Snapchat is continuing its push to try to lure creators away from TikTok.
On Wednesday, the company announced a slate of new shows starring celebrities and influencers, including TikTok-famous sisters Charli and Dixie D'Amelio. It's also launching its own creator marketplace to help connect brands with augmented reality developers and eventually Snap Stars (verified creators) on its app.
The audio chat-room app Clubhouse is also making a push into original content this week, hiring a group of creators to make pilot episodes of shows for its app. With competitors like Twitter Spaces opening up to more users and its own download numbers dwindling, the company may be looking for new ways to attract creators and differentiate itself in an increasingly crowded live-audio world.
Every Friday, Insider gives a rundown of news on hires, promotions, and other creator company announcements from the past week. Are we missing anything? Let us know.
New hires, promotions, and departures
- Nicole Leo is the new director of creator partnerships at the creator-event company VidCon. Leo is leaving a role as director of celebrity and influencer marketing strategy at Blended Strategy Group.
- VidCon also announced it's promoting four current employees. Fiona Ridgway is now an executive producer of VidCon Now, the company's digital platform. Travis Morss was elevated to director of programming. Jeanette Francia became a senior marketing manager. And Sydney Jenner is now coordinator of talent partnerships at the company.
- UTA promoted Tori Botsford and Kirby van Erkel to agents in its digital talent division. The company also promoted Ben Goldberg to coordinator in its emerging platforms division.
- Digital content studio Little Dot Studios hired a group of Fullscreen staffers, including John Holdridge, who will serve as its new managing director for the US; Jordan Benedict, who is its new SVP of content development and strategy; and James Norell, who joins as SVP of business operations and strategy, Deadline reported.
- WarnerMedia-owned digital-content company Rooster Teeth hired Jejuan R. Guillory as its new head of talent and casting strategy. Guillory previously was head of programming at Microsoft's esports and gaming studio and head of production at Defy Media's Screen Junkies.
New talent signings
- Snapchat signed a group of creators, including Manny MUA, GabbyMorrison, and Charli and DixieD'Amelio, for a new season of Snap Originals shows, the company announced during NewFronts.
- YouTube star Lilly Singh signed a first-look deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio to produce unscripted content, Variety reported. The news comes as Singh and NBC announced they're ending her late-night show, "A Little Late With Lilly Singh," after a two-year run.
- Wheelhouse DNA, the digital division of Wheelhouse, signed a media partnerships deal to manage the YouTube channel for rap and pop star 24kGoldn.
Other creator economy updates
- Guy Oseary and Michael Powers launched a new live-video startup this week called Bright. The company's platform allows influencers, celebrities, and other digital creators to set up pay-per-view live-video sessions with fans. Early users include TikTok stars the D'Amelio sisters, YouTuber Tal Fishman, and Hollywood celebrities like Laura Dern and Ashton Kutcher. The company told Insider that it plans to make money by taking a 20% cut of ticket sales.
- Genies, a virtual-avatar startup that has worked with creators like Shawn Mendes and Jake Paul, raised $65 million in a Series B round led by Bond, TechCrunch reported. Other participating investors included NEA, BreyerCapital, Dapper Labs, Tull Investment Group, and Coinbase Ventures.
- Audio app Clubhouseannounced the inaugural list of creators who it's paying to produce pilot versions of shows as part of its Creator First program.
Read last week's creator economy updates, here.
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