• Creator economy startup Jellysmack has spun off part of its original content business into a new entity.
• Blue Foxes, led by former Jellysmack VPs, will operate some of its social brands.
• SoftBank-banked Jellysmack has gone through layoffs and strategy shifts in recent months.

SoftBank-backed Jellysmack, one of the giants of the creator economy startup landscape, has unloaded another of its units.

The startup has spun off its "Jellysmack Originals" business, the company confirmed to Business Insider.

The new entity is called Blue Foxes, and is led by former Jellysmack Originals VPs Maxime Horbez and Paula Layoun. The company has taken over some of Jellysmack's owned-and-operated social brands, including YouTube channels, Snapchat accounts, and Facebook pages like Beauty Studio, Oh My Goal, Gamology, and House of Bounce, among others.

"We can confirm the launch of Blue Foxes as a spin-off, and we're very happy that the original content team will continue leading this business," Jellysmack's cofounder Michael Philippe told BI.

Jellysmack will continue operating the Law&Crime Network, which it acquired in 2023, and Philippe said the company would focus on US-based IP and YouTube.

Jellysmack raised a nine-figure investment from SoftBank in 2021 and is one of the most prominent startups in the creator industry.

However, Jellysmack — which once had over 1,000 staffers — has undergone significant changes in the past two years, including multiple rounds of layoffs. In March 2024, the company sold off its catalog-licensing business as it prioritized more profitable core initiatives, BI previously reported.

Jellysmack's troubles are part of a larger story. While the broader creator economy startup ecosystem was red hot in terms of venture capital interest and valuations from 2020 to 2023, the space has simmered down. Some startups have consolidated, while others have shed staff or shut down operations.

New name, same game

Blue Foxes is keeping several Jellysmack staffers on the team, per posts from former Jellysmack employees on LinkedIn. Blue Foxes' top executives wrote in separate posts that they hosted a launch party for the new brand in Paris on February 27th.

While Blue Foxes is a separate entity from Jellysmack with a new name and logo, "everything else stays the same," Horbez wrote in a LinkedIn post. "I am very proud to take on the leadership of Blue Foxes alongside Paula. And I'm even more thrilled to embark on this adventure with an incredible team, composed of talent spread across the globe, many of whom have been with us for years."

Horbez did not provide additional comments on the business when reached for comment. Layoun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Content creators are hiring for a number of jobs on their teams and production staff.
• The creator economy's growth has increased demand for roles like video editors and scriptwriters.
• YTJobs saw a 33% rise in job opportunities in Q4, with average pay for video editors up by 18%.

Maybe your dream of becoming a YouTube star didn't quite go as planned. Well, you could work for one instead.

More YouTube creators and other social media influencers are hiring for the teams and production staff who help them create content and run their businesses.

YTJobs CEO Sina Sahami said the company's creator job board saw a 33% year-over-year increase in the number of job opportunities listed in the fourth quarter.

The uptick in hiring comes as more creators boost production quality with recognizable characters and storylines, said Lydia DeCoud, a digital agent at CAA.

Business Insider spoke with talent managers, agents, and other professionals on influencer teams who shared some of the most sought-after jobs creators are hiring for. Their responses ranged from roles that require minimal experience, like a personal assistant, to higher-level positions, like a graphics editor.

For instance, short-form video creator Alan Chikin Chow last year opened his own production studio in Burbank down the street from Hollywood studios and sound stages. Chow's team recently posted a listing for a full-time job as a behind-the-scenes vlogger to capture moments on set between the team.

YouTube's most-subscribed-to creator, Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast to his 371 million subscribers, has dozens of job openings available. His team is hiring for roles ranging from brand strategist and director of strategic partnerships to TikTok specialist.

Although most creators don't run operations as large as Donaldson and Chow's, these job openings show what type of talent content creators need.

YTJobs analyzed thousands of creator job listings. The most in-demand roles for content creators in Q4 were:

• Video editor (61% of total job postings)
• Thumbnail designer (12%)
• Scriptwriter (12%)

The fastest-growing roles year-over-year were:

• YouTube strategist (120% growth in job postings)
• Scriptwriter (42% growth)
• Thumbnail designer (39% growth)

Several talent managers, agents, and other creator professionals told BI that creators are most commonly looking for personal and executive assistants to help with tasks like unboxing packages, capturing content, and booking travel. They're also looking for video editors, graphics editors, talent coordinators, and social media managers.

Dominick Paielli, cofounder of the influencer talent management firm The Clementine Group, said his firm is looking for editors and plans to offer them for clients to use so that there is a consistent flow of videos uploaded.

Some creators are offering higher pay for key roles

Some talent agencies are hiring, too. Dan Weinstein, cofounder and co-CEO of Underscore Talent, said his team recently hired several specialized employees including someone to help manage, advise, and run creator paywall businesses, a staffer to help clients navigate affiliate marketing, and a podcast expert.

Five talent managers also said their companies are hiring more influencer managers, ideally those with established client bases.

Finding talent with the right experience can be tricky for the average creator, though. Multiple startups have launched to help solve this issue by organizing job listings for creators, such as YTJobs, Creator Economy Jobs, and Roster. These startups act as job boards and recruiting platforms.

YTJobs said some creators are offering higher pay as well, based on data from recent job postings. For instance, the average pay for full-time video editor roles increased 18% year-over-year in Q4, while pay for full-time YouTube strategists was up 26%.

• Instagram has a new app to rival TikTok's editing app CapCut.
• The "Edits" app launches on March 31, and some creators already have access.
• A new tag will appear for videos that are edited in the app.

Instagram's battle with TikTok has entered the video editing realm.

In January, the Meta-owned platform announced it would launch "Edits," a separate app for editing videos, this year. It's a clear move to compete with TikTok parent ByteDance's own editing app, CapCut, which could also stop operating in the US due to a divest-or-ban law.

This week, Instagram began adding a label to some videos with a "Made with Edits" tag on posts. When you click on the tag, it prompts you to pre-download the Edits app, which is slated to launch on March 31. On TikTok, videos edited in CapCut using templates have a similar tag directing users to CapCut.

If a video is edited in the Edits app and someone posts the video to Instagram from Edits, the tag will appear.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri, Instagram's top executive, posted reels with this tag this week. The "Made with Edits" label will soon appear on more videos as Instagram onboards creators who have been given early access to test the app. One talent manager told BI that one of their creator clients already had access.

Reels made in Edits will also be optimized for higher-resolution video — up to 2K resolution. (Last month, some users spotted this language in the Instagram app when posting reels: "Reels made with Edits are optimized for high-quality playback on Instagram.")

You may be asking: Will this affect how reels perform or are ranked on Instagram?

As of now, Instagram is not giving preferential ranking to reels with the "Made with Edits" tag, the company confirmed to BI.

• Some YouTube creators are adapting their content for TV screens by producing longer videos.
• Longer content on TV can boost revenue with more ad breaks and higher rates.
• YouTubers shared how they're optimizing their videos for the big screen.

YouTube wants to be the new TV, and some content creators are doubling down on it to make more money.

The company said in February that TV had surpassed phones as the main place to watch YouTube in the US. It said that on average, viewers were watching more than 1 billion hours' worth of YouTube on their TVs.

The rising TV viewership is starting to boost ad revenue for some creators.

Jordan Matter, who has 28 million subscribers, makes challenge and skit-based videos featuring his daughter. In the past 28 days, he told Business Insider, 65% of his channel's total ad revenue came from TV, despite TV viewers accounting for 45% of his total audience.

In December, YouTube said creator earnings from TV were up by more than 30% year over year.

Creators including Matter are developing longer videos and compilations as they chase TV viewers and ad dollars. Longer videos can include more ad breaks, thus boosting revenue.

"If you have a 45-minute video, you can have three or four different ad-break segments," Dan Weinstein, a cofounder and co-CEO of Underscore Talent, told BI.

Weinstein said that combining existing videos in compilations was also an easy way for short-form content creators to join the TV trend.

"Really funny, viral short-form stuff actually does tend to do pretty well if sort of strung together," Weinstein said.

