Boo!
Did I scare you? Well if I didn’t, the state of Hollywood right now probably will.
This past week has been a rough one. On Tuesday, Amazon announced it was cutting 14,000 jobs to keep up with this “generation of AI,” layoffs which impacted the company’s video games and publishing divisions. And then there’s Paramount. As part of the company’s new cost-cutting strategy under David Ellison, Paramount will reportedly be laying off 2,000 employees in the coming weeks.
But as bleak as these axings are, there is one area that’s hiring. Yep, it’s the creator economy.
From 2022 to 2024, Los Angeles employment in the motion picture and sound recording industries decreased by 27%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But during that same time period, workers in the creator economy increased by 5%, and companies in the creator space also increased by 5%.
As the creator space has gotten bigger, its biggest players have created their own media companies. These businesses are often created with the goal of expanding a creator’s audience and turning their reach and popularity into a more passive and sustainable revenue stream. To make that happen, a lot of these creators have been turning to Hollywood alum. And at the pace some of these creators are moving, they need good experienced people, stat.
Take Sean Atkins, the president and CEO of Dhar Mann Studios, who originally came from MTV and Discovery. There’s also Corie Henson, the former head of NBC unscripted TV who moved to Beast Studios. As I’ve spoken to more creators, there seems to be a shift from solely recruiting other digitally-native personnel to bringing in people with more experience in traditional media.
Or as one high-ranking creator exec told me, “They’re looking to add adults to the room.”
This broadening doesn’t just apply to creator-made companies. There’s also been a boom of companies designed to support creators like Kajabi and Raptive on the tools and strategy side; Night and Digital Brand Architects on the agency side; and QYOU Media on the advertising side. If these companies haven’t already started hiring from film and television pools, they’re at least talking about it.
G&B Digital Management, a creator-focused management company founded by Kyle Hjelmeseth, even hosts workshops to help actors, crew members and creatives in traditional media pivot to the creator economy. The next one is coming to Brooklyn on Nov. 12.
This isn’t meant to sugarcoat a truly sucky week. Thousands of talented people are getting booted from their jobs. And the ones who are still lucky to be employed are either panicking about their futures (hello Warner Bros. Discovery!) or are spread so thin they can barely breathe. But amid all the horror, there is a small sliver of hope.
Now onto the rest.
Kayla Cobb
Senior Reporter
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com
What’s New
IShowSpeed freaks out over AI deepfakes
MrBeast isn’t the only mega creator panicking over the state of AI. During a livestream last week, IShowSpeed (45 million YouTube subscribers) watched several deepfake videos of himself generated by Sora 2, OpenAI’s latest model. Speed admitted that giving the app permission to use his likeness publicly was a mistake and said, “Whoever told me to make it public, chat, you’re not here for my own safety, bro. I’m f–ked.” So he’s not a fan.
Tubi ups its creator bets with Hartbeat and Audiochuck
Tubi, the free ad-supported streamer owned by Fox, upped its creator investments in two major ways this week. First up is a deal with Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat for four movies, the streamer’s first exclusive deal for creator content. Two of the upcoming movies will come from Kinigra Deon (5.5 million YouTube subscribers) and 85 South Show (3.4 million Instagram followers).
That was on Wednesday. On Thursday, Tubi announced a multiyear deal worth $150 million with Audiochuck, the media company from Ashley Flowers that’s behind “Crime Junkie,” “The Deck” and “So Supernatural.” As part of the deal, Tubi will have exclusive distribution and advertising sales rights and will develop a “Crime Junkie” FAST channel. No wonder Tubi got so many shoutouts during this quarter’s earnings call.
