Will influencers pay to play in the creative economy?

Turbulence in the creator economy, gaming expands its reach, and the modern face of music creation   [View entire message](   🚨 You're reading a shortened version of our newsletter [Read the full newsletter on LinkedIn]( The once high-flying creator economy is experiencing turbulence. Twitter reportedly plans to clip the wings of half of its staff—37k people—as early as tomorrow, which would mark one of the biggest layoffs in U.S. history. Others popular with the creative class are cutting back: Snapchat, Spotify, Substack, TikTok, MasterClass, and Clubhouse, to name a few. YouTube, the proverbial canary in the mineshaft, reported its first-ever drop in ad revenue this year, signaling a wake-up call that a pandemic boom that saw the industry soar to $100B is coming to an end. VCs, too, are getting nervous, cutting investments in the industry by over half compared to last year. What all this means for creators is yet to be seen. 😰 Influencer blues over pay-to-play Celebrity “influencers” are in a tizzy over Twitter’s plans to charge them a monthly service fee for their coveted blue verification check marks. If new overlord Elon Musk has his way, creators apparently will be paying for more things, too — maybe even video, in the future. Some say this is just the beginning of a seismic shift in how the creative class engages online. “I’m more confident than ever that the world needs a better economic system for creative people,” Patreon’s CEO told his staff in a memo when announcing layoffs. [Read the full rundown]( ⭐️ Company feature: why we’re excited about [Kajabi]( Irvine, Calif.-based [Kajabi]( enables creators to earn money for what they know. The platform, which raised $550M last year, allows anyone to create and sell online courses for whatever skills and knowledge they specialize in. Over 100k businesses have been built on their platform, and the company says creators have earned over $4B to date. The company offers attractive benefits, including a 401k match, flexible PTO, and company-funded mental health resources.   👾 Trending in Tech 📈 Growth hacking is always trending There’s good news for “influencers” who don’t want to pay to play on Twitter. There are plenty of companies looking for growth hackers who understand how to make a needle move. The field is expected to add 10% more jobs by 2030. Part of this growth is due to the need for more specialized forms of marketing needed to tackle the problems a company might be facing. Often, this will involve a creator’s bread and butter: social media. See our list: [5 Hot Companies Hiring Growth Hackers]( 🎮 Game on! Gaming industry still scoring Gaming, one of the bright spots during the pandemic, continues to expand its reach. Mobile gaming took off during the pandemic and opened doors to new arenas. Online gaming became the method of choice for providing a form of connection that many desperately sought. Now, with companies like The Verse operating at the intersection of gaming and mental health, content creators can choose games and digital experiences made to help their followers with mental health struggles such as anxiety, grief, perspective-taking, and more. See our list: [Game On: 5 Top Gaming Tech Companies Hiring Now]( 🎧 Can you hear the music? Musicians have access to an unprecedented number of tools to get their work produced and heard. That’s a good thing, because it’s an increasingly complex business. Thankfully, the music hasn’t died out yet; artists are learning to adapt to the TikTok era of music, and there are plenty of startups dedicated to overcoming the struggles of today’s digital landscape with tech-based solutions. See our list: [Music Tech: 5 Top Companies Hiring Now](   📰 Startups In the News Munich, Germany-based [Software Defined Automation]( raised a $10M seed round led by Insight Partners. The company’s Industrial-Control-as-a-Service offering manages a business’s existing tech stack from the cloud. New York City-based [Lama AI]( a business banking technology provider, raised a $9M seed round co-led by Viola Ventures and Hetz Ventures. Lama AI’s technology platform grants banks, fintechs, and other industry players access to bank-rate credit opportunities, including term loans, lines of credit, and more. [See the full list](   🔥 Hot Startups Hiring Now [Determined AI]( Deep learning in hours and minutes, not days and weeks [Apply now]( [Vana]( A home for your data [Apply now]( [Oplus]( A healthcare OS company [Apply now](   Help us spread the word: we'll pay you [$200]( for every friend you get hired through AngelList Talent! [Refer & Earn]( Follow us on our social channels and stay up to date on the latest in startup news and job search tips: [Twitter]( [Instagram](://www.instagram.com/angellisttalent/) [LinkedIn]( AngelList Weekly 90 Gold St San Francisco, CA 94133 [Unsubscribe]( | [Update preferences](