A reality check from creators at the launch of the Senate Creators Caucus
Disney inks another creator deal, Vidcon leaves Anaheim, Spotify expands creator program
Photo by Stephanie Coffua/The Washington Post
Congress’ creator education
Last week, a bipartisan pair of senators, Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), launched the Senate Creators Caucus, a group of legislators intended to support creators.
In the basement of the U.S. Capitol complex, creators who had flown in for an event sponsored by YouTube to mark the occasion mingled with Hill staffers and lawmakers, with the hopes of highlighting real issues — from taxes to protections of their name, image and likeness — affecting them. But as the event went on, it was clear that Congress has a lot of catching up to do: few members are familiar with creators, what they do, and what issues they say they need help with.
The Senate caucus is counterpart to a House Creator Caucus that launched last summer, which has focused its efforts so far on educating members of Congress about creators’ significance and bringing representatives of tech platforms to the Hill to meet with staff and members. Both caucuses have leaned into framing them as the new small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Creators celebrated the launch as a moment of validation for their careers, while also pointing out that Congress is late to the game.
“Moments like this are huge in that goal of proving legitimacy,” said creator Matthew Patrick, better known as MatPat, who also helped launch the House caucus and emphasized that the creator economy has existed for more than two decades already before the Congressional recognition. He outlined the tension: “It's great that we are here and that we are having these conversations. But we're still behind the ball.”
The other reality check: Congress is not prone to act. The House left early last week ahead of the midterms, and the hot topic in traditional press gaggles last week was about the need for lawmakers to address doomsday threats of AI and their own use of the technology. If Capitol Hill is behind on AI, creators seem even lower down on the priority list.
The Creator Takeover: How creators flexed their power this week.
Disney inks content and development deal with kids creator brand ‘Like Nastya’ (Hollywood Reporter)
VidCon is leaving Anaheim after creator convention combines with LIONS, parent of Cannes Lions (Variety)
New York fashion week has become the biggest creator activation of the fall (Net Influencer)
Inside the “Giggly Squad” Podcast Bidding War — $150M Offers, 3 Suitors (The Ankler)
Vox Media announced the second annual national tour for Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway’s “Pivot”
What a social media influencer turned surgeon general could mean for public health in the U.S. (CNN)
Republicans’ new favorite poster (Intelligencer)
Trap Lore Ross is a British YouTube star. His true-crime coverage made him the face of “the biggest hip-hop trial ever” (Vanity Fair)
What is “ghost posting”? Why Gen Z is hiding their Instagram posts (USA Today)
An army of paid creators is carpeting the web with political content (New York Times)
Unwell adds 4 shows, prioritizing YouTube for its fall slate (Adweek)
@washingtonpostcreator Creators are used to having an audience online. This week, they got one on Capitol Hill. Sens. Cory Booker and John Kennedy launched the b... See more
The Platforms:
ByteDance’s revenue grows as AI spending pressures profits
The Spotify Partner Program expanded to 35 new markets, bringing monetization opportunities to creators in countries including Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico.
Snapchat open to putting time limits on teens
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