New York subway, earns an Emmy nomination
Subway Takes is recorded in the New York subway with a ticket instead of a microphone, and it is up for an Emmy. YouTube leads TV viewing with 12.5%, streamers move into vertical video, and brands such as Fanatics and Bose open studios.
The Diary of a CEO has 18 million subscribers. YouTube makes it an asset
Steven Bartlett's podcast has passed 18 million YouTube subscribers, and his holding company is valued at over $400 million. Why the value of a media business now rests on a platform where subscribers are counted and owned.
Shetty leaves YouTube as Netflix and Spotify join forces
From 13 July the video version of Jay Shetty's On Purpose will be available only on Netflix and Spotify, and it will disappear from YouTube. The two rivals have joined forces in one offer worth around $100 million, the second wave of podcast exclusives, this time with two buyers.
Search Console now measures Instagram and TikTok, even for brands without websites
Google has launched platform properties in Search Console. Creators and brands can see for the first time how their content on four social networks performs in search. Organic reach from social media now gets its own number and a hint of visibility in AI Overviews.
Dua Lipa opened a library of banned books. Reading shapes a voice
Dua Lipa opened a permanent library of banned books in Porto, Portugal, under her Service95 Book Club. It is a cultural gesture that reminds anyone building a brand of a simple rule: read before you speak.
Video on LinkedIn grows twice as fast, and creators get a share of ads
Gary Vaynerchuk says LinkedIn content can change your career. LinkedIn has opened ad revenue shares to creators through its BrandLink programme, is pushing AI into hiring and, with 1.2 billion members, turns published content into professional capital.
X gives creators a video editor, but that won't buy original content
X launched a video editor and recorder with multilingual captions and green screen. The tool aims to pull creators away from recycling others' content. Reach and payouts, however, are decided by competitors and bots, which X removes by the hundreds per minute.
Apple Podcasts added video, but it is not yet gaining market share
Apple added video to Podcasts, and early data from hosting companies is encouraging. Shows with video switched on report listening up by roughly a quarter. Apple's share of weekly listeners fell to 5%, so it is unclear who the video will bring to the platform.