Authentic Brands Group has built a highly profitable business by turning cultural relevance into licensable intellectual property. Now, it believes creators could become the next generation of global brands.

The company announced a partnership with The Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett, applying the same model it uses for names like Reebok, Elvis Presley, and Muhammad Ali to a creator-led business.

That could include expanding into merchandise, licensing, and live events without requiring the creator to build every capability in-house.

The economics explain the appeal.

Authentic generates $1.8 billion in earnings on $2.2 billion in revenue (an 81% margin) by collecting royalties of roughly 6% to 7% on products manufactured and sold by partners.

Authentic is also considering a public offering as early as next year. Its push into the creator economy suggests the most valuable creators may increasingly be treated not as media channels, but as intellectual-property portfolios.

Social Cat analyzed more than 100,000 posts and found that engagement declined as audience size increased. Nano-influencers averaged a 2.61% engagement rate, compared with 1.68% for micro-influencers and 1.08% for mid-tier creators.

Strongly aligned partnerships also generated around 77% more views than poorly matched campaigns. Brands appear ready to act on that difference.

Smaller creators are not automatically more effective, and managing many partnerships creates additional work for brands. But as engagement, relevance, and conversion become easier to measure, a highly aligned audience may become more valuable than a much larger one.

The creator economy is becoming a major advertising channel. But its growth is producing two very different realities: a professionalised industry attracting billions in brand spending, and a much larger group of creators still struggling to build sustainable businesses.

The IAB estimates that U.S. creator advertising spend will rise from $37 billion in 2025 to $43.9 billion in 2026. Nearly half of surveyed advertisers now consider creators a “must-buy” channel, behind only social media and paid search.

Most creator income, however, continues to flow through one source. Brand deals account for roughly 70% of earnings, while platform payouts, fan payments, and commerce make up the remainder.

That dependence leaves creators exposed to advertiser demand and platforms that control distribution and monetisation terms. France’s competition authority found that 80% of creators had weak or very weak bargaining power with platforms.

Income is also highly concentrated. Goldman Sachs estimated that only around 4% of creators earn more than $100,000 annually, even as industry spending and the number of people identifying as creators continue to climb.

Creators with diversified revenue from sponsorships, subscriptions, products, affiliate sales, and events are building durable businesses. Those dependent on platform payouts or occasional brand deals remain vulnerable, even as the overall market grows.

Your inbox is flooded with newsletters. Your feed is chaos. Somewhere in that noise are the insights that could transform your work—but who has time to find them?

The Deep View solves this. We read everything, analyze what matters, and deliver only the intelligence you need. No duplicate stories, no filler content, no wasted time. Just the essential AI developments that impact your industry, explained clearly and concisely.

Replace hours of scattered reading with five focused minutes. While others scramble to keep up, you'll stay ahead of developments that matter. 600,000+ professionals at top companies have already made this switch.

Join them today, for free.

What if I told you you could get paid to take calls?

I’ve partnered with software companies that pay qualified business owners, affiliates and creators to spend 30 minutes learning about their products. If you’re a digital creator running a business, there’s a good chance you’ll qualify for several of these opportunities.

Set aside a few hours, book the calls that interest you, and earn extra cash simply for showing up. I call it Uber Black money. All you have to do is take the call.

If you’re already taking calls with companies and evaluating new tools, this is a great way to get rewarded for it.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe Here

Not on Creatorland yet? Join Here.

👋 Happy Networking!

~ Brian F.

_{Content We Referenced Today}