POSTING & TOASTING
This is the first edition of POST CREDITS Daily, a newsletter from me, Ian Schafer, the President & Co-Founder of Ensemble. This newsletter will be a companion to a show (called, you guessed it, POST CREDITS) that I’ll be hosting to chart the impact of the creator economy on the general entertainment economy — and vice-versa.
I’ll be sitting down to talk with all the key players building the new, decentralized future of entertainment, where creators, platforms, and brands are all playing starring roles; because the old Hollywood model is fading and being replaced in real-time by something different. Creators are the new showrunners. Brands are the new producers. Audiences want entertainment that speaks to them, and they trust individuals more than studios or networks to deliver it, regardless of the screen they watch it on. POST CREDITS captures this revolution in real time—highlighting the people, deals, stories, and strategies behind the rise of creator-led, brand-powered, algorithmically – distributed entertainment.
More on that to come. But first, a newsletter.
This past weekend I spent quality time in Dubai at the 1 Billion Followers Summit with some of the most popular creators on the planet. There didn’t seem to be much North American brand presence there (though that should change going forward), so I shared some of my biggest takeaways over at LinkedIn.
Here’s an excerpt:
THE CREATOR ECONOMY IS COMING FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT ECONOMY
For anyone under 35, the biggest stars in the world are creators, and the level of recognition has not even begun to catch up with their earning potential. The insights these creators are getting about how the algorithms work, what their audiences want, and even how to sell to them have reached peak levels. They don’t need traditional media, because for hundreds of millions of people, they are traditional media. And increasingly, they are becoming media brands with better reputations than any network or platform. The passive revenue some of them are making from the platforms are leading many of them to be even more selective with the brand deals they get.
CREATORS ARE THE NEW SHOWRUNNERS, BRANDS ARE BECOMING THE NEW CO-PRODUCERS
Creators are starting to focus more on their brands, and delivering on the expectations of their audiences. These creators are more than people – they are people’s favorite shows.
— Ian
POWER SHIFT
MrBeast Just Deposited $200M to Help Build Beast Industries
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum-focused “treasury” company, announced a $200 million equity investment into Beast Industries, MrBeast’s multi-tentacled entertainment and CPG company, with the deal expected to close around January 19, 2026. The release frames Beast Industries as “the leading content creator of our generation,” spanning YouTube, live events, and fast-growing snacks brand Feastables, while hinting at future DeFi-powered financial products for fans. [PR Newswire]
When an ETH treasury decides its best risk-adjusted bet is Jimmy Donaldson instead of another token, that should serve as a signal to every CMO that the new most valuable “networks” are still humans.
PLATFORM MOVES
Fanvue’s $22M Series A Puts AI Creator Platforms in the Big Leagues + Higgsfield
London-based Fanvue — an AI-powered creator monetization platform — has raised a $22 million Series A and crossed a $100M+ annual run rate, with 17 million monthly active users and roughly 250,000 creators on the platform. The company leans heavily on AI tooling, from analytics and an “AI coach” to AI agents for DMs and voice cloning via ElevenLabs, all aimed at driving higher, more predictable creator revenue.[Forbes]
My bet is that AI’s greatest impact on creators will be workflow; look no further than AI video startup Higgsfield hiring Taz Patel (the co-founder of creator management platform Captiv8) as its VP of Platform Partnerships.[Adweek]
PLATFORM MOVES
TikTok Is Now FIFA’s Preferred World Cup Video Partner
FIFA has tapped TikTok as the first-ever “preferred platform” for video content at a men’s World Cup, giving creators special access at the 48-team 2026 tournament and allowing broadcast rightsholders to livestream portions of the 104 matches in a dedicated in-app hub. TikTok will layer on gamified features, custom stickers, and tools for creators to remix archival FIFA footage, all aimed at converting scroll-time into tune-in for the tournament. [Associated Press]
And I thought Aphex Twin randomly knocking off Taylor Swift in the charts was the big TikTok news this week. Then again, TikTok is at Davos for a reason…
NEW DEAL
Fanatics Goes From Commerce to Content with Fanatics Studios
Fanatics has launched Fanatics Studios, a new entertainment division built in partnership with OBB Media that will produce longform sports and culture content — including the official film for the LA28 Olympics, a multipart Tom Brady documentary (“One More Drive”), and the 2026 ESPY Awards in partnership with ESPN, plus projects with WWE, MLB, and Fox Sports. The studio will operate as a standalone unit within Fanatics’ broader sports platform that already spans merchandising, betting, and fan events. [Associated Press]
With more insider handshake deals making it harder for institutions to maintain the integrity of their businesses (look no further than the decline of the regional sports networks), it’s clear that independent sports media (yep, creators) will continue to fragment the sports media landscape, regardless of billionnaires’ best efforts.
CULTURE SIGNAL
NBCUniversal’s Milan Cortina Creator Collective Makes Creators Part of the Olympics Broadcast Plan
Ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, NBCUniversal is reviving and expanding its Creator Collective, partnering with YouTube, Meta, and TikTok to give 25+ creators — including Kylie Kelce, Anna Sitar, Tom Daley, Cleo Abram, and more — on-the-ground access to tell athlete and culture stories across social. The Paris 2024 Creator Collective racked up ~300 million views, and NBCU says this new lineup will extend its reach to more than 65 million followers. [NBCU Media]
I can’t wait for you to see what Ensemble is about to shock drop on this front before the Olympics…
Feel like you’re more informed about the evolution of entertainment? Share this with your friends and colleagues, and you’ll get 1000 bonus points.
Until tomorrow,
Ian Schafer, Ensemble, and the POST CREDITS team.