Abba. Ed Sheeran. AI.

💡 TOP STORIES

AN EPIDEMIC WEEKEND

Just spent three days in Stockholm with the team from Epidemic Sound and 20 top creators – including those from Dhar Mann, Yes Theory, Sorry Girls, The Sidemen and many more.  Much of the weekend was under Chatham House rules, so I can’t name names.  But I can share some of the key takeaways:

• CPG Is Brutal: Unless they know better than others in the market, creators shouldn’t launch products.  Beating consumer packaged goods companies is ridiculously hard.  This hot take was echoed on LinkedIn by @scott van den Berg who mapped the $2B lost on creator brands in the last year.

• Reinvention Works: I met one creator who successfully shifted her channel from vlogging to food…  and just had 600 people show up to an impromptu meetup in a country where she has hardly any fans. (Doobydobap)

• TikTok vs. YouTube:  The battle is over. YouTube crushed TikTok, and now Shorts is now marginalized. Creators aren’t making much money in either place, so more and more they are leaning into the big screen and Big Red.

• The AI Counterlash: Although an AI backlash seems imminent across creators and fans, a countertrend is brewing that focuses on using AI to drive more awareness and consumption of creator-first content.

• Björn On Business: Abba co-founder Björn Ulvaeus explained why business is as essential as creativity (among other things):

• Baby’s First Meet and Greet: After observing hundreds at VidCon, I finally did one myself…  with Ed Sheeran!  (Read about it here)

There was lots more, including insight from Ash Pournouri (Avicii) and Spotify but most of it was off the record.  Wish you had been there!

WHEN COOL GOES CORPORATE

A recent report from the misnamed “Trend Hunter,” supposedly focused on creator-driven megatrends, got me thinking: how much of what feels new in today’s creator economy is really just incremental? Creators have been shaping brand R&D for more than a decade: think Gymshark/Nikki Blackketter or Taco Bell/Josh Peck. What’s shifted is scale: today micro and nano creators are in on the act too, from Sleepy Girlzzz smoothies to the cookie-dough croissant.

The same goes for tools. AI-first platforms sound revolutionary, but they’re really an extension of what YouTube Studio and CapCut did years ago: putting pro-grade production and analytics tools into creators’ hands. And while Trend Hunter calls out tribalism, authenticity, and the many-to-many economy as “megatrends,” those dynamics have been baked into YouTube since its earliest days.

The trends aren’t new—the only thing that’s new is that the rest of the world is finally catching up. (Trend Hunter)

FROM ATTENTION TO INTIMACY

Cathy Hackl thinks a new paradigm is developing: emotional resonance replacing clicks, likes and time spent.  The chilling side?   Bad actors will manipulate us through our emotions instead of just through our attention.  Active emotional resonance has always been part of the social economy, spiking much of the problems inherent in today’s platforms.   

Don’t miss her “Tech Intimacy Scale” – which has nothing to do with marital aids, but instead ranks how technologies foster emotional bonds.  She thinks the Intimacy Economy could be a $30B+ marketing over the next decade.  (Forbes)

MTV FOR THE SKIBIDI GENERATION

I always worry when someone wants to launch the [dying old media icon] of [exciting new media landscape].  Particularly when fronted by [super-successful CEO of old media].  See Quibi, National Banana, etc. 

Former Fox president and true(X) CEO @Joe Marchese wants to launch “the next MTV”.  They’re hiring a head of media, if that sort of challenge appeals to you.  Aside, I do hope ex Chegg CEO/Yahoo-COO @Dan Rosensweig takes the CEO role.  That might work.  (Job Description here)

• Related: But how will they compete with Uproxx? (Next In Media)

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💡 PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• From Theatrical to Big Red:  Bollywood film star Aamir Khan will eschew streamers and release his films direct to YouTube PPV – and receive 50% of revenue.  (Bloomberg)

• AI Tweaking: YouTube appears to be using AI to tweak creator content, with weird results. (The Atlantic)

• AI Effects Come to YouTube: New AR “Effects Maker” launches to select creators in select regions. (YouTube)

• Comment Control: Now creators can limit comments to subscribers only. (YouTube)

META

• Extending WatchTime: Copying TikTok, Instagram now lets multiple reels be combined into a series.  (TechCrunch)

• Threads Catches Twitter/X:  Each micro-blogging platform now claims 400M MAUs. 

• Related: Character AI now has more than 5% of Threads’ MAU.  And “in play”. (DemandSage, Pymnts)

TIKTOK

• Ex-US Growth Continues: TikTok sees strong YOY growth in Europe and LatAm, despite shaky US prospects.  (Forbes)

• To The Max: Want to sell on TikTok Shop?  After next weekend you’ll need to use Double-T’s algorithmic media buying tool GMV Max.  (BI $)

💡 QUIBIS

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Second Hand Style and Polka-Dots:  Those are two of the top trends highlighted by Pinterest for fall 2025.  Get your thrifting game in gear! (Pinterest)

• The Decline and Fall of the Narrative Podcast: Expensive production costs, advertising indifference and the lack of parasocial connections seem to be dooming the genre.  Parallels to narrative YouTube?  (Rolling Stone) 

• KPOP Crushes Theatrical: We talked about this streaming fandom-inspired hit two weeks ago.  Now it’s finally in theaters. (Variety)

• Micro Dramas Go Mainstream:  Vertical dramas begin to infiltrate western audiences and Hollywood. (WaPo $)

• Over the Top: A look at Indian creators who are making the jump to streaming services. (Social Nation)

• Clipping Expands:  Airrack and Whop collaborate on new Clipfarm clipping agency.  (Whop)

• Data, Rules and Legitimacy:  A summary of last week’s Communiqué event in Kenya wraps up a path forward for the creator economy.  Also Twitch turned off monetization in Kenya.  Aside: @David Adelke talks about this and more at Dubai’s 1 Billion Followers Summit in January.  (Communiqué)

• Bye Bye Birdie: Looking forward to what Zaria Parvez does next. (LinkedIn)

• Go Micro: Beauty brands are facing an attention recession.  (Net Influencer)

CREATOR TECH – AI, AR, VR, MORE

• Shop Til You Bot: VC firm a16z looks at how AI will disrupt different types of purchases, and whether Google, Amazon and Shopify are screwed.  Or not.  (a16z)

• From Superintelligence to SuperFun:  Threads and Twitter have about the same number of MAUs

• More Sleep:  AI will make minutes more valuable.  How will we manage our time? Also, the death of brands. (Implications)

• ChatGPT Rebalances:  Referral traffic from ChatGPT to brands are down by half, with Wikipedia and Reddit taking up the slack. (Search Engine Land)

📊 RESEARCH

What Is A Journalist: Pew explores the changing definition of “journalist”, with honesty, intelligence and authenticity rising to the top.  Popularity need not apply.  (Pew)

100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!) and AI was very lightly used for editing.

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