Creators are increasingly chasing the kind of recognition typically reserved for A-list Hollywood talent. But even as they campaign for awards like the Emmys, the entertainment industry is divided over whether these accolades matter for creators—and whether creators belong on the red carpet at all.
TBPN, the popular live-streamed tech show, is a case in point. It recently launched a campaign to win an Emmy that includes billboards. But co-host John Coogan said that “awards are not our ultimate goal” and that they are more focused on the “longevity” of the program.
In his annual letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan argued that creators “need to see more recognition” from traditional awards shows. The company has also nabbed rights to the Oscars starting in 2029. But it has stopped short of providing its creators with the funding or resources they might need in order to compete with traditional studios for those awards.
Still, a slew of new offshoot awards shows prove that creators want their red carpet moment, too.
Last week, iHeartMedia hosted its podcast awards at SXSW, the tech and arts festival in Austin, crowning “Giggly Squad” the show of the year. (The show’s hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo will star in a new Netflix scripted comedy, which was announced on Tuesday.)
Later this month, Snapchat will host its first Snappys event at its Santa Monica headquarters and TikTok hosted its first-ever TikTok Awards show in the US in December. These add to other long-running digital content awards programs like the Shorty Awards and the Webby Awards, now in its 30th year.
But none of these shows hold the same cachet as the Oscars or the Emmys, which have long sidelined creators. Even The Golden Globes, which added a “Best Podcast” category this year, gave the award to Amy Poehler rather than a digital creator.
Most recently, podcaster Jake Shane’s gig as red carpet host of the Vanity Fair Oscars Party has been taken by some as more evidence that social media stars and Hollywood A-listers don’t mix. His performance was full of uncomfortable moments, from asking Julia Fox if she found the seriously-ill girl in the Oscar-nominated film she starred in “annoying” to his response when Kris Jenner asked how he got the gig (“I don’t know, honestly.”)
There’s a big difference between being nominated for an award and reporting from the red carpet. But the reason these awards shows include creators is the same: Creators can help them modernize these events and reach audiences who are now spending more of their time online watching social media personalities than in movie theaters watching traditional Hollywood stars—or the awards shows that celebrate them.
Viewership of last week’s Oscars fell by 9% year over year to 17.9 million people, according to Nielsen. And that’s still more viewers than other major awards shows, which have also seen similar declines this season: Viewership of the Golden Globes and the Grammy’s each fell by 6% year-over-year.
But that says more about the state of the media landscape than the relevance of these shows: People may not be watching the live event, but they’re definitely consuming clips or commentary online.
And for creators, the chance to be on a Hollywood red carpet is impossible to turn down. As Coogan put it: “These awards are a celebration of creativity and innovation.” Creators want to be a part of that.
In other news…
Not Much New at the NewFronts
The IAB NewFronts kicked off in New York this week. The annual event, during which platforms pitch their ad products to brands, is also a pulse check on their business priorities for the year.
YouTube unveiled YouTube Creator Partnerships, a centralized hub in YouTube Studio built on top of Google’s Gemini. It includes new AI-powered tools for creator discovery, measurement and insights, designed to help advertisers scale and streamline their process. These are important infrastructural updates to YouTube’s influencer marketing efforts, but they don’t feel particularly innovative or splashy.
TikTok presented for the first time under new US ownership. It announced two new ad products clearly geared at big brands looking to tap into cultural moments on the app. That’s not surprising: TikTok has been going after both TV advertisers and experiences, including through a new partnership for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
The company’s new “Logo Takeover” allows brands to appear alongside the TikTok logo on the launch page when users open the app. “Prime Time” allows brands to deliver up to 3 ads to the same user on the For You Page within 15 minutes. The idea is to go beyond a standard mobile video ad during tentpole events, when a lot of people are using the app.
The rest of TikTok’s announcements were updates or expansions to existing products like TikTok Pulse, which places ads against a selection of brand-safe, trending content on the app. We wanted to hear more about its partnership with Tubi on a new creator incubator, though it’s too early for many new details, especially ones that are relevant to advertisers.
