Creator Economy Shifts: In-Person Communities, Podcast Recalibration, and Sustainable Ecosystems

Key Quotes

"My prediction for next year is that the future of the creator economy is in-person. That's been a major theme among all the people I've spoken to this year. Communities are a big thing, and they'll become a bigger thing as we go on."

Francis Zierer predicts that in-person interactions will become increasingly important in the creator economy. Zierer notes that this has been a recurring theme in conversations throughout the year, suggesting that communities will grow in significance.

"I think one of the best examples is Ryan Trahan. He does these maybe once a year big adventures where he uploads videos, '50 states in 50 days' this year, right? '50 states in 50 days.' And there's a massive charity drive behind it. He gets all other creators involved, and it becomes a really big event. But that's not his only thing, right? He has other, I guess they're other formats of videos that he goes back to."

The speaker highlights Ryan Trahan's approach to serialized content, noting that he balances large, annual adventure series with other recurring video formats. This strategy is presented as a successful model for creators to avoid relying solely on one type of content.

"The other thing of a serialized piece of content that has a clear end in sight is it gives you an off-ramp. I think that's a problem as well. Going back to the United strand guy is he has no clear off-ramp. He can't control whether or not Manchester United wins five games in a row. But Ryan Trahan, he's going to do this thing for 50 days, and it's going to be a lot of work, but then that ends, and he can go onto the next thing."

This quote emphasizes the benefit of having a defined endpoint for serialized content, referred to as an "off-ramp." The speaker contrasts this with a creator whose content is dependent on an unpredictable event, suggesting that a clear conclusion allows for a smoother transition to future projects.

"One of my predictions for 2026 is that we're going to see fewer podcasts. I think, are you trying to lose your job? I think, yeah, you might think as a, yes, someone who edits podcasts, I'd like to see more, but I actually think this might be a good thing. I think, I think we're reaching the point of like maybe the peak of what I would call like creator-centric podcasts."

Tom McCloud predicts a decrease in the number of podcasts, specifically those centered around individual creators. McCloud suggests that the market may be reaching saturation for this type of content, implying a need for more defined objectives or unique value propositions.

"I think podcasts are, if not the, one of the hardest things to grow online. I think if, if you're looking to grow like a presence online and you've got, you know, you've got a few options. You've, you can do short-form video, you can write newsletters, you can whatever, whatever. I think growing a podcast is one of the hardest. And I think it's a good, I think that's a good thing. I think like the value of a listener is so high that there needs to be this higher barrier to entry or like needs to be hard to acquire a listener."

Tom McCloud argues that growing a podcast is exceptionally challenging compared to other online content formats. McCloud views this difficulty as a positive aspect, suggesting that the high value of podcast listeners necessitates a significant effort to attract them.

"I feel like going off of what you said earlier, Francis, in regards to how brands can work better with creators, something that stuck with me about this year was when we had Jade Powell on the podcast, Icon. But I loved how she talked about the fractional, the like the fractional marketing model. And it was essentially like knowing, and a brand knowing like, 'We need someone to come in for a limited period of time.'"

Natalia Pérez-Gonzalez highlights Jade Powell's concept of a "fractional marketing model" for brand-creator collaborations. Pérez-Gonzalez explains that this model involves brands engaging creators for specific, limited durations, aligning with the creator's availability and project goals.