Making extra-long videos by piecing together shorter ones

YouTubers don't need highly produced Netflix-style shows to do well on TV. Victor Potrel, a senior vice president of partnerships and creator services at the digital-media company TheSoul Publishing, said he saw YouTube consumption on the TV as an accelerating trend.

"It's more the evolution of people gradually changing their consuming habits but wanting the same content on their TV devices," Potrel said.

TheSoul manages several YouTube channels, including 5-Minute Crafts, Bright Side, and 123 Go. For TV, Potrel said, TheSoul packages videos based on themes such as home decor and builds them into hourslong videos.

"You don't need to radically change the way that you produce content," Potrel said. "Mostly it's been about packaging the content and adapting it for the screen."

The company said TheSoul's share of global views on connected TVs rose to 24% in 2024 from 17% in 2022, and watch time increased to 41% from 28%. Global emerging markets have also shown an increase in TV viewership — for instance, views of TheSoul's content on connected TVs in India doubled from 2022 to 2024, reaching 10%.

Revenue has increased as well. Potrel said longer watch times had led to higher ad rates for TheSoul's creators.

Reaching different audiences on TVs

YouTubers are trying to appeal to both kids and Gen Z viewers on TV. Their viewing behaviors are very different — kids may sit down to watch more engaging pieces of content, while Gen Zers may listen to videos in the background while multitasking.

For Matter, who makes videos for kids, his team has adapted in two ways: They've doubled the length of the videos and elevated production quality with subtitles and video graphics.

Kiana Parker, an executive vice president of programming and content at the sketch-comedy YouTube channel Smosh, said Gen Z and millennial viewers tended to enjoy accessible content on TV that doesn't require a lot of background knowledge.

"What can you put on and be busy folding your laundry to, or go run out of the room to grab something and come back and still feel like you didn't miss the entire thing," Parker said.

Now most of Smosh's content is 30 to 45 minutes long, comparable to a TV series. The Smosh Pit YouTube channel used to frequently upload 12- to 15-minute videos.

"Our current production value splits the difference between quality but also casualness," Parker said. "Our editing style is more free-form, where the editors are inserting jokes into the video or we leave in a blooper."

The Smosh team is continuing to explore new strategies and create content for larger screens — partly because it's reading the tea leaves on where YouTube is headed as a platform.

"Whenever YouTube is really adamant about a product, it's always a quiet indicator to really care about it," Parker said.

• Virtual influencer Mori Calliope performed a sold-out show at the Hollywood Palladium in February.
• These influencers, also known as VTubers, appear as digital avatars and are gaining popularity.
• I went to the concert. It was unlike anything I've seen before.

Inside Los Angeles' Hollywood Palladium, red and purple penlights glowed. Fans waved the electronic instruments popular in the anime community, danced, and cheered on a digital avatar while its creator performed from behind the stage.

The virtual influencer who sold out the 4,000-person theater isn't a household name. But she's part of a growing trend of creators who use technology to appear as digital avatars in their content and in live performances.

The VTuber, short for virtual YouTuber, goes by the name Mori Calliope. The creator conceals her true identity to fans. Mori Calliope has 2.5 million subscribers on her main YouTube channel, where she posts music videos in both English and Japanese, chats with fans on livestreams, and streams herself playing games like Minecraft. Some of her livestreams in the last three months were almost eight hours long.

On Wednesday, I went to Mori Calliope's second solo concert. Tickets ranged from $95 for general admission floor tickets to $400 for four balcony table seats, according to the show's official website. I was invited to check out the event for free with a press pass.

If you're still wondering what a VTuber is, don't worry, you're not alone. The niche creator category, which originated in Japan, reflects an anime style. Although small in terms of the overall creator economy, the genre has a surprisingly dedicated fan base — one unlike I've seen before.

I've witnessed crowds of superfans for gaming creators like DreamSMP at creator conferences, including VidCon, as well as at pop-ups for YouTube superstar MrBeast. Last year, I attended a YouTuber event in a North Hollywood theater that was packed with children for a viewing of the animated YouTube show "Battle for Dream Island."

Unlike those events, most of the fans at Mori Calliope's show appeared to be in their late teens and 20s. It was the type of engaged fandom I've really only seen YouTubers conjure with younger audiences before. The crowd seemed like one you'd find at an anime convention. Fans wore apparel like T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, and even cosplay of the VTuber.

The show was also more highly produced than other YouTuber events I'd seen. It resembled a rock show. The lasers and lighting matched the color of the VTuber's virtual stage, making it appear like she was physically there.

Mori Calliope shows the growing popularity of VTubers

Mori Calliope is one of dozens of VTubers taking over YouTube.

The creator is signed to Universal Music Japan and Cover Corporation's Hololive, a virtual influencer agency based in Japan. Hololive manages Mori Calliope's business ventures and YouTube channel, similar to the way talent agencies do for other creators and stars.

Globally, Cover is a big deal. The company's market capitalization is about $160 billion yen, or around $1 billion. It recently opened an office in Los Angeles as part of a US expansion, Cover CEO Motoaki Tanigo told Business Insider.

Hololive's English-speaking audiences are still a fraction of those in Japan, but they're growing. Combined, Hololive's VTubers had 5.9 billion subscribers in Japan and 3.2 billion subscribers overseas as of December 31, with about two-thirds of those in English-speaking regions, according to the company's February financial presentation.

Tanigo said music like Mori Calliope's is one of the top ways its talent reaches new audiences.

"The popularity of these events proves that North American audiences have a tremendous appetite for VTuber content," Tanigo said in a January interview conducted through translators. "Our goal is to elevate VTubers alongside popular Japanese exports like manga, anime, and games."

One concertgoer told me fans lined up as early as 3 p.m. on the day of the show. When I arrived about an hour before the start time, a line to get into the venue wrapped around the block. Fans held plushies of Mori Calliope and other characters from her videos. They dressed in merch and other apparel that matched her character's logo and signature pink. I also saw several fans ahead of me dressed in cosplay.

Inside, people stood in line for Mori Calliope merchandise, including T-shirts, glowsticks, a jersey, and a keychain. Hololive also sold the event merch online and at a Los Angeles pop-up earlier in the month.

Part of the show was livestreamed for free on YouTube for Mori Calliope's global audience. At one point, 28,000 fans were watching.

About a quarter of the way into the show, the VTuber directed those viewers to a link where they could buy tickets to watch the rest of the performance online. The tickets ranged from $43 to $51 on platforms like SPWN and Streaming+.

After the concert, I overheard groups of fans outside the venue exchanging information including social media handles and Discord groups. They cheered as a pink car wrapped in images of Mori Calliope drove swiftly past them.

• YouTube plans to change the way mid-roll ads appear in videos.
• Starting May 12, the company said it will automate ad placement to improve the viewer experience.
• The update could boost creator revenue by weaving ads into "natural break points."

YouTube says changing the way ads appear in videos could help creators earn more money.

In a recent blog post, YouTube announced plans to automate the placement of ads that appear in the middle of videos.

Starting on May 12, the platform said it will show more mid-roll ads at "natural break points," like pauses and transitions. It will also remove ads from "interruptive" places, like in the middle of a sentence or action sequence, that could cause viewers to close the video.

The company said the change is meant to improve viewers' experiences and potentially earn creators more money.

YouTube tested this ad change in July. It said channels that enabled both auto and manual mid-roll ads saw an average of over 5% increase in YouTube ad revenue compared to channels with only the manual ads.

YouTube plans to update older videos with manual mid-rolls to include "additional, automatic ad slots." Videos without ads and those that already have automatic ads enabled will not be impacted.

Creators can opt out of the update and continue placing their ads manually. However, the company said those who do may see a decrease in revenue.

YouTube creator Amanda Golka, who runs the commentary channel Swell Entertainment with 495,000 subscribers, said she wants to test the feature on her older videos before allowing it in her new content. She wants to make sure that the automation won't overload her videos with ads. Overall, she doesn't expect it to be a huge revenue boost for her.

"I will probably allow them to auto-place ads on old videos — but I'll continue to manually place ads on future videos," she said. "I limit to about five or six midroll ads on longer videos, and YouTube tends to place eight-plus on those."

