In this episode of Creator Economy Live, Keith Bendes and Brendan Gahan sit down with bestselling author and adventurer Michael Easter. From the secrets behind The Comfort Crisis to navigating the transition from traditional media to thriving as a modern creator, Michael shares how stepping outside your comfort zone can unlock extraordinary performance. Plus, we dive into the latest industry news, from TikTok bans to Meta's shifts, and highlight creators and brands making waves. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation!

Interested in attending Creator Economy Live? Join us this February 4-5 to see the podcast in action! Use code CELPOD20 at checkout to save 20% on your ticket price.

In our landmark 50th episode, hosts Keith Bendes and Brendan Gahan are joined by none other than Rachel Karten, the mastermind behind the beloved newsletter Link in Bio, with over 94k subscribers.

We dive into Rachel's journey from brand social media expert to independent creator, discuss her eye-opening survey findings, and uncover her top predictions for 2025. Plus, Keith and Brendan share their own bold forecasts for the year ahead, touching on AI video, creator-driven content, hybrid compensation models, and more.

COW/BOW (creator of the week & brand of the week)

Creator of the week (COW)
Keith: Elisha Zepeda (ez.bookdesign) - On TikTok, the book cover designer brings 400K followers behind the scenes by sharing the briefs he receives from publishers, the resulting cover options, and the ultimate winners.
Brendan: Walker Ward (aka Walkedsauce42_) a big burly dude who does a ton of hilarious impressions - like GRWM but he’s but he’s using tongs instead of a hair dryer, peanut butter instead of makeup. Or he’ll pretend to be some coked up Chad/Finance bro. He’s got these persona’s down.
Rachel: Paper Eats - set made of construction paper

Brand of the week
Keith: Honey is being torn apart right now online as their business model is being called “an adpocalypse” for creators. On December 22, YouTuber MegaLag posted a bombshell exposé that accused Honey of snatching creators’ commissions by replacing their affiliate links with its own. LegalEagle just filed a class action lawsuit.
Brendan: Notion/Snoop campaign
Rachel: Topicals

Follow
Keith: Meta’s moves this year in affiliate and AI video generation with the release of Movie Gen
One Billion Users is a card game that lets players launch their own social media network and compete with influencers—has blown past its Kickstarter goal by earning over $60,000 in funding. There are troll cards, influencer cards, follower cards, etc.
Brendan: https://www.instagram.com/winniedapointer
Rachel: Michael Freund Law on Twitter

✨ Special Offer: Use code CELPOD20 for 20% off tickets to our Creator Economy Live event this February 4-5 in Vegas!

Welcome to Creator Economy Live’s festive holiday edition! In this special episode, we’re celebrating the year by revisiting The 12 Stories in Social—the top moments that shaped the creator economy in 2024. Inspired by "The 12 Days of Christmas," we take a creative spin through the stories that mattered most:

• The rise of creators on big screens
• New metrics driving social platform success
• Social media's influence on politics
• The women dominating online conversations
• And much more!

Keith and Brendan also share their bold predictions for 2025, including the explosion of live-stream shopping, hybrid compensation models, and the LinkedIn influencer boom.

Plus, don’t miss their picks for Creator of the Year and Brand of the Year, celebrating those who redefined the industry.

As a bonus, we’re only six weeks away from the annual Creator Economy Live Conference in Vegas! Get your tickets now and join us for a live podcast recording featuring a surprise guest.

Tune in to wrap up 2024 and gear up for an even bigger 2025!

COY/BOY (creator of the year & brand of the year)

• Creator of the year (COY)

• • Keith: Jools Lebron

  • Brendan: Natalie + Hawk Tuah + Rogan (kingmaker)

• Brand of the year (BOY)

• • Keith: Cerave (Michael Cera campaign)

    Brendan: Nvidia

Keith Bendes and Brendan Gahan are back for Episode 48 of Creator Economy Live! This week, we unpack the ripple effects of the TikTok ban and Kai Cenat’s record-breaking Twitch “Mafiathon.” Plus, Instagram’s Trial Reels, LinkedIn’s boosted posts, and how brands like Away and Puresport are shaking up influencer marketing.

Our guest, Josh Cohen, co-founder of Tubefilter and the Streamy Awards, takes us behind the curtain of digital media’s rise, sharing untold stories and his vision for the future of the creator economy. Don’t miss Creator and Brand of the Week highlights—featuring Stormi Steele, Kai Cenat, and Ground News.

