If the early creator economy was about attention, this next chapter is about intention.
Creators are not just getting bigger. They are getting smarter, more strategic, and more selective. Most importantly, they are becoming more ambitious about what they are building beyond brand deals. This shift is not a warning shot to brands or platforms. It is an invitation. As creators professionalize, the opportunity set expands for everyone willing to evolve alongside them.
I see this change daily, both as a former creator and as someone who works closely with talent and the companies trying to partner with them. The conversation is no longer just about monetizing an audience. It is about what creators are building and how content supports a much bigger picture.
That is why the perspective of Victoria Bachan,Creator Economy Expert & Talent Representative and SVP of Creators at Wasserman, is so timely. She approaches creators not as short-term campaign vehicles, but as long-term businesses with IP, equity, and leverage. That framing changes everything, in a very positive way. And it’s evident in how they support Taylor Price, Ashley Alexander, Jess Secrest and more.
Below are three questions I asked Victoria about where the ecosystem is heading, followed by her responses, kept intact. They capture the moment clearly and point directly to where the biggest opportunities lie.
“Looking at the whole ecosystem, creators are professionalizing fast. How does that change the expectations placed on brands, agencies, and platforms and what happens if those players don’t evolve at the same pace?”
Previously, the leverage has been with the brands, agencies and platforms, but as Creators professionalize and create their own full funnel manner of monetization across multiple platforms, that leverage does tend to shift back to the Creators. Generally speaking, most Creators are looking for more manageable creative turnaround timelines, looking for longer engagement periods and more reasonable payment terms to help better manage cash flow. The creative industries tend to be pinched for cash flow and payment terms, but ultimately talent wants to be fairly paid, and more importantly, paid in a timely and more consistent fashion. Brands, agencies and platforms are going to have to be more communicative and cognizant of the human element of this job. We already see Creators start to pivot to platforms that have more consistency on payments or with agencies and brands that are more transparent and willing to work with them.
All parties understand the industry continues to evolve and shift, but the most important thing about working through those changes is to speak to Creators directly about those. The more that Creators have a seat at the table for the overall maturation of the industry, the more it will continue to be a value add to everyone, brand, agencies, platforms and Creators alike.
“As creators move into owned IP, how should they be rethinking their content itself, formats, repeatability, and longevity versus chasing short-term algorithm wins?”
Great content will always withstand time, trends and algorithms. Audiences are savvier than ever and they know when something isn’t genuine or does not feel authentic to that Creator, and they have no qualms in telling them. Creators should continue to think about how their owned IP can become a funnel to feed off of each other. How can your newsletter better serve your longform? How can your longform better serve your physical or digital products business. How can your podcast expand your reach? How can collaborations extend your audience? When we work with our Creators we try to teach them to look at everything they do through a lens of foundational or financial.
Eventually Creators all get to a point in their business where sometimes you need to invest financially into foundational needs for a long term sustainable business. It is important to understand the differences between the two and when to interchange them to make informed long term decisions to build a business that can withstand short term wins and losses.
“When a creator owns the IP, the power dynamic in brand deals changes. What does a good brand partnership look like now when creators aren’t just talent, but IP owners with long-term equity at stake?”
As Creators continue to own IP, they showcase that they know what audiences want, turning into achievable and trackable ROI, and that will change what happens with each brand deal. This changes the creative brief, the edits, the timeline and ultimately how it performs.
You see this continues to shine with Creators that have proven format. They hold the key to the end of success and once again, audiences can tell and they will let you know if you deviate from what they have come to know and love. Ultimately, when working with Creators who own their IP, you’re being invited to their party, act accordingly and bring the standout dish to the table that leaves people asking for the recipe.
Content Is Becoming Infrastructure, Not Just Inventory
What is most exciting about this shift is what it unlocks creatively. When creators are no longer optimizing solely for brand deals, their content evolves. It becomes more intentional, more repeatable, and more durable. Content starts doing multiple jobs at once, audience growth, product education, community building, and long-term trust.
We are seeing creators design content around owned IP, physical products, digital products, education platforms, software tools, live experiences, and even venture-backed startups. In this model, content is not just a deliverable. It is marketing, onboarding, storytelling, and customer support rolled into one. This naturally favors creators who think like builders. The most successful creators of the next era may look less like viral hitmakers and more like founders with a camera. They will still entertain, but they will also be consistent, opinionated, and deeply aligned with what they are building.
Why This Is Good News for Brands
Creators having more options is not a threat to brands. It is an upgrade.
When creators generate revenue from IP, subscriptions, products, or software, brand deals stop being survival income. They become strategic choices. Brands are no longer competing only with each other, but with a creator’s own internal business opportunities. That dynamic leads to better outcomes on both sides. When a creator says yes, it is because the partnership fits. That alignment produces stronger creative, better performance, and more credibility with audiences who can quickly spot forced integrations.
Brands that recognize this are already adjusting their offers. Longer-term partnerships. Clearer goals, better economics, respect for formats and audiences are not concessions. They are the building blocks of partnerships that actually work.
A Bigger, Healthier Creator Ecosystem
This evolution points to a healthier creator economy overall. Creators with diversified income are more stable. Stable creators produce better content. Better content builds stronger communities. Stronger communities create more value for brands and platforms.
Instead of chasing every algorithm shift or one-off campaign, creators can focus on building things that last. Instead of transactional deals, brands can become part of ecosystems that grow over time. This is not the end of the Creator Economy as we know it. It is the beginning of something more sustainable, more creative, and more rewarding for everyone involved.
The opportunity is there for creators ready to build and for brands smart enough to meet them where they are headed.