Media 2020: Rise of the Renaissance Creator

What’s most often discussed are individuals who leave a media company to go and build a brand of their own. Their background is usually as a writer, designer, editor and they carry their individual reputation from a known publication or Twitter to their new independent business.

But the opposite is also happening; entrepreneurial minds who have built businesses at established companies or on their own are also choosing a path to become creators themselves.

The “monetize the individual” disruption in media serves as an opportunity for business reinvention of companies who choose to recognize and react to this newly acknowledged trend forming. It’s not just about enabling and liberating talent, but more importantly about maintaining, supporting and growing that individual’s business better than they’re... See more

Let’s compare: Readers assume content is free. Music became free. Napster wasn’t about making music free as much as it was about user experience and user control. Listeners demanded a better experience and Napster was the catalyst for that. Newsletters, and curation are similar. Out of Napster came streaming. With a new user experience and ability ... See more

The holy shit! moment of creator’s realizing that their value *could* be larger than it’s getting credit for started with platforms and the ability to accumulate and engage followers directly on platforms. But the emergence of platforms like Substack, OnlyFans, Cameo & Patreon have accelerated that and are creating a new market indicator for indivi... See more

And like mixtapes, the newsletter relationship is creating a cult-like following for the creator, turning readers into fans. The fan comes along for the ride as the writer moves from amateur status to stardom and it introduces a relationship with the creator that’s personal. This opens up a ton of opportunities for emerging businesses and, visibly,... See more