Cannes, France – October โค17, 2024 – The creator economy is increasingly โintersecting โฃwiht โcustomary media, โฃa trendโ highlighted at this year’s โคMipcom, the international television market.discussions โcentered on evolving revenue models, distributionโ strategies, โand the โคgrowing power of self-reliant creators, signaling a important shift in theโค entertainment landscape.
Accordingโ to speakers at โthe โขMip Digital Upfront, the scaleโข of productionโค needed for different platforms varies dramatically. “To make a television show, you need 100 people. To make a cable show, you need tens. And if you want toโค make a digital show,โฃ one. it’s โjust โขan exponential curve,” explained a panelist.
Dhar Mann studios exemplifies โคthisโ shift, generating revenue through a combinationโค ofโฃ sources. Creators receive roughly half of the โฃincome generated across six โฃplatforms via โrevenue sharing,โค while brand deals contribute approximately 50% to 60% of theirโ earnings. The studio also utilizes its agency, โFifth Order, to assist creators in โฃmanaging โคtheir assets and ancillary business advancement.
Tubi, the ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service, โis actively courting creators, boasting over 100 million monthly active โฃusers, a significant portion of whom are Gen Z and millennials. “We’ve grown an audience of fans to over 100 million monthlyโ activeโ users, a lot of them are โขGen Z and millennials,” said Tubi’s Chikumbu.He added that 70%โค of Tubi’s audience “want content from independant filmmakers, but also from creators.” The platform currently hosts “almost 300,000 episodes” and aims โคto establish a “creatorverse” – โa space where creators can pursue opportunities in Hollywood while maintaining creative control. “[It’s] a place where creators can have a path to Hollywood but also retain their authentic creativity,” โขChikumbu stated.
Industry observers note distinct approaches within the creator space.After Party Studiosโ focuses onโฃ partnering with creators,funding projects,and securing distribution deals. Dhar โคMann Studios,in contrast,has built a production powerhouse around its founder’s personal brand,expanding โinto diverse formats and monetization strategies. “He’s not just doing it for hisโ own platform, but doing โit for others, creating other formats โwithโค talents, and doing scripted and long-form in a successful way and monetizing as well,” noted Lazar, who hosted the Mip Digital โUpfront 10 years prior. โShe also highlighted Tubi’s strategy โas mirroringโค traditional media โฃpartnerships with โcreators, leveraging archive and library content.
Recent collaborations announced at Mipcom further demonstrate this convergence. Banijay has partnered with YouTube โฃto launch an Entertainment Creators Lab in France and acquired a majority stake in Dutch labelโ Werktitel.