COW/BOW (creator of the week & brand of the week)
Creator of the week (COW)
- Keith: Content creator and Canvas Beauty founder Stormi Steele earned $2 million in a single livestream.
- Brendan: Kai Cenat
- Josh: Pokemon TV channel

Brand of the week
- Keith: Away x Celeb Lookalikes (Timothee Chalamet, Jeremy Allen)
Puresport sent out empty boxes to creators and asked them to send back items from other gifting campaigns that they've never used, to donate to a charity
- Brendan: Sprout Social, Land Rover
- Josh: Ground News

This week, we’re thrilled to have Kaya Yurieff, the Team Lead on the Creator Economy at The Information and one of our favorite industry reporters. Kaya shares her journey from working at CNN with Jake Tapper to becoming a leading voice in the creator economy. We dive into how her team produces unparalleled insights daily, the evolving landscape of the creator space, and her bold predictions for 2025.

Before Kaya joins, Keith and Brendan catch up on the latest news, including highlights from the LinkedIn Partner Summit, TikTok's new affiliate partners, and the myth-busting insights from Instagram's Adam Mosseri.

Creator of the week (COW)

- Keith: Fitness creator Maxx Chewning announced that he sold his candy brand, Sour Strips, to The Hershey Company.

- Brendan: TalkingTalktuah 50k on IG, @cam__george and @peter.ditzler are host a Talk Tuah companion podcast.

- Kaya: Josie Balka 600k instagram followers

Brand of the week (BOW)

- Keith: Sony just broke the record for most comments on a TikTok video - To promote The Last Dance (Venom movie)

- Brendan: Anyone but Jaguar. Wharhol lookalikes. Channeling Ridley Scott’s famous 1984 ad.

- Kaya: Samsung / mythical FAST channel

Follow:

- Keith: Visa announced it’s officially recognizing creators as small businesses

- Brendan: Armie HammerTime podcast.

- Kaya: Kylie Kelce podcast

In Episode 46 of Creator Economy Live, hosts Keith Bendes and Brendan Gahan dive into the latest updates in influencer marketing and the creator economy with special guest Lauren Flanigan, Head of Global Brands for Refreshments at Mondelez.

Lauren brings her insights from working with iconic brands like Oreo, Ritz, and Cadbury, sharing her take on influencer strategies and brand performance. They also discuss Meta’s rumored AI search engine, the rise of retail influencers, and Instagram’s video quality downgrade.

This episode is sponsored by Linqia, the #1 influencer marketing partner for the world's leading brands. Having executed over 3,000 campaigns for more than 650 brands, Linqia combines technology powered by Google Vision AI with award winning service to deliver measurable influencer results. Go to linqia.com or send a note to hello@linqia.com to speak with an influencer expert.

Episode 45 features guest Michelle Miller, CMO of K18 - the haircare brand that has seen a meteoric rise in the last few years, being the #1 most discussed hair care brand amongst influencers.

Tune in to hear about Michelle's time at UCSC with co-host Brendan Gahan, her early career in journalism, and her range of roles in luxury beauty brands (including Too Faced and Kosas Cosmetics). Also, hear Keith and Brendan discuss the huge impact long-form content such as podcasts and YouTube videos, may have had on this years USA election campaigns.

This episode is sponsored by Linqia, the #1 influencer marketing partner for the world's leading brands. Having executed over 3,000 campaigns for more than 650 brands, Linqia combines technology powered by Google Vision AI with award winning service to deliver measurable influencer results. Go to linqia.com or send a note to hello@linqia.com to speak with an influencer expert.

Join Keith, Brendan and guest Esraa Elzin, Influencer Marketing lead at Instacart, to discuss Esraa's PR background having worked at Marina Maher, went in-house role in the beauty world at top brands Estee Lauder Companies and LVMH before landing her role at Instacart.

COW/BOW (creator of the week & brand of the week)

• Creator of the week (COW)

• • Keith: Rachel Karten from Link in Bio - newsletter about working in social media and creating stand out content - has over 75k subscribers

  • Brendan: Charles Trippy - talking about old school creators/influencer partners/this past week was WWWY

  • Esraa: Stehfunee (mom/daughter combo on TikTok)

• Brand of the week

• • Keith: Adobe announced over 100 new features and tools at its annual MAX event in Miami

  • Brendan: Notion - out here for make with notion

  • Esraa: New York Liberty

• Follow

• • Keith Google’s AI-driven NotebookLM feature has simultaneously impressed and unsettled online commenters by generating AI-hosted “podcasts” based on user-provided research.

  • Brendan: Reid Hoffman

Esraa: Instagram story comments

This episode is sponsored by Linqia, the #1 influencer marketing partner for the world's leading brands. Having executed over 3,000 campaigns for more than 650 brands, Linqia combines technology powered by Google Vision AI with award winning service to deliver measurable influencer results. Go to linqia.com or send a note to hello@linqia.com to speak with an influencer expert.