• Streaming and fashion brands are dominating creator marketing on social, per new rankings by CreatorIQ.
• Spotify leads with $6.2 billion in earned media value and a high creator retention rate.
• Netflix was the top brand on TikTok, with 103% EMV growth on the platform.

Streaming and fashion brands are dominating the conversation among influencers on social platforms, new data shows.

Influencer marketing platform CreatorIQ ranked the top brands that creators posted about in 2024 in a new report. These brands generated the most conversation and impact in creator marketing, based on CreatorIQ's data.

The company analyzed thousands of brands globally using several metrics, including EMV, short for earned media value. EMV measures engagement, reach, and other impacts of creator content mentioning a brand. CreatorIQ looked at all branded content, including both organic and sponsored mentions, from influencers tracked in its creator databases. It measured content across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms.

This list was led by streaming brands like Spotify and Netflix, as well as fashion brands like Fashion Nova and Adidas. These companies are known for working heavily with influencers. Fashion Nova, for example, built its fast-fashion clothing brand on influencer and celebrity partnerships and product gifting.

The brands with the highest total EMV in CreatorIQ's study were:

1. Spotify: $6.2 billion in earned media value, up 31% year over year
2. Netflix: $3.6 billion, up 35%
3. Fashion Nova: $2.4 billion, up 14%
4. Adidas: $1.9 billion, up 30%
5. Shein: $1.8 billion, up 8%
6. Nike: $1.6 billion, down -2%
7. Zara: $1.6 billion, down -21%
8. Prime Video: $1.3 billion, up 23%
9. Red Bull: $1.3 billion, up 15%
10. Maybelline: $1.1 billion, up 47%

One key to Spotify's success was the high percentage of creators who continued speaking about the brand month over month or year over year, according to the report. Spotify's 83% creator retention rate in 2024 — a measure of the share of EMV generated by creators who posted about the brand the year before — was 13% higher than the average among other top-ranked brands, and second only to Fashion Nova's 89%.

Spotify also retained all of its top 20 most impactful creators from 2023, per CreatorIQ. That included French YouTuber Thibaud Delapart, who generated $213 million in EMV for Spotify in 2024, 108% more than the year before.

Celebrity-backed brands came out on top among the brands launched in 2024, which were ranked separately. Rihanna's Fenty Hair, launched in June, was No. 1, followed by Beyoncé's Cécred, launched in February 2024.

The top 10 brands that rolled out last year, ranked by EMV, included:

1. Fenty Hair: $73.2 million in earned media value
2. Cécred: $49.9 million
3. Wyn Beauty: $16.3 million
4. Sprinter: $14 million
5. Gin&Juice By Dre and Snoop: $12.9 million
6. SirDavis: $7.5 million
7. Bero: $6.3 million
8. Blake Brown Beauty: $5.6 million
9. Victory+: $3.7 million
10. The Rootist: $3.2 million

Meanwhile, among the fast-growing brands working with creators, the K-beauty brand Tirtir topped the charts. Tirtir's EMV grew 1,044% year-over-year in 2024 to $148.6 million.

Netflix led on Instagram and TikTok as creators posted reviews and hot takes on its shows

While Spotify topped the overall ranking of brands in creator marketing, Netflix was No. 1 on Instagram, followed by apparel brands Fashion Nova and Adidas.

Netflix also dominated on TikTok, with $718.9 million in EMV, up 103% year over year. The top-performing creator content that mentioned Netflix included deep dives, reviews, and hot takes on shows like "Squid Game" or "Love Is Blind," as well as live sports like the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight in November, per CreatorIQ. Pop culture commentators Javier Sixto (@sixto_javier) and Ashley Vera (@ashleyvera) collectively drew $31.3 million in EMV with their reviews, for example.

The leading brands on YouTube were mostly media and entertainment platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Netflix, and HBO Max.

One exception was energy drink company Gamer Supps, which ranked sixth on YouTube with its small but loyal creator community. Sixty six of the 70 creators posting about the brand in 2024 had also posted about it the year before. They drove 72% of the brand's $180.2 million EMV in 2024. Twitch streamer Charlie White (moistcr1tikal), also known as penguinz0 on YouTube, has 16.5 million subscribers and was Gamer Supps' most impactful creator of the year.

• Extravagant influencer marketing campaigns are sparking online backlash.
• Poppi drew some criticism for loaning out vending machines to influencers for the Super Bowl.
• We spoke with marketers about how over-the-top campaigns could hurt a brand's image.

A wave of anti-extravagance is afoot within the influencer marketing space — and it can be a minefield for brands.

Prebiotic soda company Poppi caused an online firestorm earlier this month when it made dozens of influencers an extravagant loan: Poppi-branded vending machines over Super Bowl weekend to promote its commercial during the big game.

Wasteful PR packaging has been a conversation in the beauty space for years, said social media consultant Rachel Karten. Now, campaigns by brands that could be interpreted as financially or environmentally wasteful are not resonating broadly — in part due to the macroeconomic climate, said Olivia McNaughten, the senior director of product marketing and partnerships at Grin.

Those sensitivities can be heightened when it comes to influencers, who are supposed to be relatable, McNaughten said.

"It looks like the brand is essentially wining and dining an influencer for their attention," Karten added. "And the customer's like, 'well, hey, we actually buy your product. Why aren't you giving us that same treatment?'"

Poppi told Business Insider that the machines were loans for Super Bowl viewing parties and would be rolling out more broadly. The company also said that false claims about their price tags were circulating online. Competitor Olipop, for instance, commented on TikTok that the machines cost $25,000 — a figure Poppi said had been inflated by 60%.

But even the appearance of extravagance can turn off consumers in the current polarizing cultural landscape.

Tarte Cosmetics, which has thrown over-the-top influencer trips for years, drew additional scrutiny this year for a trip that coincided with the Los Angeles fires.

'You go through the list of all the reasons why you might be canceled'

In addition to the perceived wastefulness, the backlash against Poppi also stemmed from the campaign's focus on mega influencers, rather than incorporating a mix of creators with varying follower sizes, McNaughten said. A lack of diversity in the influencers Poppi tapped also played a role, said Nathan Jun Poekert, chief marketing officer of General Idea.

"It's really, really hard to avoid criticism on the internet right now, no matter what you do," Jun Poekert said.

Brands should still enter the ring in a polarized climate, but be prepared. Before reaching out to talent, Jun Poekert said, "You go through the list of all the reasons why you might be canceled."

Companies are making shifts to democratize access to influencer campaigns.

Poppi told BI it would be rolling out vending machines "via events, social giveaways and nominations in the weeks to come," echoing an online apology from cofounder and chief brand officer Allison Ellsworth.

In response to the California wildfires, Tarte is hosting a trip for firefighters, first responders, EMTs, police, search and rescue, volunteers, and others impacted.

"Everything we do is rooted in making beauty more fun, inclusive, and accessible — not just for influencers, but for everyone," Tarte told BI in a statement.

In response to Poppi's backlash, coconut water brand Vita Coco hosted a similar activation in February — but for the public. The company handed out free drinks in Washington Square Park to promote its new beverage.

It's also possible that, on another level, the Poppi campaign was a win. Any visibility could be a plus for a nascent player in a market dominated by legacy brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi that are increasingly encroaching on its territory.

"If I am Poppi on the brand side, to be completely honest, I am very excited about the overall results of this," Jun Poekert said. "As much as the media cycle has accelerated at a rapid pace, they are getting tons of visibility and optics from this."

February 20, 2025: This story was updated to include details on a Vita Coco campaign.

• Some fashion brands are pausing influencer campaigns and blaming US tariffs.
• Halara and Shein have temporarily halted some campaigns.
• The moves came after Trump announced new tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico.

The trade wars have hit the influencer economy.

Halara, a women's activewear brand, said it was pausing some sponsorship campaigns until March, citing concerns about the business impact of new US tariffs, per an email sent to a talent manager and viewed by Business Insider.

The fast-fashion retailer Shein informed one talent manager through an agency that it was temporarily pausing collaborative videos. It told another it was deferring new campaign offers, saying the move was specific to creators with US audiences. In both instances, the company cited the US tariffs as the reason for its pause.

