Legacy publishers embrace the Creator Economy
PLUS: Are MAGA media outlets cratering?
Welcome! I’m Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you’ve received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you.
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Why publishers are building their own creator networks
Media companies like The Washington Post and CNN are in the early stages of building creator networks, partnering with up-and-coming creators on content and monetization. It’s an acknowledgment that power is shifting away from large news brands and toward individual personalities. While the details vary, most of these arrangements involve publishers paying creators negotiated fees to produce content that runs on the publishers’ own channels—while still allowing creators to continue publishing on their own platforms as well. [Digiday]
Why an early Substack creator moved to Ghost
One of the original recipients of the “Substack Pro” advances — a discontinued program where Substack would front a large sum of money to larger creators to incentivize them to use the platform — explains why he moved his publication to Ghost. If you’ve followed the debate about Substack’s evolution from a newsletter platform to a multi-functional publishing tool, then most of his reasons for moving won’t surprise you. Basically, he’s suspicious that Substack is more focused on user lock-in than allowing creators to amass an audience they actually own. [Asian Century Stocks]
I still don’t really understand these arguments, seeing as how Substack hasn’t actually removed any email signup capabilities. If I want to move off of Substack, I can still take my email list with me. Sure, Substack has also added in “follow” features that allow people to read my work without entering their email addresses, but that hasn’t stopped me from maintaining accounts on LinkedIn, YouTube, or any other social network. So why is it a dealbreaker if Substack adds a “follow” button as well?
Obviously, this calculus would change if Substack suddenly made it much harder for people to sign up for my newsletter, but as of right now Substack doesn’t make money unless people convert into paid subscribers, and you currently can’t become a paid subscriber without handing over your email address to the creator. Therefore, Substack is still prioritizing email signups over followers.
I’m tracking which brands are sponsoring newsletters
What’s the easiest way to sell sponsorships in your newsletter? Most publishers would tell you to start with the brands that have already advertised in other newsletters. But here’s the problem: there are thousands upon thousands of newsletters out there and no standardized ad units. This means that the only way to have a comprehensive picture of who’s advertising in newsletters is to subscribe to them all and then open them, one by one.
Luckily for you, I’m doing all that work for you. I’ve created a database tracking hundreds of newsletters across a wide range of B2B and B2C niches. I’ve logged 1,254 newsletter sponsorships so far, and that number is quickly growing. Check it out.
Are GLP1s hurting “plus-sized” creators?
A lot of plus-sized influencers are suddenly landing fewer brand deals, and they're blaming it on the rise of GLP-1 drugs. Supposedly, brands are scaling down their plus-size products as that overall market shrinks. Even plus-sized creators who use affiliate links are noticing that a lot fewer people are clicking on those links and making purchases. [Vulture]
MAGA media sites fizzle as infighting splinters messaging
From Axios:
Most major conservative news apps have seen little to no growth in monthly traffic or app downloads over the past one to two years, according to data from Apptopia and Similarweb.
The splintering of the MAGA media movement — combined with broader media market challenges — has impacted the ability of many outlets within the once-unified coalition to grow.
This is interesting, but it’s tough to read too much into it when traffic is falling across the board for news sites as big tech platforms rein in outbound clicks.
One thing I will note is that MAGA outlets are in some ways more vulnerable to traffic declines since most don’t monetize with subscriptions or do enough original reporting to justify charging for a subscription. When your entire product is rage bait, you’re almost entirely reliant on clicks to keep the revenue flowing.
ICYMI: How Lon Seidman used his tech YouTube channel to build a huge affiliate business
He specializes in reviewing non-sexy gadgets that sell in high volumes.
Behind the paywall
Here’s what I have on deck for paid subscribers:
The music industry is struggling to staff its live events.
2025 was a turning point for Substack.
An attorney explains how creators should structure their brand deals.
Let’s jump into it…