Creator economy experts Kaya Yurieff and Jasmine Enberg unveil their new media company Scalable

0:00Hi, everyone. This is Scalable, a weekly show about the business of the creator economy.

0:04Jasmine Enberg: I'm Kaya Yurieff. And I'm Jasmine Enberg. Every Thursday, we take you beyond the headlines to tell you what's happening, what it means, and why it matters. We are real podcasters now. Three, two, one. Should we do that one more time? Yeah. Why am I nervous? I know. We need a little energy. You need to do like a jumping jack. It was so cold in here. I know. By the end of the episode, we'll have no leather jackets on.

0:33Hi, Jasmine. Hey, Kaya. This is so exciting. Our first episode of Scalable, our new show about the business of the creator economy, where we will bring you inside the biggest headlines of what's happening in the sector and help you make sense of it all.

0:47Jasmine Enberg: For those of you who don't know us, I'm Jasmine Enberg. I have spent the past decade or so researching, analyzing, and writing about the business of social media and the creator economy. At eMarketer, I also built our Creator Economy Research Desk, really helping brands and businesses navigate this very quickly moving industry. I'm also an on-air TV commentator on the BBC, on Bloomberg, and on CNBC, talking about some of the biggest social media news stories out there, from the TikTok ban to Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. And I'm Kaya Uriyev, and I also have spent the last decade writing about social media, the creator economy, and technology as a journalist for media outlets, including CNN and The Information.

1:29Most recently at The Information, I launched and led the Creator Economy newsletter, which had more than 100 ,000 subscribers. And I've broken major news about all the most influential tech companies today, from TikTok to Meta to YouTube.

1:43Jasmine Enberg: So Kaya, normally we would have more than one story per podcast, but today we only have one story and it is about us and about Scalable. We are going to talk about what we're doing, what it all means, why it matters, and where all of this is going. So let's start with the name. Oh my God, the name was so hard. It was so, so hard. First of all, it's so hard to find a name that isn't already used by a podcast. But more importantly, we wanted a name that captured what we're doing. And I think now the creator economy, it's not just about social media. So we didn't want a name that played off of social.

2:18It really is a story that covers politics, sports, news, entertainment, every single industry.

2:24Jasmine Enberg: And to that point, we really wanted a name that captured this pivotal moment that we are in in the creator economy. It has become legitimized, but the dollars are still shifting. And every creator, every marketer, every investor, every founder that we talk to, their top priority is scale. That truly applies to businesses of all sizes across the industry. So take YouTube as an example. It is one of the oldest and most foundational companies within the creator economy. And it is also the primary way in which a lot of people are now watching TV. We're also seeing more brands, more creators, and more traditional media companies make more made-for-YouTube content.

3:04Jasmine Enberg: But I still think we're in the early days of that. And then on the business side of things, YouTube really hasn't reached the same scale that it has reached in watch time. It is not the primary place for TV or streaming ad dollars for most companies. Of course, it is growing incredibly quickly, much faster than linear TV, which we know is on the decline. But it's still clear that there's just so much more room for growth and room to reach scale. And that's even more true for the smaller players. So in 2021, we saw this huge boom in venture capital funding for creator economy startups. We're starting to see winners emerge from that.

3:40But still, there's, you know, it's wide open for what companies can kind of reach scale on the startup side. And of course, there's the rise of AI, which is further poised to shake things up to help creators, but also in many ways threaten what they're doing as well.

3:52Jasmine Enberg: And the name applies to us, too, because you and I, we've been thinking about and talking about going independent for a very long time. But in full transparency, it's really scary. I think, you know, after chronicling the creator economy and interviewing so many creators over the years, you and I both understand not only the mechanics of how this industry works, but the unique pitfalls and challenges that come with building a business within it, whether that's isolation, loneliness, burnout, income instability, lack of resources. I mean, the list goes on. And I think especially coming from a traditional media background, from a corporate background like you and I did, where you have a built-in infrastructure and you also have a sense of security, taking that leap felt really daunting.

4:41Which is why we wanted to do it together, because together this felt much less risky and daunting. And, you know, we've been longtime friends. We've been longtime collaborators. We've spoken on panels together. How many times have I interviewed you for stories? Thank you so much for that. Thank you. So it just made sense, I think, with, you know, our complementary POVs to do this together and to mitigate some of those risks.

5:03Jasmine Enberg: Yeah. And just so you all understand how long we've known each other, I think, Kaya, you were the very first reporter I spoke to back in like 2018 when I first really started focusing on social and creators. We had coffee at Hudson Yards. At the Blue Stone Lane. At the Blue Stone Lane. And I mean, could you have imagined back then that we'd be sitting here now? No, I can't at all. And I think obviously, as reporters and analysts who covered the creator economy, it was natural for us to eventually join it. But I think for a long time, it was something that we hesitated to do. Yeah, but we're also not doing this entirely alone.

5:35Jasmine Enberg: We are very grateful to be partnering with Lighthouse Studios that is providing us with infrastructure and the support that we needed in order to really make this jump. Yeah, because doing it together mitigates some of the risks, but it doesn't solve all of the kind of issues that we were aware of that could come with going independent. As a journalist, my first question to us would be, what is the structure? What is this deal? Tell us, Kaya. So we have formed a 50-50 joint venture with Lighthouse Studios in a deal that allows Jasmine and I to retain full editorial control and independence, which was so hugely important to us.

6:09At the same time, Lighthouse is providing us with all the critical business infrastructure we need, everything from capital to help with our branding, to legal support, to operational support and production facilities, because we are taping this at the Lighthouse in Venice.

6:23Jasmine Enberg: And editorial control wasn't just important to us. I think you and I, we both knew that this was not going to work if we didn't have independence and weren't able to continue to be unbiased in our coverage. But you and I really have built our brands, our reputations on being unbiased voices in the creator economy. And we knew that we needed to continue giving those sometimes critical, but always honest takes about what's going on. And I think the other thing that's really important and why Lighthouse is such a good fit for us is that it is a creator first company. So they understand what it takes to build a business within this environment, within this industry.

7:03And I think we're also in this moment of the creator economy where we are seeing these hybrid approaches, where, of course, there's so many people who have gone off on their own, but we're also seeing an increase in convergence. So if you look at what Vox Media has done with its podcast network, it'll be interesting to see what The Washington Post does with its creator network. Morning Brew has been hiring creators for the past few years. So it felt like the right approach for us forward to be able to do this independently, but to have the support and business resources that we needed as well.

7:30Jasmine Enberg: Definitely the right approach. Definitely also very meta. And I am so excited to be covering all of these topics and themes with you. But here is what you can expect from us. Every Thursday, we will be breaking down the biggest news headlines of that week with sharp, digestible takes and telling you what you need to know. We also know that we don't have all the answers. So we are going to be bringing on other smart folks for their point of view as well. And we also want to hear from you. So please send us your tips, your scoops, your stories, or just recommendations on what we should be talking about.

8:02But Scalable is also not just a podcast. We are building a new media company that includes a newsletter, annual event, and so much more. So we will also be in your email inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday, bringing you more creator economy news and analysis.

8:15Jasmine Enberg: And make sure that you tune in on November 6th because we are going to be spilling some of the tea of what we've been up to for the past month or so, as well as give you a little bit more of the backstory on Scalable and, of course, tell you some of the news headlines from that week. So you can subscribe to Scalable anywhere you get your podcasts and please visit us at scalablepod.co.