Created Briefs - October 15, 2021

A weekly show discussing the latest creator economy news Tune in for a roundup of the week's top news, insights, and analysis from the Creator Economy.

Created Briefs - October 15,  2021

Instagram Pauses Bonus Programs

No surprises here, but some of these initial programs have run their course.

Now, as of October, two of those initial bonuses — for Badges and IGTV ads — have reached their expiration date and are currently "on pause," Instagram confirmed to Insider.

They did advise that these programs will be “seasonal”, but it remains that when they exist they are worth taking advantage of but you can't count on them forever!

Instagram has quietly paused 2 ‘bonuses’ programs that paid creators
Creators are getting paid directly by Instagram with “bonuses.” But these cash bonuses don’t last forever.


Instagram Gets Scheduling and ‘Practice Mode’ for Live Creators

Instagram Live creators can now schedule programming up to 90 days in advance. The Facebook-owned company has also announced a “practice mode” feature that lets creators test out their setup with guests prior to broadcasting live. Instagram says “practice mode” was a highly sought-after feature. “Practice mode” will roll out soon.

Instagram adds scheduling and ‘practice mode’ features for Live creators – TechCrunch
Instagram today says it’s launching a couple of new tools aimed at addressing the needs of Live creators. Now, creators will be able to build up buzz for their upcoming Live by scheduling it up to 90 days in advance, then share the news across Instagram to alert their fans. It’s also pr…


Facebook’s Clubhouse Competitor Opens to More Creator

Facebook’s Live Audio service is now more accessible. It’s available to those in Groups, on Android devices, and rooms can be listened to on desktop — you’ll still have to create rooms within the mobile app, though.

The Instagram Reels-version of Live Audio is also rolling out to more users in the U.S. This short-form audio content can be found within the News Feed, but are recorded in a different tool. Facebook says that the feature, called Soundbites, is in the early stages of development.

Facebook expands its Live Audio feature to more creators globally
It’s expanding its Soundbites feature as well


Twitter Launches Accelerator Program for Spaces Creators

This three-month program will support those creating programs on Twitter’s Clubhouse rival. Those accepted will be paid $2,500 per month regardless of show performance and are expected to host an audio room twice a week for the duration of the program. They will also be given a monthly ad stipend to promote their programming.

Twitter says it’s open to established Spaces audio shows and untested experiments for the program, inviting creators interested in audio to apply.

Twitter launches Spark audio creator program to boost Spaces – TechCrunch
Twitter is deepening its investment in Spaces, the Clubhouse-like audio rooms the social network launched this year. The company announced the launch of a new creator program for Spaces on Tuesday. The Spark program is a three-month accelerator that aims to “discover and reward great Spaces o…
Twitter is bringing Ticketed Spaces to Android users in the US – TechCrunch
Twitter has announced that paid Ticketed Spaces are coming to Android users in the U.S. over the next few days. Hosts on Spaces, Twitter’s live audio room feature, will now be able to sell access to Ticketed Spaces. The Android launch comes after the initial Ticketed Spaces rollout for iOS users in…


The Clash

Anyone remember Byte?  It was originally imagined as the successor to Vine.  Well it didn't die, it was just in the longest beta ever :)

Byte has rebranded and launched formally as Clash with a decidedly Creator Economy twist.

“The newly rebuilt Clash’s premise is that it can help creators identify, engage and monetize their strongest and most loyal fans.
To do so, Clash is introducing a set of tools for creators and their fans, including a virtual tipping mechanism called Drops (not to be confused with product drops, popular in e-commerce) and a custom messaging system called Fanmail, for starters.”


To some degree, this is a highly focused tool designed to help creators with meaningful audiences generate meaningful revenue - one drop at a time.

One-time TikTok rival Byte relaunches as Clash, an app for video creators and their top fans – TechCrunch
When the Trump administration announced it would ban TikTok in the U.S., a number of alternative short-form video apps began to flourish, as users hedged their bets on a potential TikTok exit. Among these was Byte, an app co-created by Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann, which topped 1.3 million downloads…


Memberful Launches Substack Competitor

Membership software maker Memberful has launched a newsletter feature to its Patreon-like platform. Memberful charges 4.9%, plus a monthly rate of either $25 or $100, depending on the pricing plan. In contrast, Substack takes 10% of creator revenue. Memberful is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Patreon, having been acquired in 2018.

Patreon-owned Memberful launches a newsletter product – TechCrunch
Between Facebook outages and Twitch data breaches, last week was bumpy for social platforms and the creators who build businesses on them. As internet creators look to diversify their income streams and retain ownership over their audiences, membership software maker Memberful is launching a newsle…


Patreon Has New Competition

Fanfix is a “Gen Z” Patreon of sorts.  At least that's all I could really discern from the spartan site.

