2025 Mid-Year Recap: Six Creator Economy Trends to Know

2025 Mid-Year Recap: Six Creator Economy Trends to Know

This edition is exclusive to paid supporters. If you’re already supporting, thank you so much! If you’re enjoying the free content, consider upgrading to get full access to this piece and other exclusive strategies and insights, like an in-depth look at the pros and cons of long-term creator partnerships.

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve hit the midpoint of 2025. Many in the U.S. are gearing up for the holiday later this week, a much-needed break for those working in the creator, marketing, and advertising space, where it’s been busier than ever.

With a jam-packed first half of the year behind us, I’m diving into six key trends and themes that stood out across three areas: the growth of creator-driven TV and news, the push for video content, and the shift towards social-first advertising.

TOGETHER WITH SPROUT SOCIAL

What Makes Influencer Content Actually Convert?

You can thank your favorite influencer. Chances are, they’ve inspired one of your recent purchases.

According to Sprout Social’s State of Influencer Marketing report, 86% of consumers make a purchase influenced by a creator. And when it comes to daily, weekly, or monthly purchases, nearly half of consumers say influencer posts play a role.

But what kind of content actually drives people to buy? The report highlights three content qualities that often lead to purchases: 

1. Genuine reviews (64%): People want honest opinions about what’s good, what could improve, and how a product fits into real life.

2. Discount codes (55%): Limited-time or exclusive deals create urgency and make audiences feel like insiders.

3. Multiple influencers posting about the same product (26%): Seeing trusted creators repeatedly recommend the same product builds credibility and social proof.

Data and insights like these are key to building and optimizing an influencer marketing program that aligns with real consumer behavior.

Download the full report to better understand what’s working in influencer marketing, its impact on shopping behavior, and what’s next.

YouTube Is the New TV, And Everyone Else Wants a Piece of the Screen

At the start of the year, YouTube revealed a striking milestone: connected TVs had surpassed mobile as the most popular way Americans consume YouTube. Today, people are watching over 1 billion hours of YouTube content on their televisions every day. YouTube is television now.

YouTube’s grip on the living room continues to strengthen. It consistently ranks as the top streaming platform according to Nielsen’s The Gauge and has leaned heavily into optimizing the connected TV experience, from streamlined navigation to features supporting episodic content.

What’s especially interesting is the demographic shift. While younger viewers have long embraced YouTube, older audiences aged 50 and up are now a growing force. They represent 36 percent of YouTube’s TV viewers as of February, outpacing Gen Z and younger millennials at 28 percent. That kind of generational reach used to only belong to traditional networks. Now, YouTube and its creators command it.

This change is not happening in isolation. Streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and Tubi are increasingly tapping into creator-led content, licensing YouTube series, funding originals, and curating creator clips. Vimeo is offering tools for digital creators to launch their own streaming services and apps, while startups are emerging to help bridge the gap between viral creators and Hollywood formats.

TikTok and Instagram are also reportedly making quiet moves to enter the TV space. While long-form remains secondary to their short-form roots, the pivot opens the door to more expansive storytelling and living-room ad revenue.

As social video continues migrating to the biggest screens in the house, the line between creator content and what we’ve traditionally called television will only get blurrier.

The Rise and Risk of the News Creator

One of the more significant evolutions this year has been the rise of the news creator. According to the Reuters Institute, social media has overtaken TV as the top news source in the U.S., with 54 percent of Americans now turning to platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram for information.

This shift has fueled a growing class of independent journalists using social platforms to break down headlines, offer commentary, and report stories without traditional media infrastructure.

In response, even the White House has made room for digital creators and podcasters at press briefings, signaling broader acceptance of new voices in the news ecosystem.

Platforms are evolving as well. Meta is prioritizing more news content. LinkedIn is partnering with publishers and journalists while surfacing perspectives from creators. TikTok is hiring to support news creators in North America and eventually scale partnerships with leading creator voices globally.

Publishers are also adapting. The Washington Post is leaning into talent-led journalism, while Yahoo and Fast Company have launched creator initiatives to bring fresh perspectives into their coverage. At the same time, more traditional journalists are leaving legacy newsrooms to launch independent newsletters and podcasts on platforms like Substack and beehiiv, which adds further gray area to the distinction between a creator and a journalist.

But with opportunity comes risk. The speed and scale of social media make it easy for misinformation to spread or for creators to make credibility-damaging mistakes. Just as quickly as creators gain trust, they can lose it. At the same time, greater media literacy will be required from audiences, especially when it comes to who they follow and why.

Spotify’s Bet on Video Podcasts Signals a Bigger Video Ambition

Over the past several months, Spotify has aggressively expanded into video podcasts.

Earlier this year, the company shared that it had paid out 100 million to podcasters in Q1 through its Spotify Partner Program. Alongside that announcement came a telling stat: video podcast uploads had increased by 28 percent, reflecting growing creator interest in producing video content directly for the platform.

To support this growth, Spotify has rolled out new features focused on stronger discovery, deeper engagement, and greater creator recognition. It also introduced a Plays metric, its version of YouTube views, which initially drew criticism for being too public. Spotify later updated it so that only creators above certain thresholds would have their Plays displayed.

Spotify also inked a deal with United Airlines to bring curated content, including video podcasts, to in-flight entertainment, adding yet another distribution channel for creators.

All signs point to a clear goal. Spotify wants to win the video podcast wars. But it may have even bigger video ambitions. A leaked internal presentation revealed that the company is exploring support for a wider range of creator video formats, putting it in more direct competition with YouTube.

YouTube, meanwhile, continues to dominate podcasting. It recently enhanced discovery with a refreshed podcast homepage and a new podcast chart. While Spotify is making progress, it will need to do more in the second half of the year. Look out for expanded support and monetization tools to attract more video creators, along with additional distribution efforts and bigger marketing pushes for its connected TV experience.

Become a paying subscriber to access this post, along with other exclusive content and perks.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

• • Bonus Newsletters & Resources: In-depth, actionable insights on influencer marketing, social media, and content creation. plus deep dives into emerging trends.
• • Personalized Q&A: Submit your questions and get tailored, audio-recorded answers—personalized micro-consulting for your biggest challenges.