Creator economy and media tech
131 companies assessed. 93 of them, 71.0%, sit in the two least protected bands, against 53.3% across all 10,525 companies assessed.
The picture
Creator economy and media tech is splitting into two very different worlds. On one side sit the super-apps and talent agencies that already own the audience or the relationship: WeChat, Douyin, LINE, Weverse, CAA. They face almost no real customer loss because they control distribution, payments, or representation, not just a tool layer. On the other side sit the hundreds of point solutions built on top of someone else's platform: link-in-bio pages, tip jars, analytics dashboards, influencer marketing agencies, MCNs. Those are getting squeezed from two directions at once, native platform features (YouTube's Ask Studio, Instagram's multi-link bio, TikTok Shop) are copying their core function for free, while AI-native and cheaper clones (Skool, Livid, ShopMy, Beacons) undercut them on price. The one thing deciding survival is whether a company owns the audience relationship and the money flow, or just rents a feature on top of someone else's platform. Companies that made themselves a thin utility layer, stock photo libraries, link pages, tip jars, are the most exposed, because the platforms they depend on can absorb their function overnight.
All 131 companies, most protected first
| Company | Standing |
|---|---|
| Douyin Douyin is ByteDance's dominant Chinese short-video app fused with a massive e-commerce engine | Hard to displace |
| Ghost Non-profit, open-source publishing platform for independent newsletter creators | Hard to displace |
| LINE LINE is Japan's dominant messaging super-app, tied to PayPay and Yahoo Japan under LY Corporation | Hard to displace |
| WeChat China's dominant messaging and payments super-app with mini-programs and ads | Hard to displace |
| Weverse Weverse is HYBE's fan community and membership app for K-pop and global music artists | Hard to displace |
| Wistia B2B video hosting and marketing platform with CRM analytics and lead-capture tools | Hard to displace |
| Buffer Social media scheduling tool built for solo creators and small businesses | Defensible for now |
| Buzzsprout Buzzsprout hosts podcasts and gives independent creators RSS feeds and analytics | Defensible for now |
| Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Talent agency representing actors, athletes, and top digital creators for deals | Defensible for now |
| DistroKid DistroKid puts independent artists' songs on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms for a flat yearly fee. | Defensible for now |
| Frame.io Video review and collaboration platform for creators, owned by Adobe since 2021 | Defensible for now |
| Transistor.fm Small bootstrapped podcast hosting and analytics platform for creators, agencies | Defensible for now |
| WME (Endeavor) WME reps actors, directors, and creators as the number two Hollywood talent agency under Endeavor. | Defensible for now |
| Acast Independent podcast hosting and ad marketplace, strong in Europe | Protection under test |
| Art19 Podcast hosting and ad insertion platform, owned by Amazon since 2021 | Protection under test |
| CapCut ByteDance's free video editing app, the cutting tool behind millions of TikTok clips | Protection under test |
| Chaturbate Live webcam platform where models earn tips from viewers via tokens | Protection under test |
| ConvertKit Email marketing and monetization platform built for online creators | Protection under test |
| Envato Envato sells subscription access to templates, stock media, and creative assets under Shutterstock | Protection under test |
| Huya Chinese esports livestreaming platform majority owned and controlled by Tencent. | Protection under test |
| HypeAuditor Estonia-founded platform that scores influencers and flags fake followers for brands | Protection under test |
| Influencer.com Decade-old influencer marketing agency and marketplace connecting brands with 90,000+ creators | Protection under test |
| Influential AI-powered influencer marketing agency, now a Publicis Groupe unit | Protection under test |
| Libsyn Libsyn hosts and monetizes podcasts, taking a cut of ads and payouts for 250k+ shows | Protection under test |
| Medium Platform for paid long-form writing and reader subscriptions | Protection under test |
| Memberful Membership billing and paywall software for creators, owned by Patreon | Protection under test |
| Open Influence Independent agency that finds and manages influencer campaigns for big brands | Protection under test |
| Passes Passes runs a fan subscription platform where creators sell content and keep about 90% of what they earn. | Protection under test |
| Sendible UK-made social media scheduling and reporting tool built for agencies managing many clients | Protection under test |
