Creator Economy Wrapped

Who TF Did I Marry Took Over TikTok

ReesaTeesa took TikTok by storm with a one-of-a-kind 52-part series recounting her complex marriage experience, titled Who TF Did I Marry. Now, she’s landed a TV series and a feature in People Magazine.

YouTube Came Up on TikTok’s Tail

YouTube has always been a popular platform—and always will be. But this year, they started to surpass TikTok on multiple fronts.

YouTube’s ad revenue climbed, neck and neck with TikTok. And one study suggested that YouTube Shorts was close to outpacing TikTok’s consumption rate.

The Willy Wonka Experience

How could we forget? What was supposed to be a magical, immersive Willy Wonka experience was a massive flop. It blew up on social media and gave the internet a good laugh.

Creators Expanded Into New Products

This year, creators launched products left and right. Dude Perfect created their own smoothie with Smoothie King. Monet McMichael launched sunglasses with Dezi and sold them out.

Some creators even launched their own brands—like Jake Paul’s skincare brand W and Mr Beast/KSI/Logan Paul’s Lunchables competitor Lunchly.

White House’s First Creator Economy Conference

The White House Office of Digital Strategy hosted the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference in August. They brought together a group of digital creators—from influencers to creator economy founders (like ours!) to media professionals.

The conference allowed for dialogue surrounding AI, privacy, fair pay, mental health, and more.

Very Mindful, Very Demure

Jools Lebron posted a TikTok in August about her makeup routine for work, describing it as “very mindful, very demure.” The internet latched onto the phrase, making it a common phrase to describe…well…everything.

Jools skyrocketed to millions of followers, landing her partnerships with Verizon, Lyft, and PopSocket. She was even named the Chief Demure Officer of Zillow and landed a live interview on Good Morning America.

Nikoavocado Played Us All

In an iconic video titled Two Steps Ahead, creator Nikoavocado revealed he was fooling us all. He intentionally became overweight as a social experiment and posted mukbang videos for years.

Yet behind closed doors, he had lost 250 pounds and made a grand reveal in a shocking YouTube video nobody saw coming.

New Platforms on the Rise

New platforms entered the arena with the pending TikTok ban. Here are the current contenders garnering the most attention:

• Flip

• Neptune

• Clapper

• Maven

Mormon TikTok Moms Given a TV Show

A group of eight Utah-based TikTok creators known as “MomTok” were given a Hulu Series—The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. It became Hulu’s most-watched unscripted season premiere of 2024 and was renewed for another 20 episodes set for release in 2025.

TikTok Ban Update

ICYMI—the Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s case. Arguments will be heard on January 10th—just 9 days before the ban is set to take effect.

They’ve granted 2 hours for oral argument, which is more than their standard 30 minutes per side.

They’ve also made a small change to the briefing process. In typical cases, one side files a brief, then the other side files, and then both sides file a reply brief.

In this case, both sides are required to file by December 27th, then both reply briefs will be required on January 3rd.

Here’s a great video that breaks this down.

This Week in Creator Studio

Last week in Creator Studio (our free Discord community) we hosted Matcha & Yap—a casual hangout to connect with creators and share insights. We talked about our reflections on 2024 and what we’re working on for 2025.

To join future calls like this and connect with other creators, join below ⤵️

See ya next week,

Karat