How the Creator Economy Creates Opportunities for Media Companies
A new class of media owners has emerged—not from studio lots or network boardrooms, but from home studios, gaming chairs, and podcast mics that launched global followings.
Consider Alex Cooper. She’s turned her Call Her Daddy podcast into a cross-platform empire that now includes a creator network, television production, and brand partnerships. Prajakta Koli, better known as MostlySane, has grown from relatable comedy skits in Mumbai to global influence spanning Netflix roles and conversations with world leaders.
Their success, and many more like them, represents something much bigger: the rise of the creator economy as a $191 billion force that could top $500 billion by 2030. Across formats and continents, digital-born creators are no longer just participating in culture. They’re shaping it, monetizing it, and partnering with media companies on equal terms.
We’re not watching a trend. We’re watching a transfer of power. Legacy media is adapting by recruiting creators to stay relevant. Consider ESPN, which signed sports and lifestyle creator Kate Feeney, who has 14 million+ followers across TikTok and Instagram. She will deliver video content and appear on ESPN studio shows as part of the network stepping up its digital-first approach and likely courting Gen Z, who are less engaged with sports. Her signing also reverses the traditional power dynamic. Where sports analysts once jockeyed for airtime on a network like ESPN to reach fans, ESPN now courts creators to access their audiences.
Feeney is just one example. ESPN signed former NFL star and YouTube media machine Pat McAfee to a landmark deal in 2023. ESPN also launched its own Creator Network to give digital talent exclusive access to ESPN events, with the program being expanded recently include more female digital creators and more diverse voices. CBS Sports and Paramount opened a creator studio to connect brands with sports influencers.NBC tapped podcast star Alex Cooper to host interactive Olympics watch parties on Peacock in 2024.
These and many more examples show that across the board, traditional media is transforming to meet creators and their audiences where they are.
The New Digital Moguls
Technically, creators include artists like Beyoncé, who operate as full-fledged brands and global entertainers. But a different universe of creators (many born in digital media) are building media empires of their own. Often more accessible and participatory, these creators wield influence through cultural proximity and creative control.
For example, Alex Cooper signed a $60 million deal with Spotify and later launching the Unwell Network, a creator-focused platform producing original content, brand partnerships, and new shows across formats. She’s expanded into streaming television, executive producing a Hulu docuseries and reshaping what a podcast personality can be. Cooper isn’t a guest on platforms anymore. She’s a partner.
Prajakta Koli became the first Indian creator named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential Creators list. She’s bridged regional and global audiences, proving that creator influence transcends geography when paired with credibility and consistency.
Valkyrae, whose rise from Twitch to YouTube helped shape the evolution of livestreaming culture, is co-owner of the gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves. She’s launched her own production company, voiced animated characters, and continues to lead content that spans gaming, fashion, and entertainment. Her influence is equal parts creative and strategic, representing a growing class of creators building equity in addition to audiences.
While the top names command headlines, there are millions more creators quietly blurring the line between influencer and CEO. Creators range from casual content posters to full-time YouTubers, podcasters, and subscription-based entrepreneurs. Nearly half of those driving the creator economy identify as full-time, and their reach makes them indispensable partners for both platforms and advertisers.
The rise of these digital moguls reflects a deeper shift in influence itself. For decades, celebrities held most of the sway, their public image mediated by PR teams, magazine covers, and carefully staged appearances. Social media upended that structure, creating a direct, one-to-one channel between creators and their audiences. Now, individuals connect with fans through user-generated content, personal storytelling, and niche topics that followers actively opt into.
Instead of a tabloid showing what Taylor Swift wore on date night, audiences choose whose life, opinions, and tastes they want to engage with. The result is a more organic and often authentic connection, one that fuels dedicated fandoms, drives millions of views, and commands brand investment. These loyal, self-selected audiences are not just valuable to advertisers; they’re shaping casting decisions for reality shows, influencing which voices get amplified by major networks, and increasingly being “acquired” by media companies eager to bring that built-in fan base under their umbrella.
One of the main ways brands engage with creators is through influencer marketing, or partnering with those who have engaged followers to promote products or services. But influencer marketing is just one part of the larger creator economy. The creator economy encompasses a wide range of monetization models, including subscriptions, merchandise, branded content, and licensing. Creators are more than channels for reach. They’re strategic partners, storytellers, and in many cases, brand-builders in their own right.