| Shutterstock Shutterstock licenses stock photos, videos, and data to businesses and now to AI labs | Protection under test |
| Streamlabs Streaming tools and monetization software for live creators, owned by Logitech | Protection under test |
| Supercast Supercast runs billing and membership tools letting podcasters sell paid subscriptions directly | Protection under test |
| Tailwind Scheduling and AI caption tool for Pinterest and Instagram marketing | Protection under test |
| TikTok Short video app with a shopping and creator economy, now majority US owned via a new joint venture | Protection under test |
| Tribe Marketplace matching brands with influencers to produce sponsored content | Protection under test |
| Upfluence French SaaS platform for finding and paying influencers, plus e-commerce campaign tools | Protection under test |
| Uscreen Uscreen runs the billing and TV-app platform creators use to sell video subscriptions | Protection under test |
| VSCO Photo editing app and creative community pivoting into pro workflow tools for photographers | Protection under test |
| #paid Creator marketing platform matching brands with influencers for paid campaigns | Losing its protection |
| Agorapulse Agorapulse is a Paris-based social media management platform for creators and brands | Losing its protection |
| Artlist Marketplace for cleared music, footage, and now AI video tools for content creators | Losing its protection |
| Aspire Aspire runs a software platform that helps brands find, pay, and manage creators for marketing campaigns | Losing its protection |
| Automattic (WordPress.com) Parent of WordPress.com and Tumblr, powers about 42% of all websites through WordPress software | Losing its protection |
| Beehiiv Beehiiv runs a newsletter platform and ad network for independent writers | Losing its protection |
| BIGO Live Live-streaming app where fans pay real money to tip broadcasters in real time | Losing its protection |
| Bluesky Decentralized social network built on the open AT Protocol, competing with X and Threads | Losing its protection |
| Bonfire Bonfire runs custom apparel and fundraising merch for creators and nonprofit causes | Losing its protection |
| Buy Me a Coffee Simple tip-jar and membership page letting fans pay creators directly online | Losing its protection |
| Captiv8 Influencer marketing platform with a large creator database, now folded into Publicis Groupe | Losing its protection |
| Captivate.fm UK podcast hosting platform owned by Global Media for growing indie shows | Losing its protection |
| Collabstr Marketplace where brands book creators directly for sponsored content deals | Losing its protection |
| Epidemic Sound Sells royalty-free music and sound effects that creators license by subscription | Losing its protection |
| Fanbytes TikTok and Gen-Z influencer marketing agency, now a unit inside Brainlabs | Losing its protection |
| Fanvue UK platform where fans pay for creator content, including AI-generated personas | Losing its protection |
| Fohr Fohr runs a creator marketing platform matching brands with influencers, plus managed campaigns | Losing its protection |
| Fourthwall E-commerce and merch platform handling stores, tax, and fulfillment for online creators | Losing its protection |
| Getty Images Getty Images licenses stock photos, video, and editorial images to media, ad, and enterprise customers | Losing its protection |
| Insense UK marketplace connecting brands with creators for UGC and influencer content | Losing its protection |
| Jellysmack Creator video optimization firm pivoting into true-crime media ownership via Law&Crime and Court TV | Losing its protection |
| JustFor.Fans Subscription platform for adult creators, strong in LGBTQ+ niche | Losing its protection |
| Karat Financial Credit card and banking startup built for YouTubers, streamers, and other creators | Losing its protection |
| Klear Influencer marketing analytics tool, now folded into Meltwater's suite | Losing its protection |
| Ko-fi Tip jar and membership platform letting fans pay independent creators directly | Losing its protection |
| Later Later runs social media scheduling plus a creator-commerce network built around Mavely | Losing its protection |
| Linktree Linktree runs the top link-in-bio page creators use to gather their links and sell things | Losing its protection |
| Linqia Linqia runs influencer marketing campaigns for big brands like McDonald's and Walmart | Losing its protection |
| Loomly A subscription platform for planning, drafting, and posting social content. | Losing its protection |
| LTK LTK runs a shoppable-link platform connecting fashion influencers to retailers and shoppers | Losing its protection |
| Manychat Manychat runs DM and comment automation for creators and brands on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp | Losing its protection |