The Round Up
TikTok is testing a new microdrama feed on its app called “TikTok Short Drama,” Business Insider reported. Tune into our recent podcast below for why this was inevitable. Or go deeper here and here on what’s behind the explosion of microdramas this year.
The Creators Guild of America, an industry nonprofit, launched a platform similar to IMDb for digital creators. Called Mosaic, it verifies creators’ work and helps them showcase their projects to brands and other collaborators. As we noted above, the move comes as more creators want recognition for their work—and also as AI is making it harder to tell where content originated from.
CNN was panned for trying something new: anchor Jake Tapper broadcast the first hour of his show from his dimly lit office with a podcast-style mic rather than his studio. “Things are getting desperate at CNN,” one person wrote on X. (Fun fact: Kaya was an intern for Tapper’s show “The Lead” as a college student.)
A Labubu movie is coming. Paul King, the director of “Paddington” and “Wonka,” will produce and direct the film, according to Labubu retailer Pop Mart and Sony Pictures.
In memoriam: Leonid Radvinsky, the secretive billionaire owner of OnlyFans, died of cancer at age 43. OnlyFans had been looking for a buyer over the past year.
Deals, Deals, Deals
Bluesky, the decentralized Twitter alternative, announced it raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Crypto. The funding was secured in April 2025. Earlier this month, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber announced she was stepping down and becoming the company’s chief innovation officer. Toni Schneider, a partner at VC firm True Ventures, is now the interim CEO, while the board searches for a permanent replacement.
Mirage, a New York-based AI video editing app previously called Captions, raised $75 million in growth financing from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund. The company will use the funding to expand to other markets, including Asia.
Talvy, a recruiting site with short-form video profiles that’s positioning itself as a hybrid of TikTok and LinkedIn, raised $2 million in seed funding led by Link Ventures.
Vox Media told some potential investors last month that its podcast network was no longer for sale, Semafor reported. A Vox Media spokesperson declined to comment.
Staffing Cuts
William Morris Endeavor laid off 30 people, or 3% of staff. “Our industry is undergoing profound change — from consolidation and shifting economics to new technology and evolving client needs,” WME co-chairmen Christian Muirhead and Richard Weitz wrote in a memo to staff cited by Deadline. “At the same time, new platforms are creating more opportunities than ever for talent and creators to reach audiences around the world.” We discuss what the layoffs say about creators’ place in Hollywood on Thursday’s podcast.
Spotify cut 15 podcasting positions, or about 3% of staff, including from its podcast network The Ringer, which is focused on sports and pop culture, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source said it wasn’t a cost-cutting move, but a reorganization toward growth areas like video. A Spotify spokesperson said it doesn’t comment on staffing shifts.
Creator Moves
Alix Earle announced a skincare brand called Reale Active. She’s been teasing the new venture under the Instagram handle @wtfisalixdoing, which more than 400,000 people followed over the past few days. Earle also put up a billboard in New York’s Soho neighborhood and sent physical puzzle pieces to other influencers to create more buzz around the launch.
Regulatory Woes
Bill Ready, the CEO of Pinterest, called for governments to ban social media for those under 16 in an op-ed for Time. It’s not a surprising take from Ready, despite being a social media executive: He has previously called social media “the new Big Tobacco” and advocated for bans on phones in schools.
Elon Musk misled Twitter investors before buying the company in 2022, a jury ruled on Friday.
Talent Tracker
David Dugan joined OpenAI to lead ad sales. He’s the latest former Meta Platforms executive to join OpenAI, following former head of the Facebook app Fidji Simo, partnerships exec Charles Porch, former co-head of product at Instagram Ashley Alexander and others.
Gaude Lydia Paez joined MrBeasts’ holding company Beast Industries as chief communications officer. Previously, she led comms at Riot Games, Hulu and Fox.
