The Creator Economy's Next Chapter | Cannes & VidCon 2025 Recap feat. Phil Ranta | Creator Upload

We're back from a whirlwind week of travel to cover the biggest events in the creator economy. Fresh off the plane from France, we share our key takeaways from Cannes Lions. We discuss why the world's biggest advertising festival, while having a much louder conversation around creators than last year, still feels like an "old school advertising convention" that has yet to fully embrace creator-led campaigns. Plus, Josh shares a powerful insight from the StreamTV conference in Denver on how legacy media is finally realizing that it has to partner with YouTube, which now consumes over 12% of all TV consumption.We also cover YouTube's new "Open Call" feature, designed to help more creators land brand deals, and a summer trend of kid-focused content collaborations from TikTok, Mark Rober, Cocomelon, and the company behind Baby Shark.And since we couldn't be at VidCon, friend of the podcast Phil Ranta, CBO at Fixated, calls in to provide an expert recap. Phil covers the on-the-ground vibes , the hot topics dominating the panels (like AI and industry consolidation), and the surprising lack of major announcements from the platforms this year.00:00 Intro00:23 Why Casey Neistat Wears Sunglasses01:20 Lauren's First Time at Cannes02:28 Is Cannes Still Not Creator-Centric?03:32 The Volume of Creator Conversation is Louder04:27 Creator Awards Without Creators?06:12 Why Creator Campaigns Aren't Winning Yet06:55 How Dove is Winning with Creators07:27 Coca-Cola's Innovative UGC Campaign08:44 The Future of Media, Marketing, and Advertising09:43 Josh's Trip to StreamTV in Denver11:09 Legacy Media is Finally Embracing YouTube12:28 Prediction: Disney-Level IP Will Launch on YouTube14:10 YouTube's Big Announcement: 'Open Call'15:40 How YouTube Will Prevent Creator Burnout17:50 YouTube's Incentive to Win Short-Form19:32 This Isn't For MrBeast20:27 Trend: TikTok Summer Camp22:14 More Summer Collabs: Mark Rober, Baby Shark & Cocomelon23:57 VidCon Recap with Phil Ranta24:16 VidCon Vibes: Chill, Accessible, and Fewer Brands24:40 VidCon Hot Topic: AI25:24 VidCon Hot Topic: Brand Impact & Shoppable Content26:22 VidCon Hot Topic: Consolidation & M&A27:02 A Lack of 'Boffo' Announcements28:56 OutroCreator Upload is your creator economy podcast, hosted by Lauren Schnipper and Joshua Cohen.Follow Lauren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schnipper/Follow Josh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuajcohen/Original music by London Bridge: https://www.instagram.com/londonbridgemusic/Edited and produced by Adam Conner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamonbrand