The entrepreneurial strategies of digital content creators occupied our thoughts this week. This follows the disclosure by immensely renowned YouTuber MrBeast that his company is acquiring the financial technology startup Step, succeeded by Hollywood production companies dispatching numerous cease-and-desist mandates to ByteDance, spurred by the debut of its novel video generation model, Seedance 2.0.
These apparently unrelated news items indicate a media environment undergoing profound evolution. Prominent YouTubers are seeking to broaden their revenue strategies amidst the impending dual impact, both advantageous and daunting, of increasingly robust generative AI technologies.
During the most recent installment of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Rebecca Bellan, and I discussed the future trajectory of the creator economy, as well as the potential for forthcoming generations of creators to achieve prominence.
“Where lies the subsequent point of market saturation?” Kirsten mused. “Not every individual among them can launch their own merchandise. Does this imply a mere reduction in the number of triumphant creators? Or will some other event unfold, whether through technological advancement or a novel platform, providing them a means to garner viewership and earn revenue?”
An abridged and clarified snippet of our discourse is available for reading underneath.
Anthony: This development prompted our colleague Lauren to author this excellent article, discussing the creator’s commercial framework broadly, and highlighting the perception that they no longer solely depend on advertising income. While I believe it remains a significant component of their operations, she analyzed several of the most prominent YouTubers, observing that each is broadening their scope — typically entering e-commerce, yet also exploring additional income sources.
For instance, Mr. Beast possesses a range of food items, notably chocolate, which generates hundreds of millions of dollars and proved genuinely lucrative for him in 2024, even as his media enterprise incurred losses. This entire revelation struck me as quite astonishing.
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Kirsten: Should Mr. Beast be unable to achieve profitability with his media venture, who then possesses that capability? Personally, I found that statistic profoundly surprising.
It doesn’t astonish me that the advertising revenue model isn’t proving universally successful for content creators and online personalities, as it has simply arrived at a point of market saturation. My primary inquiry, therefore, becomes: what will be the subsequent point of market saturation? It’s not feasible for every one of these individuals to branch out and develop their own product lines. Does this, then, imply a straightforward reduction in the number of prosperous creators? Alternatively, will some other development emerge, either technologically or via a distinct platform, enabling them to cultivate a following and generate income from it?
Rebecca: It’s intriguing; numerous possibilities exist for what might unfold next, isn’t it? Perhaps they’ll generate virtual counterparts of themselves, deploying these digital replicas into a variety of scenarios to accrue diverse forms of income.
Returning to the point that this isn’t surprising, these individuals have effectively become public figures, haven’t they? A recent phone conversation informed me that many in the younger demographic are unfamiliar with traditional celebrities, but are well-acquainted with TikTok personalities. And for ages, we’ve observed public figures endorsing merchandise and profiting from it, correct? I recall watching Rachel Ray; she was a renowned chef who marketed her ‘EVOO’ or olive oil.
Slow Ventures was featured on [Equity] at some point last year. They operate a creator fund, and their core activity involves having established a venture capital fund specifically to support creators and their enterprises, for instance, if they possess a specialized audience—perhaps they’re deeply passionate about woodworking and offer their array of chisels, for lack of a better example.
I consider this an intriguing direction, and it presents a question for us as journalists: how do we, too, endeavor to become creators and establish a personal brand to broaden our income streams? Articulating it so directly feels somewhat unpleasant.
Anthony: I bear a smile, yet it is one that betrays an internal sensation of my spirit gradually calcifying into embers.
We had paused our discussion concerning AI, but I feel compelled to reintroduce it now. Evidently, another pertinent event of the last week or so involves ByteDance, the Chinese corporation behind TikTok and an ongoing investor — a tangent we’ll bypass — having unveiled Seedance 2.0, a fresh iteration of their model, which was, at least originally, chiefly accessible solely to users in China.
However, individuals soon began uploading videos produced by Seedance, notably a widely circulated clip depicting Brad Pitt engaging in combat with Tom Cruise. This sparked a broader discussion questioning Hollywood’s fate, and, more specifically, led several Hollywood production houses, Netflix among them, to dispatch letters to ByteDance stating, “This is unacceptable; you are essentially enabling all your users to create videos utilizing our intellectual property and our film stars.” For a few days, ByteDance offered no reply whatsoever, but subsequently issued an apology: “We regret that, for reasons unknown, we launched this without proper safeguards, but we pledge to improve in the future.”
Kirsten: The synchronicity of this is impeccable, as I am currently editing an article authored by Rebecca. While unrelated to Seedance, it directly concerns AI’s role in cinema production. Therefore, I extend early commendation to Rebecca for her topicality on this subject. Rebecca, I’m aware you possess extensive insights on this matter, beyond merely Hollywood’s discontent. Is the situation more intricate than it appears?
Rebecca: Indeed, absolutely. To link this back to the subject of creators, I anticipate a multitude of individuals will employ these instruments to generate a vast array of content, and we will simply be deluged. This forthcoming scenario promises to be quite formidable.
However, in discussing the use of AI video tools for generating films, advertisements, or content broadly, I perceive a dichotomy: on one hand, it risks yielding an abundance of inferior, minimal-effort output, while on the other, it could broaden opportunities for numerous individuals lacking the capital, financial resources, or personnel to convey their narratives.
Furthermore, for a small enterprise aiming to produce a brief shampoo commercial — to be quite literal, given a currently trending shampoo advertisement — or if you retail coffee and wish to craft a short promotion, these tools could empower you to achieve that. Is this inherently negative? Or is it not? Does the world require a greater volume of content? Several perspectives warrant consideration.
Kirsten: Is this detrimental, Anthony?
Anthony: Regarding the creator aspect, my predominant sentiment is that the reaction to much of this low-quality output — indeed, a significant portion truly is substandard, and I believe this trend will persist — will involve a heightened appreciation for genuineness. Consequently, a chance arises for prominent creators to pivot away from concepts like, “I possess digital replicas of myself,” and instead emphasize, “No, I am the authentic Mr. Beast, not a virtual imitation circulating.”
Furthermore, it’s quite revealing that – naturally, every social platform experiences fluctuations – OpenAI’s Sora, to my knowledge, initially saw a rapid surge in popularity but has more recently encountered difficulties retaining its user base. This is likely due to a perceived lack of substance in the experience when one senses no genuine human presence interacting.
However, I also believe this will render the environment considerably more arduous, not only for existing creators seeking to generate income […] but I anticipate it will prove particularly tough for emerging creators, given the sheer deluge of additional content. Achieving genuine prominence will evolve into an exceedingly arduous task.
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