Meta Reveals Latest Round of Edits Improvements
Meta rolled out a new wave of features for its Edits video‑editing app, targeting creators seeking finer control. The update introduces adjustable transition pacing, opacity sliders for text and stickers, and live‑photo support for iOS users. An expanded sound‑effects library adds roughly 200 new audio clips, and Meta teases upcoming AI‑powered tools and templates. These enhancements aim to deepen engagement amid recent scrutiny of the company’s AI initiatives.
Writers Are Fleeing the Substack Tax
Writers are abandoning Substack for lower‑cost platforms such as Ghost, Beehiiv, Patreon and Passport. Substack’s 10% revenue share and emphasis on its own social features are seen as a financial chokehold, especially as newsletters scale. Creator Sean Highkin switched to...
Steve Goldstein: AI Can Make Podcasts. But Can It Make Anyone Care?
AI‑generated podcasts have exploded, accounting for roughly 40% of new shows over a recent nine‑day period, with Inception Point AI alone operating more than 10,000 active feeds. A NYU focus group rated these shows an average 2.3 out of 5,...
Managing Platforms, Filming Fandom, and Approaching AI with Care: Takeaways From Our Creator Marketing Event
The creator economy remains a dominant force, with 86% of U.S. marketers using influencers in 2025. At Marketing Brew’s "Next Phase of Social & Creator Marketing" event, leaders from ESPN, Cava, Anthropologie and agencies highlighted the need for multi‑platform strategies,...
The Sports Podcast Audience 2026
The 2026 Sports Podcast Audience report, released by Sounds Profitable, highlights the unrivaled attention, engagement, and trust that sports podcasts command compared with other audio formats. A webinar featuring Tom Webster and Bryan Goldmark of Locked On showcases exclusive research,...
Spotify Will Adopt Apple's Video Streaming Standard, Making It Easier for Podcasters to Reach Both Platforms
Spotify announced it will adopt Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) standard for video podcasts, allowing creators to publish video content on Apple Podcasts without altering their existing Spotify workflow. The integration, slated for later this year, will extend across Spotify...
The Ad Monetization Paradox: How User Experience Drives 3x Revenue Growth with David Leviev
David Leviev, CRO and co‑founder of Nimbus, discussed how independent mobile publishers can replace off‑the‑shelf ad solutions with a custom monetization stack. By integrating AI‑driven decisioning and first‑party data, Nimbus claims to triple revenue without harming user experience. The episode...
The Fwd. Network Renews The Tamsen Show as Brand Partnership Demand and Audience Growth Drive Second Weekly Episode
AdLarge and the fwd. network have renewed The Tamsen Show, expanding it to two episodes per week after a breakout first year marked by audience growth and a 2025 Signal Award. The podcast, hosted by Emmy‑winning journalist Tamsen Fadal, targets...
Spotify to Adopt Apple’s New Video Podcast Tech, Offering Creators Easier Cross-Platform Distribution
Spotify announced it will adopt Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video technology, enabling its hosted shows to distribute and monetize video podcasts on Apple Podcasts without any technical changes. The move promises adaptive streaming that adjusts video quality in real...
Is MrBeast Building a Creator Media Network?
MrBeast’s Beast Industries announced a new creator marketplace that blends AI‑driven tools with its Vyro clipping platform, positioning the company as a media‑focused advertising network. The reveal came during the upfronts‑week advertiser presentation, signaling ambitions to capture brand media spend...
YouTube Pitches Advertisers, Offers New AI Bundles
YouTube unveiled AI‑powered advertising bundles and creator‑partnership programs at its upfront sales event, aiming to pull ad dollars from social platforms, television and other media. The new bundles let brands use artificial intelligence for audience targeting and automatically transform influencer...
“Companion Podcasts” Are the Latest Hit Format
Companion podcasts—audio series that run alongside popular TV shows—have become the newest hit format in entertainment media. Streaming giants such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ launched dozens of these shows in 2025, delivering behind‑the‑scenes interviews, plot deep‑dives, and exclusive...