NASCAR and Night partner on creator-focused series with TimTheTatman, Emiru and more
NASCAR is tapping creators as part of its effort to expand to younger audiences. The upcoming Creator Series, launched in partnership with the digital talent agency Night, will be hosted by NASCAR analyst Mamba Smith and will see professional driver Carson Hocevar race alongside eight top creators. The creators taking the wheel include:
- TimTheTatman (7.6 million Twitch followers)
- StableRonaldo (4.3 million Twitch followers)
- Agent00 (3.1 million Twitch followers)
- RayAsianBoy (2.4 million Twitch followers)
- CouRageJD (2.2 million Twitch followers)
- YourRAGE (1.9 million Twitch followers)
- Emiru (1.9 million Twitch followers)
- ExtraEmily (875,000 Twitch followers)
The four-event series will run through October through February and will be available to watch across Twitch, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Platform Updates
TikTok creators can earn up to 90% of revenue from subscriptions
During TikTok’s Creator Summit, the company announced creators can now earn up to 90% of revenue from subscriptions. As the name implies, subscriptions let fans can gain access to paywalled content from TikTok creators.
The platform also introduced two new AI-powered tools. Smart Split automatically edits longer content into multiple shortform videos. Then there’s AI Outline, which helps creators generate video titles, hashtags, hooks and outlines for their videos.
Netflix is experimenting with vertical videos but swears it’s not competing with TikTok
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Netflix Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Stone said the company is starting to experiment with more vertical videos, which is home to shortform content. But Stone promised the company isn’t trying to compete with TikTok or the emerging shortform drama trend.
Remember when Netflix promised it wasn’t going to have ads? Or it wasn’t going to invest in live sports? Or when it swore “Stranger Things” wasn’t coming to theaters earlier this month? So sure, Netflix.
YouTube partners with Adobe, settles Disney lawsuit
It was a big week for YouTube. As part of Adobe’s new slate of AI toolsfor creators, the company announced a partnership that will add a Create for YouTube Shorts option to the app version of Premiere (I’ve been trying it out, and that platform is seriously awesome). YouTube also announced a series of updates to optimize watching videos in the living room. In the past year, YouTube channels earning six-figure paydays from TV viewership increased by 45%.
YouTube and Disney also settled their ongoing legal feud over Justin Connolly, the former Disney employee who’s now YouTube’s global head of media and sports. Oh, and Alphabet posted its first $100 BILLION quarter. Very casual, guys.
Movers and Shakers
Steven Bartlett’s company backed by Slow Ventures at a $425 million valuation
Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group backed Steven Bartlett’s company Steven.com at a $425 million valuation. Bartlett is behind the podcast “Diary of a CEO,” which has 13 million subscribers on YouTube and is routinely included on lists of the most listened to and watched podcasts. The exact investment amount hasn’t been disclosed.
By the way, Kamala Harris stopped by Bartlett’s podcast today.
Shorthand Studios hires BuzzFeed alum Zack Evans
You know how at the top I said creator companies are looking to hire Hollywood talent? They’re also looking at media alum. Case in point Zack Evans, the BuzzFeed and Cameo alum who was just hired as Shorthand Studios’ VP of creative strategy. Shorthand Studios is the content and production studio under Underscore Talent.
Kaya Yurieff and Jasmine Enberg launch Scalable to cover the business of the creator economy
The Information’s former creator expert Kaya Yurieff is going off on her own. On Thursday, Yurieff and eMarketer alum Jasmine Enberg announced the launch of Scalable, their new venture dedicated to covering the business of the creator economy. Scalable will be partnering with The Lighthouse, Whalar Group’s creator campus.
Who to Watch
Stapleview
“SNL” may wanna watch its back because Stapleview’s content has been crushing it lately. A comedy collective for up-and-coming comedians, Stapleview (198,000 TikTok followers) has already launched several internet shows like “Ad World” and “Clear the Air with Taylor Ortega.” But its latest batch of sketches have been on fire.
It’s also the company behind Grace Reiter’s (3.4 million TikTok followers) “That’s Enough” podcast. Reiter is great on her own, but there’s something magical happening right now with Stapleview’s full comedy lineup.
Bonus Content
- OnlyFans Goes to Business School (via Wired)
- Here’s Who’s Running Trump’s Digital Offensive (via Garbage Day)
- OpenAI Says Hundreds of Thousands of ChatGPT Users May Show Signs of Manic or Psychotic Crisis Every Week (via Wired)
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This report provides a weekly deep dive into the creator economy. It highlights key trends, political and technological developments, data points and industry leaders all with the goal of making you smarter about this constantly evolving space.