Companies
Everyone doing the buying, the selling and the distributing. Nearly all of these carry a mark; the section is close to complete.
AfroTech
The Black tech conference that grew from 650 to 25,000+ attendees in six years
Aimé Leon Dore
The Queens-born menswear brand whose registered trademarks turned a logo and a vibe into legally protectable IP
Alibaba
The Chinese e-commerce giant whose Taobao Live platform proved that entertainment-native shopping at scale works
AlleyCorp
The venture firm betting that creator content is the most efficient ad unit ever built
Amazon Live
Amazon's live shopping platform — the legacy e-commerce giant's answer to TikTok Shop, using Prime infrastructure and one-click purchasing to compete…
Amí Colé
The DTC beauty brand that built a community of melanin-rich consumers before launching a single product
Apollo Global Management
The private equity giant that structures the credit behind large music catalog deals
Apple Podcasts
The platform that built podcasting's distribution backbone
ASCAP
One of the two main performance rights organizations in the US
Ascential
The B2B events company behind Cannes Lions and Money20/20
Aspiro AB
The Swedish holding company that Jay-Z bought for $56M in 2015
Bain Capital Ventures
The VC arm of Bain Capital backing creator monetization infrastructure on both sides
beehiiv
The Substack competitor giving newsletter creators a publishing platform with more monetization control
BlackRock
The world's largest asset manager — where TreasureTress founder Jamelia Donaldson worked before building her creator business, and the institutional…
Blackstone
The private equity firm whose investments in Candle Media and Epidemic Sound made it one of the first institutions to treat creator content…
Blavity Inc.
The media holding company behind AfroTech
BLCK VC
The nonprofit trying to fix the fact that only about 3% of venture investors are Black
BMI
The performing rights organization that logs what songwriters own and what it earns
Bolloré Group
French family conglomerate controlling approximately 18% of Universal Music Group through its majority stake in Vivendi.
Bond Capital
Mary Meeker's venture fund backing algorithm-independent creator businesses
Bravado
Universal Music Group's merchandise subsidiary
Brillstein Entertainment Partners
The Hollywood talent management firm acquired by Wasserman
BuzzFeed
The digital media company built on social distribution and native advertising, operating BuzzFeed, Tasty, and HuffPost at its peak before going…
ByteDance / TikTok
The Chinese tech company behind TikTok — the most disruptive force in creator distribution since YouTube, now attempting to transplant a $300B+ live…
Candle Media
Blackstone's content play combining Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine with CoComelon
Cannes Lions
The world's largest annual gathering for the creative and advertising industry
Carlyle Group
One of the world's largest private equity firms
Channel 4
The UK public broadcaster whose Gogglebox slot gave TreasureTress's Curly Christmas campaign reach into 12 million households
Circle
The issuer of USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin at the center of the creator payments thesis
Clutch
A creator-to-brand marketplace backed by First Round Capital and Precursor Ventures
Collide Capital
The Black-owned venture firm built on the bet that founders closest to a problem are the ones who solve it
Concord
An independent music company that acquires publishing and recorded music catalogs
Culina Health
The first digital nutrition platform funded by an insurance payer
CultureCon
The conference that grew from a one-bedroom apartment to 10,000+ attendees by making culture and business the same event
Dirt
The New York media company founded in 2021 by Daisy Alioto and Kyle Chayka, publishing Dirt
DraftKings
The sports betting company that paid $50M over three years for Dan Le Batard's podcast rights
Dyke & Dryden
The UK's first Black-owned hair care retailer
e.l.f. Cosmetics
The mass-market beauty company that paid $1B for Rhode
Edison Research
The research firm behind the Infinite Dial report
Epidemic Sound
The royalty-free music licensing platform that Blackstone backed for $450M
Fabric
Coworking and online platform infrastructure for IRL communities
FanaticsLive
The live sports commerce platform where Fanatics owns the merchandise, the licensed products, and the selling venue
FanDuel
The sports betting platform whose own data showed podcast advertising delivers 24% lower cost per download and 43% higher margin than competing…
Fenty Beauty
Rihanna's beauty brand that launched with 40+ foundation shades and forced the entire industry to expand theirs
Field Trip Records
A new model bridging creator economy and music industry
First Round Capital
The seed-stage VC firm backing creator-specific infrastructure
FORVR Mood
Jackie Aina's lifestyle brand extension into candles and fragrance
Glossier
The DTC beauty brand that built an audience via a blog before a single product existed
Goldman Sachs
The bank that told Wall Street the creator economy was worth $500B — and made institutional investors pay attention.