The Era of Informal Influence Is Over: India's Creator Economy Is Entering Its Institutional Age
Kofluence’s 2026 Influencer Marketing Report shows India’s creator economy moving into an institutional phase. The sector is projected to reach INR 5,000 Cr (about $600 million) by 2027, with a 22% CAGR and 15% of creators now operating as registered businesses. AI tools...
TikTok´s Donte Murry Reveals Why Affiliate Links Are the New Search Triggers
TikTok’s North America director of beauty, wellness and personal care, Donte Murry, highlighted that affiliate links are now acting as discovery triggers rather than simple buy buttons. About 77% of viewers search for more information after seeing an affiliate post,...
Behind the Scenes: Jesser’s Sports Media Empire
Jesse Riedel transformed a teenage YouTube hobby into a $41 million‑subscriber sports media empire, launching high‑budget series such as *Summer of Soccer* and *Pros vs. YouTubers*. By blending video‑game culture, sneaker talk, and on‑court challenges, he captured a generation that craves...
Everything We Announced at YouTube Brandcast 2026
YouTube Brandcast 2026 unveiled a slate of exclusive creator‑driven shows and a suite of AI‑powered advertising tools designed to blend brand building with direct performance. New features include Custom Sponsorships that auto‑match videos to brand moments, a Masthead with a...
Behind the Scenes: Alex Cooper's Next Era
Alex Cooper, the creator of the hit podcast Call Her Daddy, announced at YouTube’s Brandcast that her Unwell Network will debut four original series on the platform. The slate includes a reality competition, a social‑experiment series, a micro‑drama and a docuseries, all built...
New Twitch Change Lets All Streamers Make Money Right Away, but There’s a Catch
Twitch is extending its Affiliate‑only monetization suite—including Channel Points, Bits, subscriptions, custom emotes and badges—to every streamer in the United States, with a worldwide rollout expected later in 2026. The tools become instantly usable, but creators who are not Affiliates...
YouTube Is Courting Creators — and Sponsors — with Streaming Shows
YouTube announced a slate of exclusive, creator‑driven streaming shows at its annual advertiser event, featuring personalities like Trevor Noah and Alex Cooper. The platform is positioning itself as a bridge between creators and brands, bundling original series with AI‑powered tools that...
MrBeast Reveals Plans for the World’s ‘Largest Membership Program’ & New Types of Content
Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson announced a plan to launch the world’s largest YouTube membership program, offering early video access, exclusive challenges, and a charitable component. The initiative was unveiled at a Business Insider‑hosted breakfast in New York attended by brands such...
South African Artists Earned $30.69 Million on Spotify in 2025. Most of It Came From Abroad.
South African artists generated R504 million ($30.69 million) on Spotify in 2025, a 28% year‑on‑year rise and almost double the 2023 figure. Nearly 74% of that revenue came from listeners outside South Africa, making the global market the platform’s biggest source of...
The Athlete Influencer Economy Is Now Operating at Scale
College athletes are now a core pillar of influencer marketing, with NIL partnerships valued at $1.67 billion for the 2024‑25 season and projected to hit $2.8 billion by 2026‑27. Brands such as adidas, CVS and Hollister are deploying multi‑athlete, always‑on campaigns that...
From Campaigns to Infrastructure: Jamie Gutfreund on What Brands Still Get Wrong
Jamie Gutfreund, founder of Creator Vision and Forbes contributor, told CreatorIQ’s Earned podcast that creator marketing has moved beyond a fad but most brands still run it like a short‑term campaign. She argues that true growth requires dedicated infrastructure—centralized measurement,...
Earmax Media Brings Outcome-Based Podcast Advertising Model to UK Market
Australian‑founded Earmax Media has entered the UK podcast advertising market, where 39% of adults listen weekly. The agency’s outcome‑based model evaluates campaigns on business results rather than traditional reach or CPM metrics. Through its sister creative shop Eardrum, Earmax delivers...
Issa Rae’s New Microdrama Series Nears 75 Million Views in First Week | Exclusive
Hoorae Media’s debut micro‑drama "Screen Time" amassed nearly 75 million views in its first week on TikTok and PineDrama, setting platform records for total views and seven‑day watch time. The horror‑themed series, announced as part of Issa Rae’s new content deal...
