The Talent Brief · Preview Edition
The Creator Economy Is Rewiring Deals, Rights, and Platforms
Brands are dismantling the flat-fee model in real time, swapping one-off influencer deals for equity stakes and always-on loyalty programs. SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP are 30 days into contract talks with AI rights at the center. And Paramount just acquired Warner Bros. Discovery, which means two of the biggest content machines in the business are about to merge their streaming services. Here is what matters this week.
Deal Intelligence
New AI Platform Devotion Launches to Help Brands Scale Creator Programs, Raises $4M
Parade founder Cami Tellez and former TikTok exec Jon Kroopf launched Devotion, an AI-powered influencer marketing platform built to help large brands scale creator discovery, management, and content workflows. The platform uses AI to analyze creator posts for brand fit, determine which content to boost, and process payments across high volumes of creators. After a beta period with 10+ clients, the company has seven-figure revenue and raised $4M led by Basecase and Will Ventures.
Brands Shifting From Flat Fees to Equity Deals With Top-Tier Creators
A growing number of brands are moving away from per-video flat fees toward equity stakes and revenue-share arrangements with top-tier creators. The shift reflects brand frustration with one-off content that does not build long-term affinity and creator demand for upside beyond a fixed rate. Brands are increasingly treating creators as co-founders rather than vendors.
Creator Marketing Becoming an Always-On Loyalty Layer as Collab Costs Drop
American Eagle and Gap both launched creator affiliate and advocacy platforms, allowing anyone with 1,000+ followers to earn commission, complete challenges, and access exclusive content. Collabstr data shows nearly 80% of influencer collaborations now cost under $300. UGC campaigns grew from 15% to 35% of all collabs between 2024 and 2025, and brands are spreading budgets across 15-30 creators instead of concentrating on one or two higher-fee talent.
Agent Intel
SAG-AFTRA 2026 Contract Talks Underway With AI Rights, Residuals, and Health Plans on the Table
SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP kicked off 2026 contract negotiations in February, with the current deal expiring June 30. AI protections, residuals reform, and health and pension plan deficits are the three main issues. All three major guilds are operating their health plans in deficit, pressuring studios to increase contributions. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin provided a negotiating update at the Actor Awards this weekend.
SAG-AFTRA Condemns ByteDance Seedance AI for Using Member Likenesses Without Authorization
SAG-AFTRA condemned ByteDance's AI video model Seedance 2.0 for generating videos using member voices and likenesses without authorization, naming Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt among those affected. The union called it blatant infringement that undercuts the ability of human talent to earn a livelihood. ByteDance has not responded.
CAA Rehires Maral Beylerian to Lead Entertainment Partnerships and Bridge Brands With Hollywood Talent
CAA brought Maral Beylerian back into its Entertainment Partnerships division to drive content deals between marketers, media companies, A-list talent, and IP. The hire signals CAA is doubling down on its brand-to-talent pipeline as entertainment partnerships become a key revenue lever alongside traditional representation.
Platform Intel
TikTok Releases Discover List 2026 Naming 50 Creators to Watch Globally
TikTok published its annual Discover List naming 50 global creators to watch across five categories: Educators, Foodies, Icons, Innovators, and Originators. The list spans creators from the US, Canada, UK, Indonesia, Japan, Israel, Germany, and more. TikTok says the list highlights creators driving both platform culture and real-world commerce through authentic storytelling.
Nearly Half of US Consumers Now Use TikTok as a Search Engine, Adobe Research Finds
Adobe research shows nearly 49% of US consumers use TikTok as a discovery and search tool, turning to short-form video and personalized content to find products, restaurants, travel destinations, and how-to information instead of using Google. Usage as a search engine is rising sharpest among Gen Z and millennials.
Instagram Opens Native Content Scheduling to All Users, Removing Professional Mode Requirement
Instagram has made its native content scheduling tool available to every account, previously restricted to Professional Mode users. Any creator can now plan and schedule posts directly within the app without a third-party tool.
Gaming & Esports
Michelin Signs Partnership With BLAST for 2026 Rocket League Championship Series
Michelin partnered with BLAST to sponsor the 2026 Rocket League Championship Series, the global esports competition for one of the most played video games worldwide. Michelin cited esports as a key channel to reach younger drivers and build brand relevance with a demographic that is not watching traditional motorsport.
US Esports Viewership Projected to Reach 35 Million in 2026
eMarketer projects US esports viewership will reach 35 million in 2026, with Twitch and YouTube Gaming as the primary platforms. Individual streamers are increasingly becoming brand partners in their own right, separate from team-level deals, as marketers recognize the audience trust built through personality-driven gaming content.
RRQ Signs ZOWIE as Equipment Partner for VCT Pacific 2026 Season
Indonesian esports organization RRQ announced ZOWIE, the BenQ gaming peripherals brand, as its official equipment partner for the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour Pacific season, with jersey placement included.
Entertainment & Streaming
Paramount+ and HBO Max to Merge Into One Streaming Service After Paramount Skydance Acquires WBD
Paramount Skydance acquired Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix withdrew its competing bid. CEO David Ellison confirmed Paramount+ and HBO Max will merge into a single streaming service pending regulatory approval, with a shareholder vote expected in early spring 2026 and a September closing deadline. The combined entity would bring HBO, Max, Paramount+, MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime, and CNN under one roof.
