Creator physical spaces will make a comeback in 2025

The news: Creator physical spaces are making a comeback, with at least two agencies expected to open creator campuses in early 2025.

• Whalar is slated to open the California location of The Lighthouse in January. A New York location is expected to open later in Q1.
• After piloting the venture, Billion Dollar Boy will officially launch FiveTwoNine in London in January, with a second space opening later in New York.

What it means: The creator economy is professionalizing, and creators need support in building, managing, and growing their businesses.

• A paid membership provides perks like production facilities, coworking spaces, hosted events, and in-person workshops with brands.
• We expect US creators to make $15 billion from social media alone in 2025. Big-name creators now run businesses that rival those of traditional brands, while other creators are moving from ad-hoc to episodic content and diversifying their revenue streams.
• Reports of loneliness and mental health issues among creators continue to rise. These spaces could provide creators with regular in-person interactions, potentially alleviating some of those issues.

Why it matters: In-person events and workshops can provide brands more opportunities to communicate directly with creators, which can improve partnerships.

Nine in 10 (89%) US creators say they have audience insights that brands fail to access, per May 2024 data from Creator Vision and The Harris Poll.

Yes, but: Whether enough creators want or can afford to pay for an external physical space is an open question.

Half (50%) of US and UK creators said they want to attend creator-centric events. Fewer (39%) said they want a physical location to meet like-minded creators and host meetings, per Billion Dollar Boy data from early 2024.

Catch up quick: YouTube shut down its permanent creator campuses, called YouTube Spaces, in 2021, pivoting to a hybrid model with virtual programming and pop-up events.

The big picture: As the creator economy matures, the ecosystem that supports it must also adapt and grow. Creators often benefit the least from big moves within the industry, such as the recent slew of agency acquisitions, and have historically been offered services they don’t want or need. But that may be starting to change as marketers and creators get more serious about their businesses next year.

Go deeper: For more on this, read our reports The Influencer Marketing Agency Ecosystem 2024 and Creator Economy Trends to Watch in 2025.

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters written by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.