FRESH CLIPPINGS
From Repping Creators to Running Them
WME is launching Creator Labs, an in-house digital operations team inside its Digital Division that will help clients build and run media businesses on YouTube and elsewhere. The team starts with ideation, then moves into channel management, posting, scheduling, syndication, and distribution, so a creator can build a subscriber base without staffing up a full production company. WME also made a strategic investment in video operations company Astra Media, which has powered projects for clients like Khloe Kardashian and Kevin Hart, and expanded its creator sales team to bring in more brand sponsorships. Early users include Erling Haaland, who used the team to land sponsorships for his YouTube channel, and Julian Shapiro-Barnum, who did the same for the launch of his late night show.
Ben Davis, co-head of the digital group, framed the reasoning well. Clients now own their distribution, so what does an agent do? His colleague Jad Dayeh added that YouTube has taken the pieces of what used to be a network and put them in the creator’s hands. Creator Labs is the answer to both these questions.
It also follows through on something WME said when CAA announced its $250 million Compound fund. WME’s view then was that the bigger opportunity sits in services that help talent own more of what they build. Compound buys into creator businesses, while Creator Labs helps creators run them.
We will see which approach creators prefer.
Fox Staffs Up for Creators
Fox is adding two senior executives to Fox Creator Studios, the division we have followed since Billy Parks took the helm. Bryan Thoensen joins from TikTok, where he led content partnerships, and will develop creator franchises across the studio as senior VP of content partnerships. Kirsten McAuliffe, a veteran of Moonbug and Warner Bros. Discovery, becomes senior VP of strategic partnerships and growth and will run commercial strategy.
Thoensen will report to Parks on the creative side. McAuliffe to Katrina Cukaj, who runs entertainment advertising sales. Fox is hiring one person to build the franchises and another to sell them to advertisers, and the stated goal from Cukaj is to make Fox the premier destination for brands that want to invest in the creator economy.
Along with the Roku acquisition and Tubi’s creator partnerships, it’s clear that Fox wants the distribution, the creator relationships, and the advertiser conversation all under one roof.
The Creator Economy Goes Live
Live Nation is backing a new company called Creator Nation, led by Alexis and Scott Fisher, who both built management firms early in the creator world. Alexis founded Timeline Management, which Live Nation acquired in 2024, and Scott founded Select Management Group, which sold to Propagate. Creator Nation will support creators with content, commerce, brand partnerships, and live experiences, and plans to acquire management firms and adjacent businesses while giving them resources many of them never had.
The service model works like a restaurant menu. A creator picks what they need, and no one has to sign on for full management to get help building a live show. The target range is wide. Scott described the top 500 YouTubers, and also a mom in Utah who makes $5 million a year from an affiliate business.
GARDEN VIEW
Have a great weekend.