ESPN Replacing Sunday Night Baseball With Women Sports Sundays for Nine Weeks
ESPN VP Susie Piotrkowski announced the network is filling its former Sunday Night Baseball slot with women sports games and studio programming for nine weeks, calling it the network's version of Monday Night Football for the category. Piotrkowski noted ESPN had its best-ever WNBA regular season and playoff ratings in 2025, even after Caitlin Clark went out injured in July.
Dolphin Entertainment CEO: Creator-Led Product Launches Can Exit at $350M With Zero Paid Media
Dolphin Entertainment CEO Bill O'Dowd laid out on the Strictly Business podcast how creator-led product launches now rival or exceed traditional paid media campaigns. He cited beauty influencer Susan Yara building Naturium during COVID using only influencer marketing and PR, then selling it to e.l.f. Beauty for $350 million three years later with zero paid media spend. Dolphin now represents creator clients and does concurrent brand work through PR firms including 42West and Shore Fire Media.
Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle
Urban Outfitters Launches Me@UO Micro-Creator Program, Top 100 Participants Win Joshua Tree Brand Trip
Urban Outfitters launched Me@UO on February 25, a points-for-rewards creator program open to anyone under 10,000 followers. Creators complete weekly prompts for affiliate revenue, exclusive content, and points. Season 1 stars pop artist Zara Larsson and runs through April 24, with the top 100 participants earning a Joshua Tree brand trip. The brand confirmed top performers could be elevated into bespoke paid partnership deals.
American Eagle and Gap Launch Always-On Creator Affiliate Hubs as Loyalty Infrastructure
American Eagle relaunched its creator program in early February as AE Creator Community, open to anyone with 1,000+ followers to earn commission, complete challenges, and redeem points for cash or merch. Gap Inc. launched a comparable multi-brand program in October spanning Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta. The AE program hit 803 sign-ups in 10 days with a 91% engagement rate in its members chatroom versus a 70% benchmark.
Music
Primary Wave in Talks to Acquire Kobalt Music Group
Primary Wave Music is in active discussions to acquire Kobalt Music Group, the independent music services company and publisher managing catalogs for major artists globally. If completed, it would be one of the largest music rights consolidations in recent years and significantly expand Primary Wave's publishing and services footprint.
Reservoir Media Receives Unsolicited $1.2B Acquisition Bid From Activist Investor Irenic Capital
Activist investor Irenic Capital submitted an unsolicited $1.2 billion bid to acquire Reservoir Media, the independent music publisher and rights management firm. Reservoir has not publicly accepted or rejected the offer. The move follows a broader pattern of institutional capital targeting music rights as a high-yield, recession-resistant asset class.
Live Nation Antitrust Trial Opens in New York
The DOJ antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster opened in New York, challenging the company's dominant control over the live events supply chain from venues to ticketing. The case could force structural remedies including a potential Ticketmaster divestiture.
Sports
WNBA Season at Risk as March 10 CBA Deadline Looms, Players Divided on Whether to Strike
The WNBA and WNBPA have until March 10 before the league says a season delay becomes possible. The latest league offer is a $5.75M salary cap with under 15% gross revenue share. Players opened at 40% and have come down to 26%. Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart both said publicly that striking would hurt both sides given the revenue share model, but more than half of player leadership reaffirmed willingness to walk if necessary.
PGA of America Extends Ryder Cup Media and Commercial Deal With NBC and Versant
The PGA of America extended its media rights and commercial partnership agreements with NBC and Versant for the Ryder Cup. Financial terms were not disclosed but the extension keeps the premier team golf event inside the NBC Sports ecosystem through future editions.
ESPN VP: Women Sports Viewership Has Structural Momentum Beyond Any Individual Star
ESPN VP Susie Piotrkowski said the network had its best-ever WNBA regular season and playoff ratings in 2025 even after Caitlin Clark went out injured in July, and that the network is building Women Sports Sundays as a standalone primetime franchise rather than a Caitlin Clark vehicle. Broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude added that the entire ecosystem of women's basketball is rising, not just individual stars.
Quick Hits
Supreme Court Declines AI Copyright Case - AI-Generated Content Has No Legal Protection
The US Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that AI-generated content does not carry the same legal protections as human-created work. The decision directly affects brands using AI-generated creative in campaigns and any talent whose likeness was used without consent.
Social Media Today →Warner Music Group Signs Deal With Korean Firm Behind Superstar Lee Young Ji
WMG struck a deal with MAINSTREAM, the Seoul-based management firm behind Lee Young Ji, covering talent development, music production, and global promotion. WMG extends its reach further into the K-content creator pipeline.
Music Business Worldwide →YouTube Premium Lite Adds Background Play and Downloads
YouTube expanded its lower-cost Premium Lite tier with background playback and offline downloads, making the $7.99 subscription significantly more functional and potentially affecting creator strategies around subscriber-only and offline-first content.
YouTube Official Blog →Kings League Creator Content Hit 900M YouTube Views in 2025
YouTube data shows Kings League-related videos generated over 900 million views globally in 2025, with 66% of Mexican sports fans watching creator-made sports commentary weekly. Creator-produced sports content is now a primary broadcast layer, not supplemental.
YouTube Official Blog →Instagram Now Lets Every Account Schedule Posts Natively
Instagram removed the Professional Mode requirement for native content scheduling. Any account can now plan and publish posts in advance within the app, improving workflow for creators managing brand campaign timelines without needing third-party tools.
Social Media Today →TAIT Acquires Silent House, Creative Agency Behind Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar Tours
Concert staging company TAIT acquired Silent House, the creative production agency behind tours for Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, and the Jonas Brothers, consolidating more of the top-tier live touring supply chain.
Music Business Worldwide →