The creator economy has boomed over the past two decades with YouTube leading the charge in the early 2000s and other platforms like TikTok and Instagram following in its path. For many content creators, what started as a hobby has since blossomed into a full-fledged career.
However, YouTube’s ad revenue isn’t what it used to be. Changes over time to the platform’s monetization policies, community guidelines and algorithm have impacted creators’ income streams. For many creators, ad revenue alone isn’t enough on its own to scale their businesses. For others, particularly queer creators, they’ve lost the ability to monetize their content entirely.
Sponsorship deals can be a lucrative source of funds, but they carry their own restrictions for what kind of content a creator can make. With venture capital not really a viable option for most creators, many YouTubers have turned to other ways of raising funds.
Spotter, an LA-based content creator investment platform, gives creators cash upfront in exchange for licensing existing or upcoming content. That money can then be used to scale a creator’s brand, fund more expensive-to-produce content or even grow their solopreneur business into a full-fledged enterprise.
That pool of money for creators just got bigger, too. Spotter recently raised a combined $755 million across a recent $200 million Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and other previously undisclosed rounds. The new capital and reinvestment brings its valuation to $1.7 billion and will allow Spotter to invest $1 billion directly into its YouTuber partners to help them grow their businesses.
“I have been a partner of Spotter’s for several years. Specifically, I recently worked with them on financing my Español channel because the cost of dubbing is expensive and the revenue on YouTube is delayed — you don’t get it instantly. By partnering with Spotter, I was able to keep dubbing videos and uploading,” popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. Mr. Beast, said in a statement.
According to Spotter, that partnership has allowed Donaldson to add 375 videos to his channel, which since has gained 123 new subscribers and a 300 percent increase in viewership.
“This latest investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is a testament to the creator economy maturing into a new era,” Spotter founder and CEO Aaron DeBevoise said in a statement. "Following years of development in technology and data collection, we're proud that Spotter has emerged as the market leader in this progression—building the bridge that allows creators to transform their channels into their own individual enterprises. This new investment allows us to continue being the preeminent partner to creators.”
Additional investors backing Spotter include CoVenture, Crossbeam Venture Partners, GPS Investment Partners and HighPost Capital.
According to a company statement, Spotter also plans to use its new capital to provide upfront funding for new video production. Funds will also be used to enhance Spotter’s analytics offerings to creators who will have access to data-driven tools and recommendations to improve video production, publication and performance.
The company also hopes to expand into funding creators on other platforms. Considering how popular TikTok has become, it would be no surprise if that’s where Spotter has its eyes set.