Platforms Are Evolving
Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, and Twitch are architecting the economy’s infrastructure, launching new monetization features, and reimagining themselves as full-service creator partners. In the rush to keep creators (and their audiences) loyal, platforms have rolled out native commerce tools, creator incentive programs, and advanced analytics that turn content into conversation and commerce.
This new power dynamic mirrors what’s happening in legacy media. ESPN once set the agenda for sports coverage. Now it signs creators like Kate Feeney and Pat McAfee to court younger audiences. Netflix continues to create original TV entertainment, but now Netflix also promotes creators like Ms. Rachel, whose YouTube-born children’s content drives massive engagement. The rules have changed: creators are now key talent, not just contributors.
This platform-creator relationship is symbiotic and competitive. Platforms now court top talent with exclusivity deals and production budgets reminiscent of TV networks, as seen with Amazon’s seven-figure collaboration with MrBeast. In effect, platforms get a “content studio” filling their libraries with new and frequent content, along creators’ built-in audiences.
For creators, it means more leverage and the freedom to diversify business models. For marketers, the upshot is powerful: cross-channel, multi-format content, backed by data and wrapped around commerce, all delivered at breakneck speed. The relationship is the foundation of how the creator economy thrives.
Creators are no longer just participating in culture. They're shaping it, monetizing it, and partnering with media companies on equal terms.
Brands Are Betting Big
Media platforms have another reason to evolve: they are watching where advertising money is going. Consider:
- Gymshark’s athlete program, which featured 125+ fitness creators across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, helped the brand scale to a $1.6 billion business.
- Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand, launched a fall 2024 campaign with Alexandra Saint Mleux that earned 10+ million impressions and a 42.8% average engagement rate—contributing to a $1 billion acquisition.
- Fiji Water partnered with lifestyle creator Danielle Bernstein on the #FijiFit campaign, generating over 10 million impressions and inspiring thousands of user-generated posts.
Brand/creator collaborations stand apart by tapping into culture. The most effective campaigns invite them into the brand, allowing their distinct voices to shape how products are introduced, talked about, and shared.
Model, Monetization, and Momentum
The old image of a creator cashing their first YouTube check has been replaced with something far more sophisticated. Leading creators have a revenue stack: brand deals, ad revenue, affiliate programs, subscriber platforms, direct-to-fan sales, and social commerce. The multiple streams insulate creators against volatile algorithms and shifting platform priorities.
This sophistication doesn’t stop at accounting. The vast majority of professional creators use AI tools in their content workflows, employing automation for everything from ideation to editing, monetization optimization, and fan engagement strategies. The result: higher production value, faster output, and a competitive edge, widening the gap between casual creators and digital media pros. As creators master business fundamentals and delegate operations, they keep leveling up. And they’re setting new standards for digital hustle.
But with opportunity comes complexity. Brand safety is an ever-present concern, making thorough vetting and clear contractual guidelines a non-negotiable. Regulatory rules are also tightening, with FTC actions in 2024 and 2025 raising the stakes for proper sponsorship disclosures; shady disclosures can turn a big campaign into a PR headache and a financial liability.
The long-term viability of creator relationships is hidden risk. The relentless pace of content production, evolving algorithms, and public scrutiny means creators face real burnout. Brands who approach partnerships as a long-term relationship rather than a one-off activation are likely to get better work, and a healthier collaboration.
Where the Creator Economy Goes Next
The next act: expect even more boundary-blurring. Virtual influencers and AI-generated personas are gaining traction as bankable assets with devoted followings. Creators will increasingly diversify, stretching into e-commerce, podcasting, and live experiences that bring online fandoms into the real world.
Direct relationships (think paid newsletters, private community platforms, and subscription content) will mature, helping top creators own their economic destiny and pressuring platforms to keep up with better tools, more transparent policies, and greater revenue share. Cross-platform storytelling will become the baseline, not the exception, as audiences fragment and loyalty gets harder to buy.
The creator economy has long ago gone from being an ephemeral trend or a marketing experiment; it’s the foundation of today’s attention, influence, and action. For media companies, partnering with creators is about relevance, agility, and creating work that resonates.