“The nine-month-old startup aims to be an alternative to membership sites Patreon and OnlyFans by targeting a Gen Z audience and TikTok creators. Like these older startups, Los Angeles-based Fanfix generates revenue by taking a cut of transactions. The seven-person company says it has attracted about 250 creators and raised $1 million from investors including early-stage venture firm Antler. Dallas joins Fanfix co-CEOs Harry Gestetner and Simon Pompan as a founder. “

The news here more seems to be that, much like Clash, a creator is at the helm of this company now and that offers a different level of potential insight.
We have seen creator advisors, investors, and users.  The generation of creator founders of their own SaaS businesses leaves much to hope for.

Patreon Rival Fanfix Names Instagram Star Cameron Dallas as Co-Founder
Fanfix, which operates a website where social media creators charge their fans for exclusive content like bonus videos or photos, has brought on Instagram star Cameron Dallas as a co-founder, the company told The Information. The appointment hasn’t previously been reported.The nine-month-old ...


Visa jumps into the Creator Fray via NFTs

Visa is partnering up in service of the creator economy with a new program designed to help creators monetize.  In this case, they've teamed up with Micah Johnson.

We believe that new technologies emerging in the crypto ecosystem, like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), have the potential to lower the barrier to entry for digital creators across the world. NFTs offer a medium to connect directly with fans and collectors, making it easier for creators to monetize their talent and build a business.

https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2021/10/12/visa-partners-with-1634070524844.html


Coinbase Is Working on Its Own NFT Marketplace to Take on OpenSea

Coinbase is planning on building an OpenSea rival. In a blog post, the crypto company says. “Coinbase NFT will make minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier than ever. We’re making NFTs more accessible by building intuitive interfaces that put the complexity behind the scenes. We’re adding social features that open new avenues for conversation & discovery.”

The marketplace will initially support Ethereum but will expand to support “multi-chain.” OpenSea saw a record $3.4 billion in transaction volume in August.
Within 24 hours, more than 1 million people had signed up for the waitlist.

Coinbase is launching its own NFT platform to take on OpenSea – TechCrunch
Coinbase is readying the launch of an NFT marketplace that will compete with existing major players in the space, like OpenSea, debuting a user waitlist for the desktop product that it hopes to launch by the end of the year. Coinbase has limited details to share on its upcoming platform, but notes …
Coinbase Sees 1.4 Million Signups for New NFT Platform - Decrypt
The Coinbase NFT marketplace is seeing an “insane” amount of traffic as the number of users on the waitlist exceeds 1.4 million.


Coinbase partners up to help musicians make crypto?

Coinbase is expanding the use of crypto to new places.  They have paired up with UnitedMasters to allow payments in crypto now for musicians.

Musicians who distribute music through UnitedMasters can select how much of their royalties they want to receive in cryptocurrencies, and which coin they want to use, the companies said. UnitedMasters doesn’t need to hold onto any cryptocurrencies itself.
UnitedMasters Will Let Musicians Receive Pay in Cryptocurrency
UnitedMasters, a U.S. music distributor, will allow artists to get paid in cryptocurrencies from Coinbase, the companies said Tuesday, giving a boost to digital currencies as a means of conducting routine business.


Creator Wealth Inequality Exists

Axios looks at the creators getting paid the most based on available data.

  • Top 1% of all streamers earn more than half of all revenue on the platform, according to information leaked from Twitch
  • Vast majority of earners on Twitch have made less than $120 this year so far, per the report
  • The ten most popular newsletters on Substack together generate more than $20 million annually

As Axios notes: What's happening now with the creator economy mirrors all of the previous waves of digital media economies built before it via social media, blogging, and websites.

The creator economy is failing to spread the wealth
A small portion of creators still reaps the most revenue for their work across multiple platforms.


YouTube Closing Permanent Spaces

YouTube has operated a number of creator spaces around the world that gave upcoming creators a way to produce in a more professional, fun environment.

With the pandemic and an ever-expanding universe of creators, they're shifting to a pop-up model, shuttering their permanent locations.

https://www.tubefilter.com/2021/02/18/youtube-shutters-7-remaining-youtube-spaces-globally/

How ‘link in bio’ created a high-stakes startup race
It’s some of the internet’s most important real estate. And there’s a land grab going on.


Stripe Re-entering the Crypto Space

Payments giant Stripe says its reentering the crypto market – TechCrunch
Payments company Stripe announced it’s building out a new crypto team to help build out the “future of Web3 payments,” according to public statements posted to Twitter on Tuesday. Stripe, which had once been among the first to support Bitcoin payments before leaving the market a f…