The $1B Lesson for Creators

💡 TOP STORIES

THE MINECRAFT PARADOX

Don’t let Minecraft and Lilo & Stitch fool you.  While a few tentpole movies raked in over a billion dollars in box-office revenue this summer, theatrical attendance is collapsing. As Rich Greenfield and the rest of the Lightshed team convincingly argue, ticket prices are up 30% since 2019, yet attendance has dropped 40%.  It’s an industry in structural decline.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. K-Pop Demon Hunters, a Netflix/Sony “film”, is actually the biggest movie of the year – and it didn’t need theaters to get there.  it’s a social juggernaut: the fictional band’s album is #1 on Spotify, and over 160M households have streamed the movie.  Let that sink in.  The biggest movie of the year…  was streamed.

That’s huge, and great news for creators.  The traditional theatrical to streaming pipeline is clearly broken. But culturally relevant IP, built for social and optimized for streaming (with a rabid fandom flywheel) looks like the new model for long-form storytelling.  The next Marvel or Miyazaki won’t come from traditional Hollywood.  It’ll be built by creators and streamed by Netflix, YouTube, Amazon… or delivered direct by the creators themselves.  (Lightshed Partners)

CEOS TALK AI BUT DREAM OF CREATORS

Earnings season has been full of AI…  but read between the lines and you’ll find something else: creators are quietly becoming strategic.  According to Digiday, execs from Unilever, P&G, Meta, Google, Coca-Cola, Etsy, Roblox, and even Cloudflare all called out creators during their latest earnings calls. Publicis Groupe went further, calling them “the newest media channel”, one they say will surpass linear TV’s ad spend within three years.  

From Roblox moving as much money as possible from top-line to creators, to YouTubers driving McDonald’s and TikTokers hawking Swiffer, it’s clear: creators aren’t just a marketing trend. They’re core infrastructure.  The creator economy has officially entered the C-suite. (Digiday – HT @Paul Greenberg)

THE POWER OF 10

When you explore the history of math, certain numbers stand out. Three, four, seven, nine, ten, twelve, each one a numerical hero far beyond just simple counting.

• 3 symbolized divinity and completion.

• 4 reflected the rhythms of nature… seasons, winds, elements and direction.

• 7 was mystical: a prime number with no anatomical tie.

• 12 derived from yearly lunar cycles.

• And 10 came straight from our fingers.

So when two HUGE creator economy monetization companies each crossed the $10 Billion milestone last week, it was something truly special.  Perhaps even mystical.   

First up, Kajabi announced $10 Billion in creator sales paid out over 15 years.  Then Patreon revealed its users had paid creators $10 billion over 12 years (another sacred number).  To be fair, Kajabi paid the entire $10B to creators, while Patreon took its cut.  But because Kajabi users also pay a monthly SaaS fee, it’s likely a wash.

In the grand scheme of things, the difference between $9,999,999,999 and $10,000,000,000 is just 100 pennies.  But culturally, spiritually and physically it’s massive.  10 represents completeness and perfection.  And in Pythagorean numerology the “Decad” – a ten-point triangle called the Tetractys – symbolized cosmic harmony.

Congrats to both platforms for helping creators earn so much. Oh, and it might be time to start counting creator economy milestones on our toes… as well as our fingers.  (Patreon, Kajabi)

MARY, MARY QUITE CONTRARY

I’ve long predicted that the next billion-dollar media franchise would come from a teenage Roblox creator.  Launched just four months ago, Grow a Garden is well on its way.  

The epic farming simulator blends Animal Crossing charm with both passive and active gameplay, crop mutations and player-to-player trading to create a uniquely addictive experience that never feels needy.  Developed by a 16-year-old creator, and then scaled in partnership with 2 studios, it surpassed Fortnite with the biggest concurrent user base ever: 21 million.    

