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The creator economy is projected to reach $43 billion in ad spend this year. But a recent survey found that nearly half of creators make less than $10,000 a year. So where is all the money actually going?

In this episode, Colin and Samir break down the economics behind the creator economy — and why so much of the money is concentrating at the top. As major brands shift billions of dollars toward creators, they’re increasingly partnering with a small number of highly organized creators who can deliver large, multi-platform campaigns.

We explore:

• Why the creator economy is becoming winner-take-most

• How Fortune 500 brands are reshaping creator partnerships

• Why creators with teams and infrastructure are landing the biggest deals

• What smaller creators need to do to compete for brand dollars

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Breaking down the success of Markiplier's indie-horror film "Iron Lung" and what it means for creators and Hollywood.

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In this episode, we dive into the "Abundance Era," a major shift where the supply of content has far outpaced human demand. We explore the rise of "AI slop" flooding our feeds, from 2 billion-view monkey channels to unhinged AI VTubers making $400,000 a month.

As AI becomes indistinguishable from human creators, we discuss the looming threat to authenticity and the individual creator. We break down real-world examples, including digital twins of MrBeast and Snoop Dogg, and a "lawyer" channel rivaling Legal Eagle. To help you survive this wave, we outline two paths: the McDonald's-style "Scale" model and the Rolex-style "Scarcity" model. We discuss why building deep connections and IRL experiences may be the only way to defend your brand against infinite slop.

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Netflix just signed a major talent deal with Jordan Matter and his daughter, Salish, it's the next big step in the YouTube to Netflix Pipeline.

In this episode, we break down what this deal actually is (and what it isn’t). Why Netflix didn’t ask for a pilot. Why Salish, not a show, was the bet. And what it means when a streaming platform starts backing creators the way Hollywood used to back talent.

Jordan takes us inside how the channel started as a photography vlog, why it exploded once Salish became the focus, and how they built one of the most durable family franchises on YouTube. We also talk about the mechanics: long-form retention, audience trust, why showing up every week still matters, and why YouTube remains the foundation, even after signing a Netflix deal.

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In this episode, we sit down with Jordi Hayes and John Coogan, the hosts of TBPN, a daily, live technology and business show that’s quietly become one of the most premium properties in modern media.

TBN runs three hours live every weekday across YouTube, Twitch, and RSS, blending the format of legacy TV with the energy of creator-led streaming. In just over a year, the show has built a loyal audience, hosted over 1,000 guests (including Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, and Satya Nadella), and sold out every ad slot for the year ahead.

In the conversation, John and Jordi break down their “anti-scale” philosophy: why they’re intentionally staying niche, how they’ve built an influential audience of tech and business decision-makers, and why they believe the future of media belongs to great shows. We also go deep on their unique advertising strategy, which includes ultra-short host reads and season-long deals.

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James Pumphrey and Jesse Wood helped build Donut Media into one of the most influential YouTube brands of the last decade. Then they walked away and started over.

In this episode, they join us to break down what they learned building inside a YouTube incubator, what changes when a channel becomes a company, and what they’re applying now as the co-founders of Speeed.

We dive into the structure of great YouTube channels, the importance of writing and formats, why entertainment has to come before everything else, and the nine principles they use to evaluate whether a YouTube media business actually works.

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We recorded this episode from Big Sky, Montana at the annual Spotter Creator Summit - four days with some of the top creators in the world talking about where this industry is actually headed.

And one idea kept coming up over and over again:
We’ve officially entered the era of abundance.

There is more good content, more creators, and more competition for attention than ever before. Streamers are courting creators. AI is accelerating production. And brands have more options than they know what to do with.

So the real question going into 2026 isn’t “How do I grow?”
It’s: How do I become memorable?

In this episode, we break down what we’re hearing directly from creators, platforms, and brands—including insights from Issa Rae, conversations happening inside the summit, and Adam Mosseri’s New Year’s post about authenticity and AI.

We talk about:

• Why “just making good videos” isn’t enough anymore

• How creators need to start telling the story of the story

• What’s changing in brand deals (and why short-form and long-form are diverging)

• Why streamers are suddenly paying closer attention to creators

• How AI changes the meaning of authenticity

• And what it takes to make something that can’t be summarized

This episode is about the next phase of the creator economy—and the shift from chasing views to building something people actually remember.

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In this episode, we break down our 2026 creator economy predictions and debate what we’re in and out on. From video podcasts and AI-generated content to creators working with streamers, the rise of IRL events, and how attention is changing online.

We talk about why loyalty to creators is breaking, why summarization and AI tools are reshaping how people consume content, and why entertainment and perspective now matter more than information alone. Plus, our biggest predictions for how platforms like YouTube and Netflix will evolve in the next year and what it all means for creators building long-term careers.

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Instagram is coming to your TV. YouTube creators are showing up on Netflix and Hulu. And Disney just invested $1 billion into OpenAI.

In this episode, we break down three headlines that point to the same shift: the living room is becoming the most important screen in the creator economy.

We unpack what Instagram’s new TV app actually signals, why creator content is increasingly being syndicated to streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Tubi, and how Disney licensing its characters to AI models could change the future of IP, entertainment, and creators themselves.

The big takeaway? Platforms are changing—but the creators who win are the ones building shows, not just content.

To close, we run through a rapid-fire “ins and outs” of creator economy trends heading into 2026—and ask you what trends you’d buy or sell next.

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Something strange is happening in media: you can now bet on everything.
News events. Celebrity relationships. Short-form views. Even what MrBeast might say in his next video.

In this episode, we unpack the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi and why they’re suddenly being plugged into major media companies, and into creator culture.
We explore how this shift changes incentives, rewrites the rules of attention, and pushes creators into a new era where content isn’t just content… it’s a financial asset.

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Something big is happening in the creator world: creators are turning their online audiences into real-world destinations. From tours to immersive pop-ups, we’re entering the Experience Economy — a shift that resembles the early days of Disney. In this episode, we talk about why creators are moving offline, what it says about the volatility of digital media, and where the creator business model is heading next.

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