CREATOR ECONOMY NEWSLETTER
Issue #116 | Mar. 14, 2023
Hi readers! It was truly a weekend of events. Not only did the Oscars kick off over the weekend with many fashion and film creators in attendance, but on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of fans tuned in to watch one of the most important creator awards show of the year: The Streamer Awards. Passionfruit Contributor Steven Asarch spoke with the show’s founder, QTCinderella, and recapped the night’s events for us.
Passionfruit is also at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year. It’s been a chaotic first few days since the conference kicked off on Friday. While last year’s conference was dominated by Web3 chatter, this year’s dominant topics appear to be a bit more dispersed, with a strong interest in artificial intelligence and the creator economy.
We saw a Shopify event showcasing creator-made products like Feastables and Chamberlain Coffee, a creator meet-up led by Too Hot To Handle star Harry Jowsey, a BuzzFeed creator happy hour, numerous panels exploring the intersection of the music industry and content creators, panels dissecting the latest criticisms of AI tools from creators, a TikTok panel where an executive discussed how the company picks which content to “heat,” a discussion from creators Colin & Samir on entrepreneurship, and more. Silicon Valley Bank’s fall over the weekend also put a damper on the festival, with many tech companies and creator economy start ups feeling heat from the collapse.
We’re looking forward to sharing some original reporting from the conference upcoming this week. Stay tuned for more.
– Grace Stanley, Newsletter Editor
THE HIGHLIGHT
The Streamer Awards was wonderfully scuffed: QTCinderella shares insight on her community-driven show
Move over the Oscars, the Streamer Awards is where the content got interesting.
By Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor
SPONSORED
Building your online empire doesn’t have to be hard
You made something online that has turned into something big. So, what’s next? With Squarespace, creators get all the tools and support they need to transform social stardom into a business all on their own.
ONE GREAT TIP
“Be consistent. Don’t worry about the silly sausages online because there are going to be negative nancies everywhere. Just have fun, and be yourself, because people will love you, and that’s what matters.”
—Harry Jowsey on his advice for aspiring creators at SXSW.
NEW FRONTIERS
Discord hops on the ChatGPT train, announcing several AI features and a new ‘AI incubator’
Discord invited Passionfruit to an exclusive press event where they announced new AI features.
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
TIPS AND TRICKS
Ileana Cabrera, aka MoreThanCleaning, shares advice gleaned from her CleanTok success
‘If you’re not consistently learning and willing to take the time to make your content better, it’s never gonna flourish.’
By Ingrid Cruz, Passionfruit Contributor
NOW LOADING…
This influencer turned heartbreak into a 6-figure career as a content creator
Heartbreak was just the beginning of Amy Chan’s career.
By Jen Glantz, Passionfruit Contributor
IN THE BIZ
- The Sillicon Valley Bank collapsed, sending shockwaves through the tech industry. (via the Verge)
- The Oscars took place, with many film and fashion creators in attendance. (via ABC7)
- Creators are saying the end of Instagram Reels payouts are a “blow” to their monthly income. (via BuzzFeed News)
- Meta is laying off another 10,000 employees. (via the New York Times)
- Meta is also winding down its NFT efforts.
- Twitter is making researchers pay $42,000 per month for API access. (via Wired)
- Sephora is launching a TikTok beauty incubator program. (via Tubefilter)
- LinkedIn is creating a 6-month long podcasting academy.
- Stock library service Storyblocks now has a plugin for Adobe Creative Cloud.
- BuzzFeed’s infamous Worth It YouTube series is ending. (via Tubefilter)
TIKTOK MADE ME DO IT
We’re loving the moon phase TikTok trend.