Notable not just for its numbers but for what it represents: a new collaboration model between a teen-developer, a NZ gaming cool and a Florida-based development studio.  Oh and also the creator of Annoying Orange, apparently. It’s a great case study of meme-fueled virality in Roblox.  Will it last?  People still play FarmVille, don’t they? (Wikipedia, Roblox)

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💡 PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• TVification Continues: YouTube testing Netflix-like channel design (Tubefilter)

• Supporting Creators in LA:  YouTube donates $3M to a “Fire Relief Fund” to help creators, performing arts and entertainment professionals who are still recovering from last winter’s devastating fires. (YouTube)

• Collaborative Visibility:  YouTube’s new co-authoring tags (in testing), promise huge value to creators – and could usher in a new era of collective storytelling. (Influencer Marketing Hub)

• Downside of Age Verification:  Reed Duchscher says YouTube’s new AI-driven age verification system will significantly reduce revenue for many creators. (Night Light)

META

• Mark’s Manifesto:  XR, AR, VR – well that didn’t go as planned.  The new focus?  “Building personal superintelligence that empowers everyone”. My favorite “gentleman blogger” Om Malik adds context. (Meta, Om)

• Copycat: Instagram clones Snapchat’s friend map feature.  (TechCrunch)

TIKTOK

• Get Out!  TikTok cozies up with the travel industry, integrating Booking.Com in-app and connecting hotels/travel companies with creators. (Tubefilter)

• Cairo Weighs In: Egypt becomes the latest country to crack down on TikTok. (Ahram Online)

LINKEDIN

• LinkedIn CEO Posts:   Up 52% on LinkedIn over the past two years. But how many run companies that could comfortably fit in an elevator (like me)? (LinkedIn)

💡 QUIBIS

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Tinder for Podcasting: New app – free for now – aims to connect podcasters and guests. (Guest Match Pro)  

• Gen Alpha Arrives:  The youngest cohort drives almost half of household spending. (Axios)

• Podcast Bubble Bursting?  Amazon lays off 110 and restructures the Wondery team – and CEO departs. (THR)

• Movin’ On Up: Thrilled to see my friend (and former co-worker) @RJ Larese taking on the president role at Whalar Group’s Sixteenth talent division.

• Blurring Lines: ESPN adds TikToker Katie Feeney as a contributor (ESPN)

• Creators on TV: An update on Tubi’s creator-driven dreams. (Next In Media) 

• Standardization Momentum Builds: Valuation, payment processing and disputes highlighted in a call for clarity and collaboration.  (WPN)

• Finding Creator Brands:  @Rob Gabel launches his new project – a database of celebrity brands, with a forthcoming option to invest.  (Celebrity Brands)

CREATOR TECH – AI, AR, VR, MORE

• AI Hits a Wall?  OpenAI’s GPT 5 just arrived but sounds more middleware than massive breakthrough.  @Gary Marcus calls it “overhyped and underwhelming”.  Maybe it’s time for the Diffusion of AI. (OpenAI, Big Technology, Gary Marcus)

• Could ChatGPT Juice Commerce? Hey creators, would you pay OpenAI for a sale?  Of course you would.  Will users revolt?  It all comes down to trust. (Modern Retail) 

• You’ve Got a Friend In Me: Character AI adds an AI-generated feed to help users discover characters and participate in stories. (Fast Company)

• I’m Not Dead Yet: Google search czar says AI hasn’t materially impacted organic clicks.  But what about paid?  (Google)

• 30 Tools:  Wondering how you rank on the top generative AI search results (GEO / AIS)?  Try these tools (WebFX)

📊 RESEARCH

AI in Newsrooms:  New study looks at how top news orgs are using AI.  Key takeaways for creators?  AI is still best suited as an assistant, build your own hybrid stack, and human oversight can preserve trust. (ArcXP)

Event Wisdom:  Mega-event producer Freeman just released their 2025 report on the state of events, a must-read for anyone who produces or attends them.  For creators, it’s a blueprint for developing your own fan meetups, tours and shows, and for getting the most out of the events you attend.  It’s all about enabling and uncovering genuine human connection. (Freeman)

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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