HarbourView Equity Partners
The entertainment-focused private equity firm founded by Sherrese Clarke Soares in 2021, holding roughly $2.7B in assets across 70+ music catalogues
Hardcore History
Dan Carlin's listener-supported independent podcast
HartBeat Productions
Kevin Hart's production studio — the cautionary example of what happens when a creator business assumes the founder's name is a marketing plan, and…
Hustle Fund
The VC firm that treats creator investment like small business infrastructure
Hypnosis Songs
The music catalog fund that pioneered institutional music IP investing
IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau)
The trade association that sets digital advertising standards
Iconix Brand Group
The IP holding company that buys trademarks and licenses them back to operators
iHeart Media
The largest audio company in America — 860+ radio stations across 160 markets reaching roughly 250 million monthly listeners, and the number one…
Informa
The B2B events and media giant that paid $1.5B at 21x EBITDA for Ascential
Kickstarter
The crowdfunding platform that pioneered direct audience funding for creative projects
KKR
The private equity giant whose investment in ByteDance is one of the most consequential bets in the creator economy
Kylie Cosmetics
The first proof-of-concept for the celebrity beauty brand at scale
Lectures on Tap
An intimate bar-based lecture series proving that depth, specificity, and the right room can build a durable convening business without the overhead…
LegalZoom
The legal services platform offering standardized business templates
Luna (TerraUSD)
The stablecoin that collapsed in 2022 after failing to back its dollar peg with real assets
Nesi Apparel Group
The manufacturing and distribution partner that turned Rocawear from a Jones Street sewing operation into a nationally distributed brand
Netflix
The streaming giant using podcast deals and live events to compete for the same audience YouTube already owns
Night Ventures
The rare VC-management hybrid managing Kai Cenat while investing in AI identity protection and creator licensing tools
Pat McGrath Labs
The luxury beauty brand that proved 20+ years of editorial credibility can launch a product line overnight when the audience is primed
Patreon
The platform that proved creators could replace a record label, a network, and a distributor with a direct line to their audience.
Patron
The exclusively gaming-focused venture fund backing creator-led IP franchises and AI gaming tools
Pear VC
The seed firm that made student founders a strategy rather than an exception
Pershing Square Capital Management
Bill Ackman's activist hedge fund that tried to buy 10% of UMG via SPAC before the deal fell through
Phia
An AI-powered price optimization tool for fashion that acts as an automated shopping agent
Project Panther Bidco
The London-registered shell company Jay-Z's team created to comply with EU acquisition rules
Prose Beauty
The personalized haircare brand that requires real formulation infrastructure to deliver on its promise
Providence Equity Partners
The private equity firm behind Wasserman
Punch Up Live
Shopify for comedians — a ticketing and commerce platform built specifically for live performance creators, the kind of purpose-built infrastructure…
QVC
The TV shopping network that invented shopping-as-entertainment decades before TikTok Live
Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez's beauty brand with $350M in annual revenue
Rela
A digital workspace built specifically for influencers
Rhode Skin
Hailey Bieber's skincare brand that went from 3 products to a $1B e.l.f. acquisition in under three years
Roc Nation
Jay-Z's entertainment company spanning music, sports management, and live events
Rocawear
Jay-Z's streetwear brand that he sold the trademark for $204M while keeping the operating license
Schibsted
The Norwegian media conglomerate that owned 75% of Aspiro AB
Sephora
The most important retail partner in the creator beauty ecosystem
Shopmice
A creator affiliate commerce platform backed by both AlleyCorp and Bain Capital Ventures
ShopShops
A bilingual live shopping platform letting Chinese consumers buy directly from US and European physical stores
Signature Apparel Group
The Rocawear junior's line licensee that went from $30M to a forced Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009
Slow Ventures
One of the first VCs to bet directly on individual creators as CEOs
SoftBank
The Japanese conglomerate and largest venture fund in the world
Spice Capital
An early-stage venture firm investing in creator and media infrastructure
Spotify
The streaming platform that changed how music gets paid — and proved that convenience beats ownership for most listeners.
Sprint
The US wireless carrier that invested $200M in Tidal for a 33% stake in 2017
Square / Block
Jack Dorsey's payments and financial services company that paid $297M for 80% of Tidal
Stem
The music distribution and finance platform that advances money against future streaming revenue while keeping ownership intact
Stripe
The payments infrastructure company whose USDC payout integration signals that stablecoin payments are moving from crypto-native to mainstream…
Substack
The newsletter platform that turned subscription publishing into a viable business for independent writers
Takeoff Institute
An eight-week summer fellowship that gives Black undergraduates the mentorship, financial literacy, and network access that usually decides who gets…
TalkShopLive
The celebrity-native live shopping platform whose Walmart Collectors Nights partnership signals that traditional retail has stopped experimenting…
TBPN
The daily live show applying the creator-media model to tech coverage
Team Epiphany
The marketing agency doing influencer strategy before the category had a name
Tencent
The Chinese tech conglomerate with 600+ investments and a major stake in UMG
Tidal
The artist-owned streaming platform Jay-Z bought for $56M and Block bought for $297M
TreasureTress
Europe's largest natural hair product discovery box
UC Regents
The University of California's investment arm
Unilever
One of the world's largest consumer goods companies
Universal Music Group
The world's largest music company — owning the masters, publishing rights, and distribution infrastructure behind most of the music you've heard.
Universal Music Publishing Group
The publishing division of Universal Music Group
Upside VC (Sidemen)
The Sidemen's £25M venture fund — the most prominent example of top YouTube creators becoming capital allocators, turning their platform into a…
VidCon
The creator conference that grew from 1,400 to 55,000+ attendees
Visit Rwanda
Rwanda's tourism agency using Arsenal and PSG sleeve sponsorships to reach markets that traditional tourism advertising could never access
Vivendi
French media conglomerate that owned Universal Music Group for 23 years before the landmark 2021 Amsterdam IPO
Webtoon
The global digital comics platform that Goldman Sachs called out by name in their creator economy report
Whatnot
The leading US live shopping platform that proved livestream commerce works in Western markets when anchored in collectibles
Whop
The creator commerce platform that organized the clippers economy and was among the first to add USDC payout rails
YouTube
The platform that changed creator economics with RPM and built the largest podcast audience in the US
Yuzu Labs
AI video and avatar creation tooling that lets individual creators produce studio-quality content