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).
60 Best New(ish) Creator Economy Platforms
Creator economy start ups are springing up left and right these days, and, as any creator or rep can tell you, there's no way to properly vet every single one. So I went ahead and did it for you! From updates on the obvious to new entrants, here's the top 100 on my mind, not including any that don't have products you can sign up to right now (for example, we all know services companies are cool but not exactly something you can hop on and use right now). Please also note: I'm sure I'll miss plenty so if you work at a platform I missed, I mean no offense!
YouTube's 20th Birthday Celebration 🎉
This week marked YouTube's 20th birthday, from a video at a zoo talking about elephant trunks to multi-billion dollar businesses (if MrBeast's math is to be believed). Let's give some space to where YouTube is, where it's heading, and why it's still the best place to build a digital video career.
Archive
Streamer Prom Breaks Records 🏆
513 years. That's how many watch hours FunnyMike's Streamer Prom event drew last Wednesday. And it was a who's who of top streamers, catching the attention of huge celebrities including Kyrie Irving, who was looking to score an invitation. And transparency note: this event was brought to you by Fixated where I am the Chief Business Officer and Partner. So why now, and what does this mean for the future of streaming?
How to VidCon 🎉
VidCon is the biggest online video convention, and it's been my summer camp every year (sans COVID) since I attended in 2012 with a small, scrappy start-up called Fullscreen. Since then, through changes in ownership and incredible growth, the strategies to optimize your time at the Con have evolved as well. I'll break down the top three pieces of advice for creators, creator reps, and businesses or brands trying to do business within the creator economy.
Politicians Suck at Social 🤑
It's so often said that it's become boring: large companies are 10 years behind on trends, and when they do catch up to the trends, they're behind again. If that's true, I'd put most politicians 20 years behind social trends. Coming out of a presidential election where so much ink has been spilled about Trump's masterful podcast strategy and the Dems stumbling over themselves with their messaging, and since I had to write this newsletter a week ahead of time due to a family vacation, I wanted to share some thoughts everyone in the creator economy knows already, but they're missing every time.
What Brands Want to Hear 🔈👂
AI is slopping up creator inboxes, and the market knows it. This week I posted tips on how brands should reach out to creators to get a response and the post received 5x my regular reach and engagement. I'm going a bit deeper into this newsletter, discussing how brands can catch creators' attention in email, what creators should beware of, and how reps can respond to secure top rates for their clients.
AI's Frighteningly Good Video 🤖
Google's Veo 3 video AI model is insanely good. Generated videos of real-looking people and real-sounding speech in real-looking locations are flooding the internet. Did this week mark the end of on-location video as we know it? Probably not. But there needs to be a new level of skepticism around reality and the internet content, wherein society has already failed time and time again. I'll explain how to start with Veo 3 for your video workflows.
Acquiring the Creator Economy 🤑
Another week, another huge investment in a creator company. Whaler reached a $400 million valuation with investments from major strategics, including Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Shopify, and Neal H. Moritz (The Fast and/or Furious Franchise). If markets are all about consolidation/fragmentation cycles, we're definitely in a consolidation phase. So the big question: "Why?" I'll share my thoughts and, if you're either trying to sell or buy creator businesses, what you should consider.
From OnlyFans to Subs 💰
The founder of OnlyFans Tim Stokely has announced his new venture: another fan monetization platform called Subs.com, which is presented like a clean, revved up Patreon. Let's take a look at the current state of fan funding, how decisions should be made in that market, and what it takes to support a community.
The Digital Economy is $4.9T 🤯
On April 29, 2025, the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) released a huge report called 'Measuring the Digital Economy'. It's pretty dense 179 pages, but I read it all so you don't have to, and I'm sharing my top 10 takeaways you'll want to use in decks, to define business objectives, or to sound smart at dinner parties!
YouTube's 20th Birthday Celebration 🎉
This week marked YouTube's 20th birthday, from a video at a zoo talking about elephant trunks to multi-billion dollar businesses (if MrBeast's math is to be believed). Let's give some space to where YouTube is, where it's heading, and why it's still the best place to build a digital video career.
Meta on Trial ⚖️
Anti-trust isn't just how the U.S. feels about Zuck. Meta's fighting to keep WhatsApp and Instagram, as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pushing for Meta to divest some of their largest assets to create a more level playing field, namely Instagram and WhatsApp. Is this a real fight, or just more D.C. showmanship?
TikTok is Never Getting Banned 🚫
Another deadline passed, another 75-day extension. TikTok's bipartisan 'sell or ban' bill has become another political joke. But for those of us in the industry, it was also a litmus test. With a market as beloved by consumers as social media, will any U.S. politician ever have the guts to take on big tech?
60 Great Creator Economy Companies & Services 🚨
Back by popular demand! My last edition, where I listed 60 of the best new(ish) creator economy platforms, went viral and led to loads of new subscribers, so I promised I'd do 60 more. Slight change: since some services can be every bit as valuable as a great platform, I included those, too. Here we go!