The talent managers spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their future business dealings. Their identities are known to BI.

Fashion brands that rely on Chinese manufacturing are some of the first to be affected by President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

In its email, Halara said it would spend the next few weeks changing its warehouse strategy to adapt to US tariff policies. The company advised its influencers not to shoot any videos before March, as the products they're meant to promote may change by that point.

Halara and Shein did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

Whether the pause affects some or all of the brands' US influencer-marketing spending was unclear.

Halara, founded in 2020 by Joyce Zhang, has leaned heavily on social media and influencers to build its business. The company has a big presence on TikTok; it has sold about 125,000 items through the app's e-commerce feature, Shop. The company runs an ambassador program for influencers and offers affiliate commissions to creators who boost sales.

Shein similarly leans on creators to drive up sales, sponsoring influencer trips and running an affiliate program offering up to 20% commissions.

Trump, in a February 1 executive order, imposed an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods and a 25% tariff on items from Canada and Mexico. Tariffs on the latter two countries have been paused.

Trump's order also removed a tax loophole known as the de minimis exemption that allowed brands like Shein and Temu to cheaply send goods to US consumers from China. Last week Trump delayed removal of the exemption to give the Commerce Department more time to prepare.

Mylen Yamamoto Tansingco, the CEO of the influencer talent management firm Clique-Now, said her client's brand campaigns had not been directly affected by the tariffs. But she said she was "anticipating a snowball effect" where increased pricing leads to less consumer spending, which then lowers marketing budgets.

The trade wars may creep into other parts of the creator economy

Influencer marketers aren't the only ones in the industry bracing for impact.

The creator agency The Network Effect works with a Chinese manufacturer for its Beyond Lost streetwear brand, founded by the influencer Alyssa McKay. The agency's cofounder Brian Nelson said the political back-and-forth posed daily worries.

"Currently we have a pretty big shipment for us on a boat on the way over" via UPS, Nelson said. "If any of this kicks into gear with China, we don't even know who pays what when it gets here."

The Network Effect is seeking to diversify its manufacturing partners and plans to eat any immediate tariff-related costs. But Nelson said the business "wouldn't be fine in a long-term scenario" without changes.

Canada is also an open question for the agency — though tariffs are paused — as it is Beyond Lost's second-biggest consumer market after the US. (Goods ship from its Chinese manufacturer to the US and then to Canada upon sale.)

"You have to look at the headlines every day to kind of see where the hockey puck's moving," Brian Mandler, the agency's other cofounder, said.

If you know more about the recent impact of US tariffs on influencer marketing contact the author at [email protected] or through the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 646-768-4720).

• Independent journalist Marisa Kabas recently broke a major White House scoop.
• Kabas publishes her own newsletter, called The Handbasket, on Beehiiv.
• She broke down how she built and is growing her newsletter business, which has 17,500 subscribers.

Everything changed for Marisa Kabas on January 27.

The Brooklyn-based independent journalist broke a major White House story through her newsletter The Handbasket. She published the scoop on a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget that ordered federal agencies to pause some federal grants and loans. The order was later rescinded, but not before sending shock waves through the government.

Kabas shared the scoop first on Bluesky, a text-based platform and competitor to X. Some news outlets later picked up the story, increasing the visibility of her publication.

The Handbasket now has about 17,500 total subscribers, including around 1,900 paid subscribers, Kabas told Business Insider.

Kabas is a former former freelancer who wrote for outlets including MSNBC.com, Rolling Stone, and HuffPost.

She spoke with BI about how she broke the recent story and built her newsletter business. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What made you want to launch your own newsletter? What was that process like?

In spring 2022, I saw the way the media industry was going.

I was a freelancer for a long time. I hit a lot of dead ends with pitching freelance stories and felt like editors didn't necessarily understand my vision or just didn't have the time or money to hire me to write what I wanted to write.

That was kind of the time when newsletters were becoming really popular. I thought to myself, "I might as well just start one and have it as a place where I know I can always publish whatever I want to."

It started as a complete side project. Then I broke a bit of a big story in August 2023, about a small town newspaper that was raided by the police. My subscribers grew. And I said, "You know what, I think I could do this full time."

2024 was my first full calendar year doing this full-time.

Was the recent White House story the biggest story for your newsletter since you started it, in terms of new subscribers and impact?

Yeah, absolutely. No contest.

What has been the outcome for you and your business?

I just generally feel more comfortable with my financial situation.

Before this, I reached a point at the end of 2024 where I was very proud of myself that I had managed to earn a living — a salary, I would say — from my newsletter. I had a number in mind and I reached that. That was the proof I needed that this could be viable and I should keep trying it for at least another year.

Little did I know what was literally around the corner.

Now I feel extremely comfortable. I would say it's fair to call The Handbasket a success. I'm looking to hire freelancers to write for me to do some guest posts, which is really exciting.

I really hope that I'll be able to bring on an editor at some point, too. That's the next big thing.

How do you fund your work?

Almost entirely through paid subscriptions — monthly and annual subscriptions.

Every now and then, someone will send me a one-off donation through Venmo or Ko-fi. I went on a big reporting trip to Kansas last summer. That was a follow-up to the newspaper raid story I broke. I was going for the one-year anniversary, so I put out a one-time ask my readers to send money to help me cover the cost of the trip. They really came through in a big way for that.

You originally hosted the newsletter on Substack and left last year for Beehiiv. Why did you make that transition?

My newsletter is hosted on Beehiiv. I made a very public exit from Substack last year.

I had some ideological differences with the cofounders of Substack. A story was published in November 2023, by Jonathan Katz in the Atlantic, about how Substack was monetizing explicitly Nazi content. That obviously concerns me just as a human being, but also as a Jewish woman and the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor.

So, I decided that it would be really good to get the cofounders on record about how they felt about this. I had one very simple question: Are you OK with Nazis?

I put together a group of 250 other Substack publishers. We drafted a letter called "Substackers Against Nazis." We ended up getting a response.

(Substack said in January 2024 that it had removed some publications that violated its content rules, which prohibit content that incites violence based on protected classes, NBC News and other outlets reported. Prior to that, in December 2023, cofounder Hamish McKenzie wrote as part of a response to the letter: "I just want to make it clear that we don't like Nazis either — we wish no one held those views. But some people do hold those and other extreme views. Given that, we don't think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away—in fact, it makes it worse.")

What drew you to the platform Beehiiv?

Honestly, Beehiiv just seemed the most straightforward from a technical sense. I'm a writer, not a coder or developer.

One of the great things about Substack was that it was incredibly easy to use, so I was trying to find another place that could create that experience. On Beehiiv, you pay a monthly hosting fee, and then you keep 100% of your subscription revenue.

(Substack's model is a little different. Creators keep 90% of the revenue earned and Substack takes 10%.)

What have you learned from working for yourself?

I learned that even though you work entirely alone, as an independent journalist, it still takes a village.

I've leaned so much on other journalist friends who have edited long pieces for me in exchange for coffee or brunch, or who took a look at something that I needed a gut check on for free. I have my group chat of journalist friends who serve as my de facto pitching room. They help me work through ideas that I'm not sure about.

I also think there are ebbs and flows, and I learned not to freak out when things are slow. There could be a big story around the corner.

What's been your favorite part about working for yourself?

Probably the most important thing is that I've been able to work entirely at my own pace.

When I first started a newsletter, I talked to people who were already having some success and asked for advice. They gave me great advice that worked for them. But it wasn't necessarily right for me. I did feel pressure to fit into some sort of mold of how often I should be publishing, and, do I need to become known for certain topics?

I just kept following my nose. I wrote about things that I felt like I had something to say about, and somehow, that led me to this moment.

Do you post your stories or talk about news on other platforms like TikTok or YouTube?

No, just my newsletter. I'll share stories through text platforms like Bluesky and X. I am text-based all the way. With writing, you can take your time to really say what you want to say.

How do you market your newsletter?

I would say Bluesky. From the very beginning, the community there was so supportive and enthusiastic and positive.

When I need to hit a subscriber goal or when I really want to make sure that people are hearing a certain point from one of my pieces, I just hammer it on Bluesky.

