Even the best creators believe that the power of the stars is transient –

VidCon, a gathering for creators and influencers, was ready for a triumphant return to Anaheim after its two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. And this year, TikTok, the startup platform that grew to over a billion active users during the pandemic, chose YouTube as the conference’s main sponsor, vowing to be the best creators of TikTok and inject new energy into the conference. 12 years. .

The creator economy has exploded in recent years, with the size of the consumer market spending money on creators expected to grow from $9.8 billion to more than $18 billion, according to Utah’s October 2021 report. And with that growth came pretty large budgets from brands promoting lucrative businesses with talent and constant interest from growing creators trying to monetize their followers and turn their content into a business. According to Insider Intelligence, US influencer marketing spend is expected to exceed $4 billion this year, with big brands like Levi’s and Louis Vuitton partnering with top talent like Emma Chamberlain, and the NFL and energy drinker Maevao. Celsius. Katie Finn for Association.

But as the creator-oriented industry has grown, this year’s VidCon offered an unshakable reminder of how a creative career, and therefore its relevance and star power, can fade as quickly as they explode.

To illustrate this, VidCon disclosed the downfall of TikTok’s reigning queen Charlie D’Amelio on June 22nd. That night, content creators gathered at the Hyatt Hotel near the Anaheim Convention Center to explore the aesthetically pleasing platforms of platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Meta. . Eye Reactions: He became the most popular creator on TikTok, taking D’Amelio out of the position he held for about two years. (As of publication, Lami has 144.5 million followers to D’Amelio’s 142.9 million.)

The next day, D’Amelio took the stage for a sponsored chat with Lightricks creator Brandon Baum. But instead of being the venue for the convention center’s main ballroom — especially given TikTok’s role as VidCon’s main sponsor — the conversation took place on stage, a Spotify-sponsored stage hidden behind the Expo Hall and competing. . Rumors of dozens of booths of the brand arranged in the same room.

This does not mean that fanatics have not gathered to learn about and salute D’Amelio, what the business of the creator, which now includes perfumes, clothing, reality shows on Hulu and associations of important brands with companies such as Dunkin’, for right. – did not decrease. But the exhilaration surrounding top talent from past VidCons, where the deafening screams of fans were considered the norm, has been noticeably dampened for a creator with a following like D’Amelio. And when other creators asked for advice onstage, it occurred to him that D’Amelio was probably tired of it all.

“Don’t get attached to anything specific,” said D’Amelio, who originally went viral on TikTok with videos of her dancing. “It’s not worth always forcing yourself to do something. I feel like if you do that, you can only do that as long as you don’t get bored and don’t want to change. And if you’re used to creating just one type of content, you might feel stuck.”

As for losing first place to Leim, that’s held by Milan-based Iron Corp. And he recently signed a multi-year contract with Hugo Boss: D’Amelio assured fans that “there was no hard feelings”. “For two years I had number 1. I feel like it’s time for someone else to have that spot,” D’Amelio said. “It’s wonderful to know that someone else is taking this place: someone is a sweet and good person and loves what they do… I wouldn’t want to pass that on to anyone else.”

D’Amelio’s presence at VidCon also highlights the absence of other creators who have been big draws at VidCons in recent years, including YouTube creators David Dobrick and his Vlog Squad, Jake and Logan Paul, Tyler Oakley, Jenna Marbles, Grace Helbig , Philip . Defranco and Casey Neistat. The conference also invited significantly fewer people to the 50,000 in-person attendees at the 2019 conference this year compared to the 75,000 attendees, although Covid may have had an impact on reduced attendance.

Marquez Brownlee, a technology critic who has more than 15 million YouTube subscribers, describes the careers of creators as the careers of professional athletes. “Many people want to be professional athletes. But when you look at it, the life cycle of a professional athlete is short and short in most sports,” said Brownlee, who chaired the creators’ conference on the final day of VidCon. hollywood reporter. “For example, you’ve been in your league for five years. If you’re lucky, you play at eight, nine, 10 [years]. If you’re literally LeBron James, you’ve been playing for 20 years. This is a short run on most fields.”

And as developers are trying to use their popularity as quickly as possible by producing more content and following the whims of platforms, burnt out creators could lead to an even faster career decline, or even what is mostly online. After uploading videos to YouTube for over a decade, Ingrid Nielsen, a longtime beauty and lifestyle YouTuber who has appeared at previous VidCons, uploaded her latest video in 2020, expressing her desire to retire as a creator of professional content and explore new activities. off. Nielsen now runs The New Savant candle company with her partner, Erica Anderson.

Meanwhile, Emma Chamberlain, who has gained popularity on YouTube and now has 11.5 million subscribers, has started posting less frequently to stop herself from getting bored on YouTube, where she has just returned from a six-month hiatus. The creator, who runs a coffee company and has a successful podcast, is now pursuing a career outside of YouTube with appearances in interviews on the Met Gala red carpet and more. Tonight’s show with Jimmy Fallon.

For those trying to make a living creating content, the pressure to stay on top of trends and stay relevant is still there. The rise of new platforms like TikTok also points to changes for the future of creator success, meaning developers who focus on long videos on YouTube must be willing to include short videos in their strategies to stay relevant. YouTube’s top VidCon activations, the drive-thru experience promoting creative food brands, and the 40-foot-tall gumball machine designed by Jimmy Donaldson, MrBeast himself, were grouped under the YouTube Shorts brand, which is another offer. a clear signal. About how much the company is focusing on short-form video rather than the long-form content that made its previous stars more famous.

The platform’s agnosticism is especially important for diversifying followers and revenue, as creators like Katie Finn and Alice McKay say. THR Who post on YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Instagram, Reels, TikTok and Snapchat. But flexibility in the type of content they publish is also important.

“You have to be constantly ready to grow as a creator,” McKay said. “I started to do [point-of-view videos] So I started rapping and I started to realize, well, my audience doesn’t respond to that anymore. So now everything is in order, but I’m sure in six months I’ll probably be doing something else. You can no longer try to force what just doesn’t work… it’s hard because it can burn you, constantly trying to think of the next thing, but it’s one of the most important parts of the job.”

Brittany Tomlinson, creator and podcast host of TikTok, led by Brittany Brossky, also noted during a panel discussion with co-founder Chris Collins (as well as Kallmekris) that a content creator’s job can be integral. “I’ve had burns multiple times, and it sounds like an umbilical cord to my ears, like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ “But when you think about it, it’s not nine past five,” Tomlinson said. “That’s ‘always’.”

Hank Green, co-founder of VidCon, also noted the “struggle” developers face to keep up with industry changes. “I feel like YouTube has disrupted television, TikTok has broken all these great current rulers, and it’s very strange that we now have a VidCon for these two events,” Green said in his opening remarks. “Things have changed a lot and, for better or worse, there is a lot of struggle that goes along with this massive breach. But it also means that there are many opportunities. There’s plenty of time to find out.”

But this time, creators like Tomlinson say they’re not afraid to leave if the time comes.

“The main reason for this problem, which underlies everything we do, is the moment we stop having fun, and I’ve come to that point several times, don’t expect anything from me,” Tomlinson said.