Articles
The creator economy magazineAnalyses of the European creator economy from primary sources. Pick a topic and read.
Promo codes keep converting months after a creator collab ends
Marketer Brandon Smithwrick found that promo codes from a creator collab kept converting for months after it ended. Discount codes lead influencer measurement at 45.9%, but they miss most of the tail.
Netflix invented binge-watching. Now it competes with short video
Bloomberg reported that viewers are leaving series before the second season. Netflix faces a bigger shift, though. YouTube overtook it in viewing time in 2025, and microdramas are spending billions a year. The whole-season model is colliding with short video.
Sky buys ITV for £1.6 billion as TV consolidates
Sky is taking over ITV’s media and entertainment business for up to £1.6 billion, joining two major British TV brands into one commercial platform. Brand buyers in Europe are also watching a market where attention is moving to individual creators.
Zalando used Karlovy Vary looks without naming their designers
Cate Blanchett presented a registry in the European Parliament where people set how AI may use their likeness. Meanwhile a paid Zalando campaign on Czech Instagram uses KVIFF looks without naming their designers. When will credit and consent become standard?
Studios compete for YouTube horror and buy the rights from creators
Hollywood studios are bidding for horror series that began online. Eleven studios competed for one, and the box office of an adaptation set the price at over $330 million. Rights are bought directly from creators, whose audiences built the value years earlier.
Meta: paid campaigns convert, organic content builds relationships
Notes from a Meta event say reels should reach non-followers 90% of the time, and strong creators’ broadcast channels equal 5 to 10% of their followers. Paid campaigns serve conversion, organic serves relationships.
Cannes Lions 2026 put creators at the centre, and capital followed
Over 250 creators appeared across the Cannes Lions 2026 programme, and institutional capital moved into the creator business. Brands working with creators won top Lions. From 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act applies to AI content in Europe.
TikTok opens microdramas to brands as studios move in
Vertical microdramas are set to surpass the box office in China, and grow 28% a year outside it. TikTok now opens the format to brands through Mini Dramas, while Yash Raj Films is entering vertical production through Rusk Media.
Creator economy heads for half a trillion dollars, but estimates diverge
Goldman Sachs estimates the creator economy at $480 billion by 2027, while other models point higher. Estimates differ by hundreds of billions depending on what each one counts. The most measurable thing so far is the institutional capital flowing into the sector.
Beast Games flopped. YouTuber films are filling cinemas
The most-subscribed creator on YouTube has an expensive series flop behind him. Markiplier’s film grossed over $50 million on a $3 million budget. Other creators’ films follow the same path, where success depends on how engaged fans are and how willing they are to mobilise.
Netflix posts record revenue but daily viewing time is falling
Netflix’s revenue and subscriber numbers are rising, but the average viewer spends almost a quarter less time on the service than at the 2023 peak. Its answer is to bet on habit with video podcasts, children’s formats from YouTube, live sport and linear TV.
YouTube set the bar for working with creators at Cannes
Forbes named Cannes Lions the most important event in the creator economy. YouTube built its whole festival programme around creators, from production support to the main stage.