Creator Economy's Surging Valuations and Dealmaking Trends: Navigating the Evolving Landscape

The creator economy has experienced a surge in both dealmaking and price activity over the past 48 hours, reflecting accelerating market momentum and notable shifts in platform dynamics. In the first half of 2025, merger and acquisition activity rose 73 percent year over year, with 52 deals compared to 30 in the same period last year. Private equity and holding companies are aggressively pursuing content platforms, as seen in Publicis' $175 million acquisition of Captiv8 and PSG’s $150 million majority stake in video platform Uscreen. Industry forecasts now value the creator economy at $480 billion by 2027, underlining its strategic importance for investors[1].

Creator earnings are rising as brands significantly increase their influencer marketing spend. Influencer rates have doubled since 2024, and overall spend by brands has ballooned 30 to 40 percent so far in 2025. Marketers are navigating sticker shock as some influencers raise their fees from $20,000 to $40,000 within months, but many brands remain undeterred due to the premium placed on creator partnerships[3].

The onchain creator economy is also gathering pace, driven by platforms leveraging blockchain for direct creator monetization. Data from Zora shows over 1.6 million tokens minted since July with $470 million in trading volume and $3.4 million in recent creator rewards. Retail participation soared following Coinbase Base’s rebrand and user-friendly features, causing a 440 percent increase in ZORA’s price[7]. The total value locked in DeFi protocols linked to the creator economy has sharply increased, and institutional crypto investment funds now hold more than $50 billion in related assets, signaling deeper capital market integration[5].

Competing platforms are innovating in monetization models. Rumble now offers creators 60 to 90 percent ad revenue share, far outpacing YouTube’s 45 percent, which has drawn creators seeking better earnings and more platform neutrality. Rumble reported 59 million monthly active users and an 87 percent retention rate last quarter, well above industry norms[8].

Consumer behavior is shifting toward greater deal-seeking, and creators are capitalizing on new distribution models, although risk concerns such as low token liquidity and market manipulation persist in the onchain segment[7]. Overall, the creator economy is undergoing record growth and structural innovation, with rising valuations and platform competition reshaping how creators, brands, and investors engage with digital content.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The creator economy has experienced a surge in both deal
making and price activity over the past forty eight hours,
reflecting accelerating market momentum and notable shifts in platform dynamics.
In the first half of twenty twenty five, merger and
acquisition activity rose seventy three percent year over year, with
fifty two deals compared to thirty in the same period

(00:20):
last year. Private equity and holding companies are aggressively pursuing
content platforms, as seen in publicus is one hundred and
seventy five million dollars acquisition of Captive Eate and PSG's
one hundred and fifty million dollars majority stake and video
platform Newscreen. Industry forecasts now value the creator economy at
four hundred and eighty billion dollars by twenty twenty seven,

(00:44):
underlining its strategic importance for investors. Creator earnings are rising
as brands significantly increased their influencer marketing spend. Influencer rates
have doubled since twenty twenty four, and overall spend by
brands as ballooned thirty to four forty percent so far
in twenty twenty five. Marketers are navigating sticker shock as

(01:05):
some influencers raise their fees from twenty thousand dollars to
forty thousand dollars within months, but many brands remain undeterred
due to the premium placed on creator partnerships. Three. The
unchain creator economy is also gathering pace, driven by platforms
leveraging blockchain for direct creator monetization. Data from Zora shows

(01:29):
over one point six million tokens minted since July, with
four hundred and seventy million dollars in trading volume and
three dollars in four cents in recent creator rewards. Retail
participations soared following coinbase bases, rebrand and user friendly features,
causing a four hundred forty percent increase in Zora's price.

(01:50):
The total value locked in defive protocols linked to the
creator economy has sharply increased, and institutional crypto investment funds
now hold old more than fifty billion dollars in related assets,
signaling deeper capital market integration. Five. Competing platforms are innovating
in modetization models. Rumble now offers creators sixty to ninety

(02:13):
percent AD revenue share, far outpacing YouTube's forty five percent,
which has drawn creators seeking better earnings and more platform neutrality.
Rumble reported fifty nine million monthly active users and an
eighty seven percent retention rate last quarter, well above industry norms.
As seven, consumer behavior is shifting toward greater deal seeking,

(02:36):
and creators are capitalizing on new distribution models, although risk
concerns such as low token liquidity and market manipulation persist
in the on chain segment seven. Overall, the creator economy
is undergoing record growth and structural innovation, with rising valuations
and platform competition reshaping how creators, brands, and invest sters

(03:00):
engage with digital content