Have you found any sort of work-life balance?

It's been a lot more challenging the last week.

Last night, I broke a thing on Bluesky at 1:30 in the morning. I went to sleep around 3 a.m. and then was up at 8 a.m., working straight through to 2:30 p.m., with a bunch of different things coming through. This is not my typical pace.

In the weeks ahead, I'm going to have to figure out how to strike more of a balance because people are now expecting a lot from me. Also, the nature of my work has changed. I wasn't really working on breaking news. I was doing more news essays or reported features. It wasn't on this demand for timeliness. But overall, even though today was crazy, I made sure I took a lunch break. I ate something. I watched a TV show that had nothing to do with any of this. That was a good reset. The hustle culture, and like the grind, is so glorified, and that is so not what I'm about.

Like I said, I've been able to get to where I am completely at my own pace. I'm definitely going to try to stay true to that.

Correction: February 6, 2025 — This story originally misspelled the name of the newsletter platform Kabas uses. It is Beehiiv, not Beehive.

• YouTube creators are using podcasts to reinvent their images and reach new audiences.
• Video podcasts now resemble talk shows, and can help creators build new communities.
• These creators are monetizing with memberships, merchandise, and live shows.

Early-day YouTubers like Trisha Paytas, Tana Mongeau, Logan Paul, and many others are cashing in on the podcast boom by creating a new identity, audience, and brand.

Paytas, who built an audience of 5 million YouTube subscribers with personal vlogs from her kitchen floor and public feuds, has taken her career to the next level through her podcast "Just Trish," for example. She signed last year with the Hollywood talent agency CAA and expanded her business with a merchandise line and cross-country tour. Mongeau, who rose to fame with her NSFW storytime videos, cohosts a podcast called "Cancelled," which has helped reinvent her image and reframe her online persona as more relatable. And, Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast has both helped him stay relevant and establish a more mature audience.

Thanks to video, podcasting has taken on an entirely new meaning and is attracting more digital creators. Once a solo audio-only experience, today's creator podcasts mimic talk shows. The boom in video podcasts has also grown YouTube into a top podcasting platform in the US.

"For existing YouTube creators, podcasting on YouTube gives them more tools in their creative tool belt," Kai Chuk, YouTube's head of podcasting, told Business Insider. "It gives them more flexibility to create in ways that hopefully make their lives easier."

Podcasts have helped more creators expand their businesses and make money through memberships, touring, and merchandise.

For instance, Paytas, who posts video episodes of her podcast on YouTube, also publishes bonus content like extra episodes and reaction videos behind a Patreon paywall for her 46,309 paying members.

Many podcasts use a similar strategy, including "Pretty Basic," which creates paywalled content for Patreon, "Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast," which uses the creator startup Fourthwall, and the "H3 Show," which has a tiered membership through YouTube.

'The podcast was an opportunity for me to have a totally clean slate'

Lauren Riihimaki, who goes by LaurDIY on YouTube, initially built a kid and family-friendly following online with her viral crafting and DIY videos.

Riihimaki, 31, now hosts a podcast called "Wild 'Til 9" with her husband, where the couple shares relationship advice and speaks about more mature topics like marriage and life in your 30s.

"I've been a creator for like 13 or 14 years," Riihimaki told BI. "Part of how I've been able to sustain this career is by being flexible in the art of the pivot. I ended up with a very family-friendly audience with a younger demographic. Growing older, I no longer felt connected to the content."

Podcasts are helping creators like Riihimaki engage audiences in new ways.

"The podcast was an opportunity for me to have a totally clean slate and a brand new audience," she said.

Chuk said YouTube encourages podcasters to use tools that build community among their listeners, like going live, using its premieres feature that lets fans watch a new video together and chat in real time, and interacting in the chat.

"If you're watching a podcast live, that's a very different feel as an audience member than just clicking on something that's been pre-recorded," Chuk said. "You feel like you're part of the experience."

YouTube has also found that audiences tend to watch podcasts on their TVs and with friends. Last year, viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on living room devices, tuning into podcasts similar to a late-night talk show, according to YouTube.

"People want to watch their favorite podcasts in the comfort of their living room," Chuk said. "It makes sense. But that's certainly something we didn't expect three or four years ago."

Podcasts open up more opportunities to make money, like with touring and merchandise

Alex Cooper might be the best example of an influencer who's turned a podcast into a sprawling business empire. Cooper's podcast company, Unwell Network, offers several shows, and she recently launched an electrolyte drink called Unwell Hydration.

For the average creator, there are several ways to monetize a podcast, from memberships and merchandise to live shows and brand deals. And the podcast format can open up more revenue streams than traditional YouTube videos.

For instance, podcasts are typically over an hour long, which makes them an easy format for a live show or tour. The longer the podcast, the more advertisements a creator can place. Unlike an average YouTube video, a podcast typically includes multiple ads sprinkled throughout the show and even product placement.

Some podcasts also have a distinct brand and a logo, which may make it easier to create merchandise around.

Creators don't need to be Cooper-level famous to earn big from their shows, either.

TikTok star Jake Shane has taken his viral success to YouTube and Spotify with his podcast, "Therapuss," where Shane interviews guests in a talk-show format. He's spun his podcast success into a cross-country tour.

"It's a unique medium that's matured so much," said Casey Adams, founder of the podcast agency Listener.com. "It's very early still, in terms of what a successful business looks like on the back end of podcasting."

On YouTube, Chuk said the company has seen a rise in new podcast genres like kids and sports. Recently, kids' content studio Pocket.watch partnered with GoKidGo to launch music and mystery-led podcasts for kids with YouTube talent like Diana Kidisyuk and the creators behind the YouTube channel "GEM Sisters."

"This is a brand and a channel that can create so much enterprise value if you do it right," Adams said. "It's not just let me get a mic and talk to my friend. It's like a real business, a real brand."

• Meta is offering creators thousands to post exclusive short-form videos on Instagram reels.
• The deals require creators to post a certain number of reels on Instagram each month.
• Read the terms in the contracts Instagram sent creators.

Instagram wants to be the first place creators go to post short-form videos.

And it's attempting to do so with piles of cash.

With TikTok's US future in limbo, Meta has been contacting creators and their teams with deals offering thousands of dollars in exchange for exclusive video content on Instagram reels. The payouts described to Business Insider ranged from $2,500 to $50,000 a month and required the content to be exclusive to Instagram for three months. The Information first reported on the program last week.

BI viewed contracts and spoke with several talent managers whose clients have received these offers. The managers requested anonymity to protect business relationships. Their identities are known to BI.

Typically, the deals are being sent to creators with more than 1 million followers on TikTok.

Not every contract is the same. One manager told BI they couldn't see a clear pattern as to why some creators were offered more money than others.

The payouts are grouped into tiers:

• Tier 1: $50,000 a month.
• Tier 2: $25,000 a month.
• Tier 3: $15,000 a month.
• Tier 4: $5,000 a month.
• Tier 5: $2,500 a month.

But even the promise of a big payday hasn't been enough to lure in some TikTok creators. This underscores the challenges Meta may face in usurping TikTok's short-form dominance.

"To try and change consumer behavior, or at least the perceived acceptance of consumer behavior, by stemming down another platform, I just don't think is the right way of handling it," a second manager said.

Instagram is offering deals worth up to $300,000 over 6 months

Here's a glimpse into an offer that has been sent to several creators for a total of $300,000 over six months:

• Creators would be required to post new, never-before-seen short-form video content to Instagram as reels.
• Over the course of six months, creators would post at least 10 new reels on their Instagram accounts each month.
• This content must be exclusive to Instagram for three months.
• Videos must be at least 15 seconds and no longer than three minutes.
• Creators must post 25% more on Instagram reels than on their next-largest short-form-video platform.

• They must share two of the reels a month as an IG story.

• Once a day, they need to engage with fans via comments, shares, or replies.

• They must post twice a month on their primary platform (TikTok or YouTube), promoting their content on Instagram and encouraging their fans to follow them on Instagram via the link in their bio.

• Instagram may promote the creator's content through paid ads on TikTok, Google, and app stores.
• If creators meet these requirements, they will earn $50,000 each month for the duration of the six-month deal.

