The Creator Rep
Agents, managers, and business-savvy creators! This newsletter will give you the top news, strategies, and interviews relevant to creator representatives from Phil Ranta, who has been a 'creator manager manager' for over a decade!
Featured Posts
How to Help Los Angeles
A lot is going on in the digital industry, but, to be honest, as a proud resident of Los Angeles who just saw a large portion of my city burn, it just doesn't seem like the right week. I'll talk about the TikTok ban in next week's edition (which is also a day after the ban will go into effect).
Archive
China May Pull TikTok's Plug 🔌
With all of the talk about TikTok's extension around U.S. political support, whether it can pass the judiciary, and what eccentric billionaire will buy it, we haven't spent enough time asking whether ByteDance, or the Chinese Communist Party, even wants a sale? It sounds like that's not a foregone conclusion.
10 Platforms Battling TikTok ⏰
TikTok isn't saved. It has yet another ticking clock, with 67 days left to divest or be shut down in the US entirely. It's already delisted from the Google Play and Apple's App Stores, given the murky legality of Trump's word he won't go after them. And competitors are counting on it. Here are 10 that may benefit.
TikTok Unbanned 🤷🏻
We spent months preparing creators for the TikTok ban only to have the app return 12 hours later. Yay? Maybe? Let's talk about why I think this could be a nightmare scenario, and why the success of Red Book signals that banning TikTok in the first place was a terrible, terrible idea.
How to Help Los Angeles
A lot is going on in the digital industry, but, to be honest, as a proud resident of Los Angeles who just saw a large portion of my city burn, it just doesn't seem like the right week. I'll talk about the TikTok ban in next week's edition (which is also a day after the ban will go into effect).
Tick... Tock... Tick... 🕐
In 13 days, TikTok may be banned in the US. But lifelines exist! The Supreme Court will hear their case on January 10. There is still a possibility that a story could be told that it was sufficiently 'sold.' And others believe the new presidential administration in the White House as of January 20 could work some magic. So, where does this leave creators?
2025 Predictions: Snap Booms
It's time for my fourth and final spicy prediction for 2025. Just to remind you, my first three include: AI Content Fails, TikTok Survives, and The Year of 'Monetize Everything'. And I haven't seen many 2025 predictions include the word 'Snapchat', so this one may be the furthest reach of any, as well as the one I'm most confident will be true.
2025 Predictions: The Year of 'Monetize Everything'
Prediction #3 for 2025, and I'm only giving you my spiciest. Just to remind you, for the next two Mondays (two already happened), I will present my top four 2025 predictions and the signals I'm seeing that are pushing me in that direction.
2025 Predictions: AI Content Fails
Look. It's Q4. I'm busy. You're busy. Let's cut the longwinded opinion round-ups and focus on what we really want: my reasonably accurate annual predictions of what the next year will bring in the creator economy. For the next four Mondays, I will present my top four 2025 predictions along with the signals I'm seeing that are pushing me in that direction.
A $75 Billion Black Friday 🖤
By all metrics, this Black Friday 2024 has been a whopping success. $75 billion is an astounding number, shattering last year's record by over 5%. And $11 billion came from US ecommerce. But wait? Isn't the economy bad? What's happening here? I wish there was an easy answer, but this is going to require us to dive in.
Twitch-pocalyse 👿
Twitch streamers have seen November 2024 revenue drop by as much as 95%. Any longtime creator economy folks know this pattern: welcome to another Adpocalpyse! If that word sends chills down your spine, then you, much like me, remember 2017 when YouTube ad revenue suddenly dropped by 70%, leaving execs in charge of large networks (sheepishly raises hand) becoming their company's sacrificial lambs. Will Twitch recover?