- It was a busy year for M&A in the creator economy.
- Startups in influencer marketing, talent management, and podcasting became acquisition targets.
- Companies also sought to expand globally by acquiring creator startups in new regions.
Dozens of merger and acquisition deals were inked between companies across the creator economy in 2024.
One of the most impactful sales was Publicis Groupe’s purchase of Influential for $500 million, two M&A experts told Business Insider. It signaled that one of the world’s largest ad holding companies viewed influencer marketing as a must-have offering.
“If influencers are the new gatekeepers and authority within these digital channels, then they’re going to command audiences,” Chris Erwin, founder of M&A advisory firm RockWater, told BI. “Advertising revenue dollars are going to flow towards them.”
Goldman Sachs analysts highlighted influencer marketing spending as a primary driver of growth in the creator economy when they valued the industry at $250 billion last year.
A few other clear trends emerged this year around deals. Outside influencer marketing, popular acquisition targets included talent-management firms and podcasting tech. There was also a push among non-US firms to build out creator businesses globally through purchases.
Business Insider combed through data from PitchBook and Crunchbase and connected with M&A insiders to understand some of the key deals in 2024.
Here are 4 takeaways from our analysis:
- Influencer marketing was a big focus among acquirers in 2024. It’s a category that has a proven business model compared to some of the more experimental parts of the industry. Beyond Publicis’ deal with Influential, other large advertising brands brought in influencer expertise through acquisitions.
A few noteworthy deals in this category:
- Marketing firm Stagwell announced in July that it had acquired the influencer-marketing agency Leaders.
- Canadian talent agency Dulcedo Group acquired the influencer-marketing app Node in July.
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The creator economy is maturing globally. Several companies made strategic deals across markets like India, Japan, and Australia. Publicis highlighted Influential’s global reach in its July announcement around the deal.
“Creators really can be global from day one,” said Ollie Forsyth, a former senior manager at the investment firm Antler who now writes the newsletter New Economies. He pointed to technologies like AI-powered audio dubbing and video editing tools as paving a new path for creators to easily distribute content to a global audience.
A few noteworthy deals in this category:
- French influencer firm Ykone announced in March it had acquired a majority stake in the Indian influencer-marketing firm Barcode to build a business in the Indian influencer market.
- Finnish influencer firm Boksi announced in February that it had acquired the German influencer-marketing company the Influencer GmbH to grow its business in Central Europe.
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Podcasting is a hot category. As platforms like YouTube and Spotify drive listenership (and viewership) of longer content, advertisers are paying close attention. US ad spend for podcasts is expected to hit $2.28 billion this year, a roughly 16% increase from 2023, per EMARKETER’s forecast. Meanwhile, M&A deals in the category focused on podcasting tech and IP in 2024.
“It’s a publisher play of rolling up these popular networks of shows,” said James Creech, an M&A advisor through Quartermast Advisors and founder of Creator Economy Jobs. “I think that’ll continue because you’re likely to see a handful of winners in this space.”
A few noteworthy deals in this category:
- Triton Digital said in March it had acquired podcasting ad tech firm Sounder to boost its targeting and brand safety tech.
- Night announced in April that it had acquired The Roost, a podcast network that includes shows from Theo Von and other popular creators.
- Creator-focused talent firms are continuing to consolidate. There’s no shortage of talent managers and agencies looking to represent creators. But a smaller number are prepared to support the businesses of top creators who aim to book deals, exclusive podcast agreements, and Hollywood roles.
A few noteworthy deals in this category:
- Talent-management firm Wasserman announced in September that it had acquired the talent-management agency Long Haul to grow its gaming and sports creator business.
- Influencer marketing and creator talent company Whalar announced in October it had acquired the influencer-management firm Sixteenth.
Looking ahead to 2025
Both Erwin and Creech are expecting the next year to be fruitful for creator-economy companies.
“We’re going to see more activity next year,” Creech said.
One area the two M&A advisors are watching closely is whether consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies will continue to shop for creator-owned businesses, such as Hershey buying creator Maxx Chewning’s Sour Strips brand in 2024.
Companies that successfully raised new funding in 2024 may also signal where M&A activity is heading next in the industry. Creator startups with unique offerings in artificial intelligence, newsletter tech, influencer marketing, and e-commerce all drew in investor dollars in the past year. Among the big rounds were creator-marketing platform Agentio, newsletter app Beehiiv, social-shopping app Flip, and AI firm ElevenLabs. Startups flush with funding could become acquirers in 2025.
“If you are looking to sell or to raise capital now, it’s a good time to do it,” Erwin said.