The second talent manager with knowledge of these deals said some of their clients turned down the offer, citing reasons like exclusivity and overall frustration with Meta. Some said posting multiple reels a day felt "cheugy," a Gen Z term for out of touch.

"It's not a good deal," the second manager said. "Having to track that you're posting 25% more to reels than TikTok makes this untenable."

The manager added: "Some clients are taking it because the money is good for them, and I've seen some clients pass."

Here are the terms for a second offer that has been sent to several creators for a total of $90,000 over six months:

• Creators would be required to post new, never-before-seen short-form video content to Instagram as reels.
• Over the course of six months, creators would post at least eight new reels on their Instagram accounts each month, totaling 48 videos.
• This content must be exclusive to Instagram for three months.
• Videos must be at least 15 seconds and no longer than three minutes.
• Creators must post more short-form video content overall on Instagram during this period than on any other platform, such as TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, or X.

• If creators meet these requirements, they will earn $15,000 each month for the duration of the six-month deal.

Meta is also offering bonuses to lure TikTok creators

Word is getting around about Meta's offers in the influencer industry, two talent managers told BI.

"Meta is being really bullish on locking these in," a third talent manager who has seen similar offers from Meta said.

This isn't the only trick Meta has up its sleeve to woo TikTok creators amid a still looming ban or sale.

Meta launched a "Breakthrough Bonus" program last week. The program pays "eligible TikTok creators to help jump-start their growth on our apps," a spokesperson told BI. The compensation is up to $5,000 within a three-month period for posting reels on Instagram and Facebook.

Meta declined to comment on the specifics of these deals.

• Shine Talent Group has acquired Spark Talent Group, expanding its influencer talent roster.
• Spark, founded in 2020, manages digital creators globally.
• Influencer marketing and talent management firms have become popular targets for M&A.

Influencer management firm Shine Talent Group has acquired Spark Talent Group as M&A picks up across the creator economy.

Shine is adding to its roster several beauty and lifestyle creators through the deal. It's inking contracts with Spark's exclusive talent, including Monica Rubi, who has 101,000 Instagram followers; Caroline Patterson, who has 191,000 TikTok followers; and Bailey Valente, who has 415,000 followers on TikTok, among other creators.

Emily Ward, cofounder of Shine, told Business Insider that US growth is the firm's top priority this year.

The Spark deal is Shine's second acquisition. In 2020, it acquired Fourth Floor Management, a Toronto-based talent management firm.

Spark was founded in 2020 by Summer Lee. Lee is stepping down as the firm's CEO to focus on other endeavors outside the talent management industry, she told BI.

Talent management firms, influencer marketing startups, and podcasting companies have become hot acquisition targets in the creator economy as influencers continue to command audiences.

Last year, talent-management firm Wasserman acquired the agency Long Haul as it looked to grow its gaming and sports business. Influencer marketing and talent company Whalar Group also acquired the management firm Sixteenth. In influencer marketing, one of the most high-profile sales was Publicis Groupe's purchase of Influential for $500 million.

Shine and Spark declined to share the financial terms of the deal.

Shine represents over 250 influencers, including Instagram creators Sarah Nicole Landry (2.5 million followers), Alicia McCarvell (1.3 million followers), and Lydia Okello (61,000 followers).

• Video podcasts have taken off in recent years, and Spotify has taken note.
• The audio titan has been investing in video creators, including launching new tools and incentives.
• Here's how Spotify is taking on rival YouTube in video podcasting.

Spotify is betting on video to take its podcasting business to the next level.

The Swedish audio giant has been investing in video creators over the last year with new tools and incentives. Earlier this month, Spotify launched a program to pay creators a cut of the subscription and ad revenue from their video podcasts if they meet certain requirements. Earlier, the company rebranded its podcast platform as Spotify for Creators, nodding at the approach to blend in with the creator space.

Spotify's listeners are embracing video, too. About 250 million of its 640 million users had viewed a video podcast, the company said in November. One-third of its active US-based users watch videos on the app each month.

The podcasting platform is second to video giant YouTube in the US. In an April survey conducted by Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 31% of weekly podcast consumers said they used YouTube the most for podcast listening, while 21% said Spotify and 12% selected Apple Podcasts.

Still, Spotify is embracing its rival to help its podcasts expand their reach and find the right audiences, Jordan Newman, Spotify's head of content partnerships, told Business Insider.

"This is not a zero-sum game," Newman said. "There are incremental audiences on all platforms, and even some of the same audiences are consuming in different ways. And so I think if all you're doing is focused on one platform as a creator, you are not doing it right."

Here's how Spotify's podcasting platform compares to YouTube's, from the user experience to content to the content to discovery.

The podcast service

For podcast listeners, Spotify and YouTube's streaming services are looking more similar by the day, though they still have some key differences.

Both have free and paid tiers: Spotify Premium costs $12 per month versus $14 for YouTube Premium. Each gives users access to ad-free music and downloads for offline playback. Spotify's paid service also includes 15 hours of audiobooks a month, while YouTube's counterpart lets customers play videos with their phone screen off.

From a podcaster's standpoint, Spotify and YouTube also have much in common. Both platforms give creators access to dashboards with data on who's consuming their content and for how long. Both leave ads out of video podcasts for premium subscribers, although creators can insert their own host-read ads to generate extra revenue.

One key difference is how ad revenue is distributed: YouTube dishes out 55% of revenue generated from their videos to creators, while Spotify gives podcasters a slightly smaller cut in a 50-50 split.

The content

Spotify is best known for music and podcasts, much of which are also on YouTube. The video giant, of course, also has clips for everything from gaming streams to sports highlights to tutorials on tying ties.

But when it comes to podcasts, there's increasing overlap between the two platforms.

Spotify, which in 2019 said it would pour $500 million into the podcast marketplace, has been shifting away from exclusivity to reach.

For example, the chart-topping podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience," once a Spotify exclusive, is now available across all major platforms. Many podcasters at Spotify-owned studios, including The Ringer, are also creating bonus content exclusively for YouTube or going live on the platform following the demise of Spotify's live-audio features, Spotify Greenroom and Spotify Live.

"Most sophisticated creators are multi-platform, and they're optimizing their content for the platform in which it appears," Spotify's Newman said. "You'll find our shows are not just found on Spotify; they can be found on a number of platforms."

By putting podcasts across platforms, Spotify can also maximize advertising revenue, which was roughly 472 million euros, or about $491 million, last quarter — up a modest 5.6% from the year before, according to the company's earnings report.

Content discovery and listener loyalty

YouTube and other video platforms like TikTok and Instagram may have Spotify beat when it comes to content discovery. Those platforms' algorithms are adept at showing users what they didn't even know they wanted to see.

With skill and a lot of luck, anyone could theoretically go viral on platforms like TikTok or even YouTube. It's harder for a budding podcaster who's only on Spotify to break onto the top charts since the platform's users primarily find content by searching for it directly or through playlists that feature creators who are already trending.

That's why Spotify is focusing on listener loyalty to set itself apart. The platform is positioning itself as the place to be for creators to build a sustainable following.

The company said time spent on the app has risen from 30 hours a month in 2020 to 40 hours as of late 2024.

"We are so great at retention and loyalty," Newman said.

On other platforms, Newman said, users "may really engage for a minute with their content," but after that, there's a risk for the creator that "they'll never see them again."

He said that when users watch a creator on Spotify, "it's a strong bet that they'll come back week after week after week."

• TikTok is veering toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court upheld a divest-or-ban law.
• The app is set to leave app stores and may go dark on Sunday if its owner, ByteDance, doesn't divest.
• TikTok creators and their teams are tired from months of uncertainty, but cautiously hopeful too.

TikTok is in trouble.

The company is set to disappear from US app stores on Sunday due to a divest-or-ban law that requires its owner, ByteDance, to sell the app by January 19 or essentially cease operating in the country. TikTok may stop showing content in the US and "go dark" over the weekend.

For TikTok creators and their teams, ongoing uncertainty around the app's US future has sparked frustration and fatigue.

