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🎙️What's happening to creators in the AI era?

🎙️What's happening to creators in the AI era?

Are micro-creators about to disappear?

Jeff Frommer
June 19, 2025

📔 Jeff’s Diary (yes I’ll let you read it)

Unemployment in every industry is coming, and it will be harder for creators at the micro level to make $$$. I’m sorry but I don’t see a world of abundance. I see a world where many will get left behind…

Don’t be naive. AI can do much of your job better than you, and some YC-backed kid just told investors he can replace your job with an AI agent who’s faster, cheaper and doesn’t need paternity leave.

For creators, it’s AI vs YOU. Marketers want to drive acquisition, and the micro-influencers at the bottom who are working their ass off for $200 brand deals is how creators get started. It’s how they learn the trade, test what works, and see how fans and marketers react. But that’s going away, fast.

An AI influencer who can create 1000s of hyper-personalized videos at scale for 1/100th of the cost is going to replace the bottom of the acquisition funnel. Do we as consumers care that the “person” talking to us made the video in their basement in Alabama or was generated in some data center? I think not…..

Sometime this year, you’re going to be sold something by someone who talks directly to you as if they’ve known you for years. “Hey Jeff, I know you have two kids looking for a home at the Jersey shore….blah blah blah.” The data is there, the algo knows us, and now Gen AI can create a face and voice that looks human, speaks human, and talks directly to us at a one-to-one level.

So what can we do to save creators? Two main things.

1. Be real. Be human. When creating, lean into the things that make you, you.

2. Lift up those at the bottom. If you’re getting a brand deal, tell the marketer you can bring in a few friends and multiply their reach. It’s the same for equity. If you’re getting equity in a business, tell them you have a collective that can power the brand. Bring a crew together that’s invested in the outcome, not just cheering from the sidelines.

The Algo’s are trying to combat this secretly by moving to interest based reach vs leaning into follower counts. It will be disruptive, but it’s still a “cool bro” moment…. in a world of uncertainty, the thing I’m certain about is that people follow people.

So if you’re a marketer, creator or founder building in this new world, you don’t need to be Anti-AI; but you should be Pro-Human. I’ll let you decide what that means.

– Jeff

📆 WHAT WE WILL HIT ON THIS WEEK:

→ Why the creator ladder is breaking: AI is about to wipe out micro-influencers, but community builders will thrive

→ Chloe Shih's blueprint: How a Forbes 30U30 product manager turned tech expertise into creator gold

→ MLB bets on creators over content: Why sports leagues are buying equity in creator companies instead of building their own audiences

→ The Congressional Creator Caucus: MatPat and Pokimane just got lawmakers' attention—here's why that matters for every founder

Is the bottom tier of creators about to disappear? 😲

This next generation lives on social, they live on content creation. They want to be more like MrBeast. Kids used to say 'I want to be an astronaut.' Now they say 'I want to be a TikToker.’

So they start posting videos, people discover them, hopefully brands find them, and they start making a few hundred bucks per video through affiliate marketing.

That micro influencer community is funded by advertising.

But here's what we see coming:

Marketers are asking themselves: Why do we have to pay for a creator to hold our product when an AI influencer can do it exactly like we want?

Now everyone at that micro influencer level is going to have to compete with virtual influencers who can be generated and customized to create hyper personalized content that deliver the ad results brands ultimately want.

Here's the point - brands don't care about you as a micro influencer. They just care about the content and if it drives a sale. Because everyone's trying to drive the cost as low as possible.

The ladder is breaking - and only human community builders will survive

There's supposed to be a path - getting creators from the bottom into the middle, then the middle into the upper class. But we predict you're going to have a ceiling in a very short amount of time.

New creators will compete with millions of virtual influencers who do the job much better. Why would anyone hire a voice actor again? This whole class of jobs is destroyed. The only voices that matter are ones with established brand equity. Everyone else is really irrelevant.

What's left? People who build real human community and bring others together online and offline. If you cannot bring people together with other humans, then why are you here?

In a world where every answer is instantly attainable, we're all searching for what's been genetically coded for millions of years - purpose and community. People who share the same interests as us.

If you had two exact resumes and one has 10K followers, you need someone with influence to help your company get noticed.

The solution? Creators need to build an audience and build a community.

That community starts online. But as humans competing with AI, the only way to really validate the truth is to show up in person.

The only people who will be able to continue are those with existing brand equity, because they've been able to establish themselves pre-AI.

