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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
The Creator Economy Is Becoming an Ownership Economy
The next creator opportunity may be owning more of the value created.
By Lauren Murphy • Editor-in-Chief
9/14/26, 3:51 PM
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There has never been a more interesting time to be in the business of influence. Over the past few years, we've watched an entire industry evolve-from individual creators building audiences to companies building brands, studios, communities and intellectual property. The tools are better. The opportunities are bigger. And the ambition is different.
From Talent to Owner
Creators are moving further inside the businesses they help build.
For years, the creator-business relationship was relatively straightforward: create the content, deliver the audience and get paid.
That model is beginning to look increasingly limited.
On September 8, Axios reported that creator and AI educator Cat Goetze, known as CatGPT, acquired an equity stake in creator management company Smooth Media, becoming its first outside shareholder. Smooth represents more than 70 creators.
A day later, Business Insider reported another version of the same evolution. Finance creator Vivian Tu launched Ask Dolly, an AI-powered financial platform built around the expertise and approachable voice behind her Your Rich BFF brand. Tu's broader creator business reportedly generated $8.2 million in profitable revenue during the past year.
These aren't simply new monetization channels.
They represent creators moving from promoting businesses to building, owning and becoming part of them.
Influence has value. Ownership decides who keeps it.
- Lauren Murphy, Editor-in-Chief
Ownership Has Another Side
More opportunity also means asking who controls the infrastructure.
The creator may be becoming more sophisticated as a business owner, but the platforms surrounding that business are becoming more powerful too.
X officially ended its former Revenue Sharing program this week and moved eligible creators into its new Original Content Rewards model. The platform determines what qualifies as valuable original content and, for U.S. creators, has also shifted creator payouts into its own financial infrastructure.
AI introduces an even more complicated version of ownership.
On September 9, Reuters reported that AI music company Suno launched new models developed through partnerships with Warner Music Group and BMG. Importantly, future products are expected to allow participating artists to opt in and potentially earn from AI experiences built around licensed creative work.
That distinction matters.
As technology becomes capable of recreating styles, voices and creative identities, ownership isn't only about equity anymore.
It is increasingly about who has the right to use what a creator has built.
Influence Is Becoming an Asset
The next phase may reward creators who own beyond the audience.
Next week, the IAB will hold its inaugural CreatorFronts, bringing creator media into a marketplace format built specifically for brands, agencies and media buyers. Programming includes creator-led media networks, commerce, global fandom and the legal issues emerging around the industry.
That feels symbolic of where the industry is heading.
Creator influence is becoming institutionalized. It can generate sales, launch companies, attract investment, become software and increasingly exist as intellectual property.
The opportunity for creators may therefore be bigger than negotiating the next sponsorship fee.
It may be deciding which pieces of the value chain they want to own.
Their audience.
Their intellectual property.
Their products.
Their distribution.
And, increasingly, equity in the businesses their influence helps create.
The creator economy spent years proving influence has value.
Its next chapter may be about who gets to own it.
LAUREN'S TAKE
- Lauren Murphy, Editor-in-Chief
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