"We've been dealing with this for months," said Julian Andrews, founder of talent management firm Talentiish. "I just sort of want the situation to be over so we know how to move on."

Some in the talent community are cautiously optimistic that a solution will emerge to save TikTok. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to try to rescue the app once in office, though his options could be limited.

"So many of us are still holding out hope that it will work out," Barbara Jones, CEO of Outshine Talent, said.

Others aren't holding their breath and are instead focusing on established alternatives, such as Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, as well as challenger apps like Clapper, Flip, and RedNote.

"Many of our clients are making accounts on RedNote and Flip as well as downloading their data from the TikTok app," Jones said. "They are trying to be as prepared as possible."

Creators may be hesitant to commit to new platforms, however, when the advertising dollars are much more reliable on major players like Instagram.

Instagram is, for the most part, the platform of choice among those Business Insider spoke to who are pivoting from TikTok.

Fallen Media, which runs TikTok shows like "What's Poppin? With Davis!" said it will be heavily investing in Instagram reels, for example.

"I have suggested to my clients not to focus on any new platforms and focus on the tried and true," Andrews at Talentiish said.

In the meantime, there's still no clear answer as to what happens this weekend.

"The truth is we don't really know what's going to happen on Sunday, which I think is the crazy part," said Fallen Media CEO Sol Betesh.

Creators are exhausted and devastated to say goodbye to TikTok

As news stories around a TikTok ban swing between good news and legal defeats, some creators have sunk into despair. The Supreme Court loss on Friday hit particularly hard for those whose businesses depend on the app.

"The ruling is truly devastating for me as someone who built their platform starting on TikTok," said Sofia Bella, a TikTok creator with 4.8 million followers. "Losing the majority of my audience is a difficult reality to face, and while I'm doing everything I can to prepare, it's hard not to feel like I'm starting over."

Andrews said the job of talent manager has teetered between acting as a therapist and strategist for the creators they manage.

Some creators are actively fighting against a TikTok ban, including Vitus Spehar, who runs the news account @underthedesknews. Spehar has been covering breaking news and political developments around the divestment. They said Americans should call their senators and other representatives to demand action against the law.

Still, other creators who have experienced burnout from TikTok are welcoming a possible shift if the app goes down.

"Generally, the tone from most internet creators I've spoken to has been entirely apathetic," said Tati Bruening, a TikTok creator with 2.4 million followers. "The pacing of content creation for TikTok was a recipe for burnout."

Building a strategy for doomsday

Even as the creator economy braces for the loss of its favorite corner of the internet, this moment is a lesson for many.

"Stop building brands on social media that other people own," Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French, told BI. "This can and will happen again. Start your website, get newsletters going, blogs, use affiliates, turn it into a brand, and own your own little place on the web."

A TikTok ban could also be a gold rush for social media startups as they race to fill the void.

"There's never been a better time to start a creation or curation company," said Em Herrera, a former investor at Slow Ventures who recently founded a firm called Creator Venture Accelerator.

• TikTok faces a likely US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal.
• Brands and marketers are preparing contingency plans to shift content from TikTok.
• Managers shared their plans, including new clauses in their campaign contracts.

Creators are finalizing their post-TikTok plans.

TikTok is hurtling toward a US shutdown after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal of a divest-or-ban law. The app may "go dark" entirely on Sunday.

Ahead of a likely ban, TikTok influencers and their teams are offering contingency plans to assure brands and marketers that sponsored posts can move elsewhere if TikTok abruptly closes.

"We haven't seen anybody try to kill a contract, thank goodness," said Jennifer Powell, a talent manager who works with creators like Tezza and Ty French. "The good news is that most of the brands came into this year cautious about putting all their eggs into the TikTok basket, knowing that this judgment was looming."

Songfluencer, a platform that facilitates influencer campaigns for music marketers, has a "platform uncertainty" guarantee that promises marketers that creators will automatically repost TikTok content to Instagram or YouTube shorts if TikTok goes down.

"We want to make sure clients are not scared to run campaigns on TikTok," Songfluencer's CEO Johnny Cloherty said. "All of the creators in our network must agree to this new policy during this uncertain season."

Talent-management firm CFG has also been proactive in including clauses in its contracts with brands that ensure campaigns can migrate to a creator's "next highest-engaged" platform.

Powell, similarly, said her team has offered to move content to an "equal value" social platform if a sponsored TikTok post disappears.

Some of these preparations began months ago.

Gregory Littley, a freelance creative director and content producer, has been working with brand partners and clients on campaigns that aren't so tied to TikTok since November, he said.

"The language has shifted," Littley said about campaign deliverables. "It starts to really focus on the content as opposed to where you're posting it."

"Many of our current campaigns in progress that involve TikTok are preparing contingency plans for changing deliverables to different platforms," said Barbara Jones, founder of Outshine Talent.

• Cover Corp, a top virtual influencer company, is expanding its business in the US.
• Its creators, known as VTubers, use digital avatars and are gaining popularity on YouTube.
• The company is using sold-out live events and collaborations with traditional media to grow abroad.

Japan-based Cover Corporation is betting on the US as the next big market for growing its virtual anime-style influencer fan base.

The company manages creators who use technology to appear in videos and other online posts as digital avatars, often resembling anime characters. These influencers are most popular on YouTube. The VTubers, as they're known, typically livestream. Many make music or play games.

Their popularity is small but on the rise. From January 2023 to June 2023, VTubers comprised 1.4% of the active YouTube live gaming community but captured 9.6% of all viewer hours, according to data from the game-marketing platform GameSight. VTuber viewership increased by 28% during the period, while that of other gaming creators on YouTube Live fell by 6%.

Cover is one of several companies that exclusively work with VTubers to expand their businesses. Its agency division, Hololive Production, manages VTubers in Japan, Indonesia, and English-speaking countries, which have been a major area of expansion for the company since 2023.

Last year, Cover opened an office in Los Angeles through its first overseas subsidiary.

Hololive's popular VTubers in the US include Mori Calliope (2.49 million YouTube subscribers) and Nerissa Ravencroft (805,000 YouTube subscribers). Globally, its talent includes some of the most-watched and subscribed VTuber channels on YouTube.

The company's international expansion has helped boost revenue and earnings. Cover's revenue rose 50% year over year to 10,688 million yen, about $67.6 million, during its last reported quarter, which ended in October. It posted a profit of 1,500 million yen during the period.

Cover has a market capitalization of about $160 billion yen, or around $1 billion.

Motoaki Tanigo, CEO of Cover, spoke to Business Insider in an interview conducted through translators. In 2025, he said the company plans to focus on gaming collaborations, pop-up shops, and live events like concerts to grow its business in the US.

Hololive collaborated last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers on exclusive merchandise, for instance. VTuber Gawr Gura (4.5 million YouTube subscribers) also sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on screens throughout the stadium.

Inside the business model of a top VTuber company

While Hololive primarily manages livestreamers, several of the company's creators sing and make their own music. That has opened up avenues for revenue and growth.

Mori Calliope, for instance, is scheduled to headline a solo concert in February in Los Angeles. Hololive's VTuber talent uses 3D technology to bring its digital avatars to the stage.

Tanigo said music is one of the top ways its talent reaches new audiences.

In 2023, Cover held a concert at the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater in LA, which sold out in 30 minutes, the company said. Its August concert at the Kings Theater in New York, another 6,000-seat venue, sold out in 10 minutes.

"The popularity of these events proves that North American audiences have a tremendous appetite for VTuber content," Tanigo said. "Our goal is to elevate VTubers alongside popular Japanese exports like manga, anime, and games."

Cover's top revenue drivers are merchandise, such as made-to-order items and a collectible card game; streaming revenue from super chats and channel memberships; concerts and live events; and licensing and collaborations, per its earnings report. Licensing and collaborations was the fastest-growing segment.

Hololive's international expansion

In 2025, the company is making a behind-the-scenes shift that it hopes will make its VTubers more engaging.

Until now, Hololive's VTuber models had been created through the gaming software Unity. Tanigo said the company is switching to another platform, Unreal Engine, which it believes will create "better quality" models.

