A quick search for TikTok jobs in Los Angeles shows 4,080 openings:

Not the energy of a company that’s supposed to shut down U.S. operations on April 5, less than 30 days away.

And now that TikTok is re-listed in the Google and Apple app stores, this controversy feels like it has always been a steaming pile of ‘nothing.’

But…is it?

Also in this edition:

• The Sidemen’s Soccer Kicks Butt Again

• July Drops a ‘Creator Agency Report’

• Most Creators Are Likely Owed Pandemic Grants

• Link-in-Bios Are All Grown Up

• Job ops from Stellar, TikTok, and Airbnb

• …and a dank creator economy meme by yours truly!

Let’s get into it.

NEWS:

TikTok’s Main Character Energy

Nobody thinks TikTok is getting banned anymore.

This week, President Trump said he would ‘probably extend’ the deadline if a deal isn’t reached. Talk about strong, decisive action!

But seriously, after the initial ‘sell or ban’ bill garnered strong bi-partisan Congressional support for perceived national security issues, does the government not believe that to be true anymore?

TikTok certainly doesn’t think this is much of an issue anymore.

In the past few weeks, they launched a new desktop-first FYP feed, continued launching on OTT/smart TVs, started pushing coupons for local U.S. businesses, and a buzzy report dropped pegging TikTok Live ecommerce as a $77b business by 2027.

So where do we stand with the ban? Is TikTok right to push forward so confidently?

My hot take: Yes! We’ve shown every card we have and they all come up ‘China’!

First of all, the American people didn’t see the reports or evidence that led Congress to pass the original bi-partisan bill, so, obviously, the public hasn’t given this ban much support.

The messaging has been a mess from the Hill, with reasons for the ban spanning from data security to liberal bias to Communist psyops to being in the pocket of Donald Trump to causing teen depression to being contingent on allowing more U.S. tech companies into China.

Very, very messy.

And now we have a president that hates doing anything his base doesn’t like. And this ban would be unpopular.

Dangerous for Americans? Who cares! So is releasing hundreds of people found guilty for beating cops on January 6, and that didn’t stop him!

And remember: China still has to agree to sell if there is a buyer, and China isn’t going to do that easily.

They know they hold all of the cards, and the U.S. looks mighty weak on the global stage right now.

So keep investing in your TikTok strategies. It’s not going anywhere.

The Sidemen Footies Again

Last Saturday, the popular British creator group The Sidemen took over Wembley Stadium for their annual star-studded charity match.

And huge congrats to Fixated client Sketch for winning MVP!

With another sell out crowd at Wembley and views across profiles easily in the hundreds of millions (including live, longform, and shortform), I can’t help but think about the Tyson vs Paul fight, where a sporting event was similarly boosted by social media fame.

With one key difference: The Sidemen match was streamed for free on their YouTube channel.

Is this a sea change for sports?

My hot take: No. Sports are another way to tentpole events.

The Super Bowl, UFC events, The Sidemen charity match, it’s all the same challenges: the story drives marketing, the event is full of drama, and the internet content keeps it alive.

The only difference: when creators are involved, the marketing is a heck of a lot cheaper.

But do any of these events move sports further into the mainstream?

I have my doubts.

In the 90’s, MTV aired ‘Rock and Jock’ events that featured athletes and celebrities playing a ‘sports entertainment’ version of a sport.

This is no different.

Fun, but just another context to make a big moment that everyone can understand.

Creator Agencies Finally Get Their Own Report

July has been building incredible tech for creator representation organizations.

Now they’ve planted their flags as creator agency exports with their new report.

A few hot takeaways:

US brands spent $7.14b on influencer marketing, a 16% year-over-year increase.

Brands make $5.78 back on every $1 spent on influencer marketing.

74% of consumers purchased something introduced to them by creators.

70% of teens trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.

The biggest takeaway for me: 47% of creator agencies made their entire paid partnership revenue with less than 25 brands. Proof that going deep rather than wide can work wonders!

FAME & FORTUNE:

Were you self-employed during the COVID-19 pandemic? Way too many people haven’t heard of SETC, a government program that can get you up to $32,200 in tax credits for work disruptions. So creators and their reps…GET ON THIS! To see if you qualify, take this 20 minute no-pressure survey: CLICK HERE*

Link-in-bio companies are still going strong, and the market is still crowded! Players like SuperLink are doubling-down on direct sales through LiB solutions and Key is banking on more direct relationships and analytics with fans to win. If you haven’t looked at the market lately, it’s time! Lots of cool stuff happening! (As always, if you reach out to any of these companies it helps the newsletter to tell them Phil Ranta sent you!)

TikTok has always been ‘agency friendly,’ but most of these agencies take a percentage of revenue earned to cover their costs. Not TNext, who offers educational resources and other fringe benefits to get your live streaming career going without taking any gifted revenue. If you want an intro, let me know!

Lawyers are expensive. Can’t AI solve that? Well, yes. Basa Futura has a product to evaluate contracts and help agencies make contracts more modular and faster to create and track, all without constant back-and-forth with your legal team.

*newsletter receives affiliate commissions

INDUSTRY HIRING:

Stellar needs UGC-Style Video Content Creators, but promise me: if you get the job, stop trying to get me to drink hot mushroom water.

TikTok is looking for a Creator Manager, Emerging Creators. And please, for me, help promote every elderly person doing Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ dance.

Airbnb wants a Lead Influencer who doesn’t mind taking out the trash at the end of each workday.

MEME ZONE:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this edition, give it a share and if you get someone to sign up, I’ll send you my ‘10 Rep-Friendly Ways to Monetize Today!’ deck!

Until next time, protect yo rep.