| Mavely Affiliate commerce platform paying creators to sell brand products via tracked links | Losing its protection |
| Mavrck Later/Mavrck runs an influencer marketing and creator commerce platform for brands | Losing its protection |
| Megaphone Podcast hosting and ad-tech platform owned by Spotify, formerly independent | Losing its protection |
| Metricool Metricool is a Spanish social media scheduling and analytics tool for creators and agencies | Losing its protection |
| Mighty Networks Platform for creators to run paid membership communities and courses | Losing its protection |
| Modash Modash finds and analyzes social media influencers for brands, especially Shopify sellers | Losing its protection |
| Mux Mux runs the video API infrastructure that powers streaming, upload, and playback for developer apps | Losing its protection |
| Opus Clip AI tool that turns long videos into short viral clips for creators and brands | Losing its protection |
| Passionfroot Marketplace and AI-assisted CRM matching B2B brands with creators for sponsorships | Losing its protection |
| Payhip Payhip runs a no-code storefront letting creators sell digital products and memberships online | Losing its protection |
| Podbean Podbean hosts and helps monetize podcasts for independent creators | Losing its protection |
| Podia Podia is an all-in-one platform for selling online courses, memberships, and digital products | Losing its protection |
| Printful Print-on-demand fulfillment platform for creators, now merged into FYUL | Losing its protection |
| Printify Print-on-demand marketplace linking sellers to 85+ manufacturers for printing and shipping goods | Losing its protection |
| RedCircle RedCircle hosts podcasts and runs a marketplace matching advertisers with independent podcasters | Losing its protection |
| Restream Restream lets creators multistream live video to 30+ platforms from one dashboard | Losing its protection |
| Riverside.fm Remote recording and AI editing studio for podcasters and video creators | Losing its protection |
| ShareChat Indian short-video app (Moj) now betting its future on micro-drama app QuickTV | Losing its protection |
| ShopMy ShopMy runs an affiliate link platform connecting influencers to brands for shoppable content | Losing its protection |
| Soundstripe Royalty-free music and sound-effects licensing platform for video creators | Losing its protection |
| Spreaker Italian podcast hosting platform owned by iHeartMedia, sits behind its ad sales machine | Losing its protection |
| Stan Store Flat-fee storefront and checkout platform for creators selling digital products | Losing its protection |
| Storyblocks Subscription library of stock video, audio, images, and graphics for creators and brands | Losing its protection |
| StreamYard Live-streaming and podcast studio tool for creators, now owned by Bending Spoons | Losing its protection |
| Studio71 Studio71 reps 1,000+ creators for brand deals, distribution, and content formatting across YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts | Losing its protection |
| Tagger Media Influencer marketing software, now just a product line inside Sprout Social | Losing its protection |
| Traackr Traackr sells influencer marketing software that tracks and scores creator performance for big brands | Losing its protection |
| United Talent Agency (UTA) Talent agency representing actors, directors, and creators, third-largest of the Big Three | Losing its protection |
| UnitedMasters Music distribution platform helping independent artists release music and land brand deals like NFL and TikTok | Losing its protection |
| VidIQ VidIQ sells YouTube analytics and video-optimization tools to creators | Losing its protection |
| Viral Nation Canadian agency that finds and vets influencers for big brands like Coke and Disney | Losing its protection |
| VK Russian social network and Max messenger, kept dominant by state decree, not market economics | Losing its protection |
| Whalar Creator/influencer marketing agency, now owned by Accenture Song as of June 2026 | Losing its protection |
| Whop Marketplace letting creators sell courses, trading signals, and paid communities | Losing its protection |
| Beacons Beacons makes link-in-bio pages and storefronts for creators to sell products and media kits | Little protection left |
| BroadbandTV (BBTV) Canadian MCN turned AI-data licensing broker for YouTube creator content (formerly BroadbandTV) | Little protection left |
| CoSchedule CoSchedule makes a marketing calendar and social scheduling tool for content teams | Little protection left |
| Creative Juice Creator-focused banking and revenue-based financing platform, now absorbed into Rho | Little protection left |
| Douyu Nasdaq-listed Chinese platform for live game streaming and esports content | Little protection left |