If capitalism doesn't create an internet for humans and for AI, this class of creators will basically get left behind.

Our advice? Build your community now. Because in an AI world, being provably human becomes everything.

From Discord to Meta to TikTok, she's worked on products for community engagement, creator monetization, and safety features. Now she's using that insider knowledge to teach 143K+ followers how to break into product management and navigate tech careers.

Forbes recognized her as 30 Under 30, but her real value isn't the accolades - it's the trust. When Chloe breaks down product launches or shares career advice, her audience acts on it because they know she's been there.

What makes her different?

She's not a creator who learned about tech. She's a tech leader who learned to create. Her "Tech Talks" series doesn't just cover product launches—it reveals the strategy behind them.

This is what smart founders need on their cap table: someone who understands both the product and how to tell its story to the people who matter.

🏟️ MLB Buys Into Creator-Led Sports Brand

Major League Baseball purchased a minority stake in Jomboy Media (93M social engagements last year). The deal gives Jomboy access to MLB players and official logos while founder Jimmy O'Brien keeps majority control.

Why this matters: Sports leagues are betting on creators over building their own audiences. NBA, PGA, and now MLB all have creator partnerships - because authentic connection beats manufactured content.

🎮 Creator League Drafts 240M Combined Audience

House of Highlights kicked off its fourth annual Creator League, drafting 37 streamers including Hasan Piker and Sketch across four teams. The teams compete in basketball, dodgeball, slam ball, and flag football for $500K through October.

Why this matters: Creator League has hit 80M+ views and tops YouTube trending charts because it's collaboration, not competition. Viewers are literally rooting for "power of friendship" over individual talent - proving authentic creator relationships drive engagement more than production budgets.

🏛️ Creators Get Their Own Congressional Caucus

MatPat, Pokimane, and creators from Jubilee and Mark Rober launched the first Congressional Creators Caucus at the US Capitol. The bipartisan group will educate lawmakers on creator issues and help shape legislation on AI, privacy, and small business protections.

Why this matters: The creator economy is worth $500B by 2027, but most creators lack basic small business protections like insurance and loan access. Plus, political content has shifted from TV to YouTube - lawmakers need to understand the people actually influencing voters.

🎯 Content Marketing World 2025 (September 15-17, San Diego)

The biggest gathering of storytellers, strategists, and content creators who actually move the needle. 100+ sessions from Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and The Onion (yes, The Onion). This is where the people who influence culture gather to talk shop.

These are the content creators who can actually reach your customers. The ones building audiences of decision-makers. The ones you want on your cap table, not just your content calendar.

🏛️ Festival of Marketing 2025 (October 2, London)

The CMOs of P&G, Coca-Cola, PwC, and Carlsberg walk into a room... No, this isn't a joke setup. This is actually happening in London. Festival of Marketing brings together the people who control billion-dollar marketing budgets across 7 stages in one day.

These are the marketing leaders who will either "get" creator equity or get left behind. The ones smart enough to realize that renting attention is expensive, but investing in ownership pays forever.

🎪 Creator Economy Live 2026 (January 13-14, Las Vegas)

500+ brands descending on Vegas to figure out how to work with creators. Google, Disney, Meta, Roblox, and Duolingo are all sending their teams. Free for the first 500 brands because they really want decision-makers in the room.

This is where brands learn the difference between renting creators and partnering with them. The smart ones will start asking about equity deals. The rest will keep throwing money at one-off posts and wonder why nothing sticks.

🗓️ Check Out the Full Calendar Here

Have an event we should know about? Stop hoarding all the good stuff for yourself! Submit the details here!

Andy's here. Waiting to answer the questions you're afraid to ask in public (and yeah, he's actually NOT a paid spokesperson but our network of badass execs open to answering questions...for free).

Every week, Andy's ready to tackle the real shit that keeps founders up at night. No sugarcoating, no PC answers – just the truth.

Andy's sitting here with his mustache twitching, ready to drop knowledge bombs about creator equity that would cost you thousands with a consultant.

So drop your questions below. About valuations, term sheets, creator contracts, whatever keeps you up at 3am. The more uncomfortable, the better.

He loves this country and wants to bet on what makes it great – ownership and the generational wealth it creates.

He wants you to win, but he wants you to have fun doing it.

Got a question for Andy 😉? Drop it here — nothing is off limits. Trust us, he’ll GET the answer.

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