The company is also working on finding better ways to sell tickets to and improve its in-person events. Tanigo said he'd love to see a function on YouTube or Twitch for ticket sales and better real-time translation for live videos, for example.

Hololive's international expansion has faced roadblocks.

Tanigo said the company has struggled with music copyright outside Japan, including getting the rights for talent to cover a song.

One of his priorities for the year ahead is to make inroads into traditional US media.

In Japan, the company has placed its talent on TV shows and other traditional media spots, and the team is working on animation projects based on its talent.

"We'd like to have that opportunity in the US as well and try to have more exposure in a TV show and different types of mediums," Tanigo said.

• Pocket.watch is betting on the podcast boom and partnering with GoKidGo to launch shows.
• The studio is creating podcasts for kids focused on music and mystery content.
• Two execs broke down the strategy and why the studio is focused on audio content in 2025.

2024 was a big year for podcasts in the creator economy — and a kids' content powerhouse is betting it can capitalize on the momentum.

Founded in 2017, Pocket.watch works with 53 creator brands —including Ryan's World and Love, Diana — on brand partnerships, merchandise, and other business ventures. The company's studio arm works with its family-focused creators to distribute their content on free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels, streaming platforms such as Hulu and Peacock, and social-media platforms like YouTube.

After partnering with Universal Music Group to launch a record label that produces music for kids, Pocket.watch is now working with the podcast company GoKidGo to produce audio shows with its creators.

Pocket.watch execs told Business Insider that their podcasts for kids generally differ from those geared toward adults in a few key ways. For example, the kids' shows often follow a storyline and talk directly to the listener, asking them questions and engaging them in puzzles and mysteries.

Its first two podcasts are a musical-mystery show for preschoolers hosted by its creator, Diana Kidisyuk, from the YouTube channel "Love, Diana" and a mystery show for tweens from three sisters behind the YouTube channel "GEM Sisters."

BI spoke with Amanda Klecker, Pocket.watch's senior vice president of marketing and franchise, and Albie Hecht, its chief content officer, about why the studio is betting on podcast shows for kids.

'It's not just two people talking in a room'

The Pocket.watch execs said a podcast for children needs to be set up differently than one for adults.

"It's not just two people talking in a room," said Hecht, who was formerly the president of film and TV entertainment for Nickelodeon.

Hecht said Pocket.watch podcasts are generally narrative-based and include themes such as problem-solving, puzzles, education, music, and mystery.

"We want to tap into imagination formats," Hecht said. "The play-along element is really important for engagement."

"It has kids almost talking back to the podcast — that's what we want," he added.

Never growing up

Some of the podcasts are part of Pocket.watch's efforts to extend their creators' brands without involving them closely in the production.

"One of the first things we did with all of our creators was create animated versions of them in multiple formats," Hecht said. "Translating them to animation, we can use them in multiple places without the strain on them, and also preserving them in their most popular look and format. It's like Ryan is going to be 8 forever, or 'Love, Diana' is going to be 7 forever."

Kidisyuk's podcast is an extension of the animated format Pocket.watch launched with her in 2024, which is the company's most-watched and most-engaged original series.

Klecker said voice acting makes sense for some older creators, like the GEM Sisters. But for others, like Kidisyuk, who is 10 years old, Pocket.watch works with the parents and the kids to find and hire actors who match their voices.

"She, in herself, is truly a star for kids today," Hecht said of Kidisyuk. "But when we take her and put her in new formats, it's going to be based on her, and it's going to be based on the character she portrays versus having this young child speak in a podcast format."

• The Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was rented on Turo, the car-sharing company said.
• The app was also used to rent the truck used in the New Orleans attack.
• President Joe Biden said authorities were looking into whether the two incidents were connected.

The Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on Wednesday in Las Vegas was rented on Turo, the same car-sharing app used to rent the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack early Wednesday.

In a statement on its website on Wednesday, Turo confirmed the vehicles involved in both incidents were rented through its service.

"Our trust and safety team is actively partnering with law enforcement authorities to share any information that could be helpful in their investigations," the statement read. "We do not believe that either renter had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat, and we are not currently aware of any information that indicates the two incidents are related."

Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been identified as the suspect in the deadly New Orleans attack. Jabbar's criminal record, obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety and viewed by Business Insider, shows two prior arrests in 2002 and 2005.

The first was for theft, while the other was for driving with an invalid license. Both were classified as misdemeanors.

Celebrity-backed company

Turo lets private car owners rent out their vehicles. It's similar to Airbnb or Vrbo but for vehicles instead of homes.

The San Francisco-based company offers a wide range of cars, including Toyotas, Porsches, and Teslas, and is active in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and France.

Investors include the venture arms of American Express, BMW, and Liberty Mutual and top venture-capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures. Celebrities such as the rapper 2 Chainz and NBA and NFL players have also invested.

Turo has close to 1,000 employees and was valued at $1.5 billion in 2020, per PitchBook. The company, which was founded in 2009, registered for an initial public offering in 2021 but hasn't yet gone public.

The company had 360,000 cars listed on its platform at the end of 2023, and about 3.7 million people booked cars that year, according to a March 2024 filing. In that filing, Turo said customers' actions that result in criminal activity could affect the company's reputation and create legal liabilities — a standard line in these documents.

The company wrote that it had no control over — or the ability to predict — the actions of car renters, who it calls guests.

"We cannot conclusively verify the identity of all guests, nor do we verify or screen third parties who may be present during a trip using a vehicle booked through our platform," the March filing said. "Our trust and safety processes focus primarily on guests to reduce the risk of vehicle theft and motor vehicle accidents."

The company reported nearly $880 million in revenue in 2023, an 18% year-over-year growth. It posted $14.7 million in profits, a sharp fall from $154.7 million in 2022. Losses and high costs are common for growing tech companies, especially those that aren't yet public.

Authorities are investigating possible connections between attacks

In a press conference Wednesday, President Joe Biden said authorities were investigating whether there was any connection between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack.

Kevin McMahill, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sheriff, said at a press conference that the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck was killed and that seven others were injured after the vehicle exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

"We're very well aware of what has happened in New Orleans with the event that occurred there, and the number of victims there and the additional IEDs," McMahill said, referring to the attack in New Orleans that killed 15 on Wednesday morning. "So, as you can imagine, with an explosion here on iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X that the explosion was "caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb" in the bed of the Cybertruck.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

• One person is dead and seven injured after a Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded, authorities said.
• The explosion occurred Wednesday outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
• The FBI is trying to determine whether it was an act of terrorism.

One person is dead and seven are injured after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, authorities said Wednesday.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sheriff, Kevin McMahill, said at a press conference that a person inside the vehicle was killed and that the other injuries had been reported to him as "minor." He said the incident didn't appear to pose any further threat to the community.

"We do know who rented the truck," McMahill said. "We are looking at that individual, but I am not prepared to release the name of any of the individuals that we are looking at, at least until next of kin is notified and we have a 100% identification."

Jeremy Schwartz, the acting special agent in charge for the FBI's Las Vegas office, said his agency was trying to "determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not."

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that authorities were investigating whether there was any connection between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack that killed 15 on Wednesday morning.

McMahill said both the Cybertruck and the New Orleans attack vehicle were rented using the car-sharing app Turo.

In a statement shared on its website on Wednesday, Turo confirmed that both vehicles were rented through its service.

"Our trust and safety team is actively partnering with law enforcement authorities to share any information that could be helpful in their investigations," the statement read.

The police say they found gasoline canisters and fireworks in the car

At a press conference, McMahill described the scene of the incident.

"At 8:40 a.m. Las Vegas time, we received a report of an explosion and a fire at the Trump Towers," McMahill said. "We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and in fact, I can tell you that it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel. We saw that smoke starts showing from the vehicle, and then a large explosion from the truck occurs."

McMahill said the Cybertruck's cargo bed contained gasoline canisters, fuel canisters, and "large mortar fireworks."

"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," McMahill said.

McMahill also thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his help in the investigation, including gathering video footage from Tesla charging stations.

McMahill said the Trump hotel would remain closed for the time being. He said the "vast majority" of the people staying at the Trump hotel had moved to the Resorts World Las Vegas hotel.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.