Hollywood A-Listers Back Proposed Standard that Would Pay Them when AI Uses Their Likeness or Work
Hollywood actors are backing a new licensing framework, the RSL-MEDIA 1.0 standard, to let individuals control how their likeness, voice, and other identity attributes are used by AI. The public‑benefit nonprofit RSL Media will launch a registry next month where...
He Found Out He Had a YouTube Channel After It Already Went Viral — Here’s The Simple Move That Got...
Restaurant owner Steven Droulis discovered he had a YouTube channel only after his brother uploaded a video that quickly went viral, propelling the channel past one million subscribers. The chef shifted from posting static food photos to authentic, unscripted cooking...
I'm a Devoted iPhone User but Android 17 Is Tempting Me with Its New Video and Social Features
Google’s Android 17 rollout targets creators by adding on‑device video‑editing tools, AI‑enhanced enhancements, and a tighter Instagram experience. The OS also introduces Adobe Premiere for Android, Smart Enhance and Sound Separation in the new Edits app, and a capture‑to‑upload pipeline that preserves...
More Ways to Create and Share with Android
Android 17 rolls out a suite of creator‑focused features, including Screen Reactions that capture both user and screen, higher‑quality Instagram uploads, and on‑device AI tools for photo and audio enhancement. The update also previews the upcoming Adobe Premiere app and introduces...
Olivia Jade Didn't Want to Just 'Slap Her Name' On Her Beauty Brand O.piccola
Olivia Jade, a former YouTube makeup guru, is launching her first beauty line, O.piccola, anchored by the Bronze & Glow Balm. After more than five years of formulation work and multiple revisions, the cream‑in‑a‑balm product promises long‑lasting, hydrating color suitable...
Paramount and NPR Exec Ainsley Rossitto Joins Beehiiv as Head of Podcasts
Ainsley Rossitto, former VP of Digital Strategy and Operations for podcasts at Paramount Global, has joined beehiiv as Head of Podcasts. Her hire underscores beehiiv’s ambition to embed audio as a core pillar of its “own your audience” creator platform,...
Olivia Jade Launches Her Beauty Brand, O.Piccola After 5 Years of Formulation, Testing, and a Major Product Overhaul
Olivia Jade, a 26‑year‑old influencer with over four million followers, spent five years developing a cosmetics line after a failed partnership with a California manufacturer. The setback led her to a South Korean factory, where she spent three additional years...
Downtown’s CD Baby Launches ‘Full-Service’ Artist Program Offering Marketing, Distribution, and Financial Support for 10 Indie Acts in 2026
CD Baby, the artist‑direct arm of Downtown Music, unveiled the Stages Selects program, a full‑service offering that will support ten independent musicians through 2026. The package delivers priority distribution, targeted DSP marketing, paid digital‑campaign funding and strategic release guidance, with...
DepositPhotos Introduces AI Assistant to Help Users Go Beyond Keyword Search
DepositPhotos has launched an AI Assistant that transforms its vast library of licensed images, videos, and audio into a conversational search and creation platform. The tool combines contextual search, real‑time refinements, AI‑generated visuals and in‑app editing, allowing users to describe...
Spotify Streams Drive 1.5x More Consumption Time Than YouTube for Podcasts, New Podstock Data Shows
Podstock’s benchmark reveals a Spotify stream generates 1.5× more consumption time than a YouTube view of the same podcast episode. The analysis of thousands of episodes released simultaneously on both platforms found 95% of them had higher average minutes per...
Charms Closes $1.5M Pre-Seed to Launch the AI Character Economy
Charms Interactive announced the launch of Charms.ai and closed a $1.5 million pre‑seed round to fund its creator‑centric AI character platform. The app lets users build characters with memory, personality, voice and a built‑in economy that rewards both creators and the...
The Clippening
The Verge reports that anonymous clip‑farms are mass‑producing ultra‑short videos from podcasts and viral content, flooding TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. One such service, Vyro—launched by MrBeast—partnered with AI startup Perplexity for a paid campaign that paid $1.20 per thousand views....