| Fanbase Small app letting creators charge subscriptions and tips instead of running ads | Little protection left |
| Fullscreen Defunct creator network brand, ceased operations 2021, absorbed into Warner Bros. Discovery ad sales | Little protection left |
| Geneva Group chat app for creator communities, now absorbed into Bumble BFF | Little protection left |
| Heartbeat Nano-influencer marketplace matching brands with creators for campaigns | Little protection left |
| Heepsy Spanish SaaS search engine that helps brands find and vet influencers | Little protection left |
| Hopper HQ Small bootstrapped scheduler that lets creators plan posts across nine social platforms | Little protection left |
| Iconosquare French social media analytics tool for brands and influencers, now owned by Positive | Little protection left |
| IZEA Public marketplace connecting brands with creators for sponsored content deals | Little protection left |
| Julius Julius is an influencer marketing platform for finding and vetting creators for brand campaigns | Little protection left |
| LoyalFans UK-founded subscription platform for adult creators, competing directly with OnlyFans | Little protection left |
| ManyVids Canadian marketplace letting adult creators sell subscriptions, custom clips, and pay-per-minute chats | Little protection left |
| Mediakix Influencer marketing agency running creator campaigns for brands since 2011 | Little protection left |
| NeoReach NeoReach runs an influencer marketing platform and agency connecting brands with content creators | Little protection left |
| Planoly Visual content planner and scheduler for Instagram and social creators | Little protection left |
| Popular Pays Creator collaboration platform for brand-influencer campaigns, owned by Lightricks | Little protection left |
| Sellfy Bootstrapped Lithuanian platform letting creators sell digital products via simple storefronts | Little protection left |
| Simplecast Podcast hosting and analytics platform, owned by SiriusXM since 2020 | Little protection left |
| Spring Creator merchandise platform, now a small product line inside penny-stock Amaze Holdings | Little protection left |
| Stir Stir lets creator teams split payments and revenue shares automatically. | Little protection left |
| Superpeer Defunct platform for paid 1:1 video calls and courses between creators and fans | Little protection left |
| Takumi UK platform linking brands with Instagram and TikTok creators for influencer campaigns | Little protection left |
| Triller Short-form video and music app once positioned as a TikTok rival, now a shell company | Little protection left |
| Trovo Tencent-owned live streaming platform that shut down all operations in mid-2026 | Little protection left |
Questions people ask
- Is Getty Images losing business to AI image generators
- Yes, Getty's subscriber count fell from 318,000 to 258,000 with retention dropping to 90 percent as buyers switch to Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Adobe Firefly for cheap AI images.
- What is happening to influencer marketing platforms like NeoReach and Heartbeat
- Both sit in the weakest tier, with NeoReach at pressure 8 and Heartbeat at pressure 8, as larger rivals like CreatorIQ, GRIN, and Publicis-owned Influential absorb enterprise clients while AI tools like Modash and HypeAuditor automate discovery cheaply.
- Which creator tip jar app is winning, Ko-fi or Buy Me a Coffee
- Both face pressure from each other and from native platform tipping, but Ko-fi holds a slight edge with its 0 percent tip fee pulling price-sensitive creators away from Buy Me a Coffee.
- Why did StreamYard lose users to Livid
- StreamYard raised prices 80 to 369 percent since 2024 under new owner Bending Spoons, and Livid, founded by StreamYard's own former founders and backed by 10 million dollars in funding, is targeting those angry customers directly.
- Are talent agencies like CAA and WME at risk from AI
- Not directly yet, both are rated defensible for now and low pressure scores of 4, but CAA leads WME in top-actor representation at 23.7 percent versus 10.0 percent, and WME lost NFL representation tied to a Raiders ownership stake.
- What happened to Triller and is it still operating
- Triller is now largely a shell company after AEW dropped its TrillerTV platform for its own MyAEW service, and TikTok, Reels, and Shorts absorbed its general audience.
What to watch
- A major stock photo company announces a subscriber count drop similar to Getty's fall from 318k to 258k
- A platform like YouTube or Instagram launches a native feature that copies a paid tool's core function (link pages, analytics, scheduling)
- A funded challenger founded by ex-employees of an incumbent tool (like Livid from StreamYard) gains public traction after a price hike
Head to head in this sector
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