There is a massive shift taking place in the media world. The next generation of media moguls and premium publishers are rising from the creator economy, while the paradigm flips on traditional media companies.
I’ve been spending a fair amount of time watching creator economy content the last few months, and been struck by how much quality content is out there. The media talks about Mr Beast and in the past, I’ve talked about Dude Perfect.
But there are literally thousands of channels worth of high-quality content being created on a weekly basis by people who may not yet be a household name, but whose audiences are loyal and whose content rivals anything you see on network and cable television.
These people take their craft very seriously. They film in HD video (or better) and they have carefully scripted content that provides a solid point of view on a broad range of topics from personal finance or entertainment news to lifestyle, health or more.
Top notch editing
The editing is top notch and the ways they promote their content across platforms like YouTube and TikTok present them as a very buttoned-up business. This is not some hobby. This is a profession, and these people are easily pulling in seven figures a year in revenue.
The macro view of this shift represents a flip in the weighting of importance. In the old model, the publisher’s brand was the draw, and the on-air personalities were a secondary consideration. These days, the creators are the personalities, and I would argue they are far more important than the traditional brands.
Some publishers have recognised this and started to prop up their personalities to celebrity status, but too many of the historical ‘power’ brands are reticent to acknowledge this and as a result, they will be left to pass on by.
Publish where the audience is
This shift is sped up because of the ease in which high quality content can be created and distributed. YouTube and TikTok are platforms that enable reach for quality content, so you don’t need to spend quite as much time building an audience. You simply publish where the audience is and try to capture their eyeballs to subscribe.
A subscription in this world is less a barrier of entry because there’s no cost involved. To subscribe is a simple click and an acceptance that you will be updated. With such a low bar, it becomes easier for a creator to create and if they maintain the quality, they can maintain (and grow) the audience.
Word of mouth plays a strong role here, as well. The audience promotes you when you’re good.
Taking note
I’m not the only one taking note. In the last few weeks I’ve witnessed a number of new relationships where YouTube creators are getting deals to put their content on OTT, CTV or even on major streamers.
This content is more profitable than major studio content, produced faster, and they aren’t part of the SAG union, so there’s little to no risk of a strike anytime in the future. The major studios recognise all of this, and they aren’t dumb. They know this is a major step forward for them.
Take a few minutes and check out content from people like Hacksmith, Shelby Church, Asian Boss Girl, JomBoy Media, New Rockstars, Miki Rae, Dropouts Podcast, UnFiltered and more. These creators make great content — and their audiences will eat it up weekly! There’s so much to choose from. Enjoy!
This story was first published by MediaPost.com and is republished with permission of the author.
Cory Treffiletti is chief marketing officer at generative AI-powered product placement platform, Rembrand. He was previously SVP at FIS. He has been a thought leader, executive and business driver in the digital media landscape since 1994. In addition to authoring a weekly column on digital media, advertising and marketing since 2000 for MediaPost‘s Online Spin, Treffiletti has been a successful executive, media expert and/or founding team member for a number of companies, and published a book, Internet Ad Pioneers, in 2012.