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” And ‘GNX’ Temporarily Disappear Online Before Reappearing
Kendrick Lamar’s hit video “Not Like Us” and his 2024 album *GNX* were briefly removed from major streaming and video platforms before reappearing hours later. The takedowns displayed a “removed by uploader” notice, reset view counts to zero, and altered...
Billie Eilish Just Turned Roblox Into Her Concert Stage
Billie Eilish’s 3D documentary film “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR” was turned into an immersive activation on Roblox’s music hub, The Block, from May 6‑10. The virtual environment recreates her concert stage, allowing fans to explore, role‑play as the...
Here Comes the Brand: Inside the Business of Influencer Weddings
Influencer weddings have evolved into high‑value marketing platforms where brands embed products and experiences into the ceremony. Couples partner with sponsors for skincare lines, floral arrangements, and jewelry, turning personal milestones into content that reaches millions. Brands are allocating six‑figure...
In Wake of Spotify “Verified,” Artist Stream Counts Plummet … Sometimes
Spotify launched a "Verified" badge this month to label human‑created music and separate it from AI‑generated tracks. The authenticity criteria require at least 10,000 monthly listeners, 1,000 followers, and verified social signals such as concert dates and merchandise. Shortly after...
Hey Dibi: How Do You Find Your Voice In A Crowded Lineup?
Surf‑industry creatives are wrestling with the tension between brand‑driven assignments and personal artistic vision. Dibi Fletcher advises that financial independence, disciplined side projects, and honest storytelling are key to maintaining authenticity. She warns that treating a passion as a full‑time...
All Things Creator Marketing with Katie Gohman
Katie Gohman, CMO of Olaplex, discussed the brand’s creator‑marketing strategy ahead of Marketing Brew’s May 12 event. She highlighted that U.S. creator ad spend is expanding four times faster than the broader media market, driven by interest‑based algorithms that prioritize relevance...
How to Watch Jynxzi’s League of Legends Streamer Tournament Today
Jynxzi’s creator‑led League of Legends tournament launches today, May 11, 2026, featuring a roster of over 30 high‑profile streamers, former pros and top‑ranked players. The event streams live at 4 PM ET on Jynxzi’s Twitch channel, with each participant also broadcasting their own...
Former CNN Host Don Lemon on Turning a Profit with His Five-Person Media Network
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has turned his five‑person Lemon Media Network into a profitable independent outlet, streaming twice daily and publishing a Substack newsletter. The venture, which now boasts over 10 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Threads,...
Pete Wicks Net Worth: How a Reality TV Star Built a £4M Brand While One Company Collapsed
Pete Wicks turned his seven‑year stint on "The Only Way Is Essex" into a diversified media business worth an estimated £3–4 million ($3.8–$5.1 million). He expanded into podcasting, live touring, publishing and brand deals, with the "Staying Relevant" podcast becoming a major...
AnyMind Group Launches Exclusive Influencer Community in Thailand
AnyMind Group has launched the “AnyMind Exclusive Influencer Community” in Thailand, shifting focus from one‑off campaigns to long‑term creator development. The inaugural Bangkok event, partnered with health provider Iwelty, featured a wellness‑focused “Inside‑Out Retreat.” The program delivers training, data insights,...
Podcast Professionals Association Announces Inaugural Board of Directors
The Podcast Professionals Association (PPA) announced its inaugural five‑member Board of Directors, marking a governance milestone as the nonprofit enters a new growth phase. Founded in 2024, PPA now serves over 70 vetted podcast service professionals and has hosted 24...
Podcasting and Audio Officially Recognised in UK SIC 2026 Framework
AudioUK announced that the UK government will formally recognise "Podcast and other audio publishing activities" in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2026 framework. The new dedicated SIC code replaces outdated categories that previously forced podcast firms into ill‑fitting classifications. The...
Beauty Creator Golloria George Signs With UTA for Global Representation
Beauty creator Golloria George, who boasts over 3.3 million TikTok followers, has signed with United Talent Agency for global representation across digital media, brand partnerships, and strategic business ventures. UTA will coordinate opportunities while George remains managed by Digital Brand Architects...