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 Intro

00:23 Why Casey Neistat Wears Sunglasses

01:20 Lauren's First Time at Cannes

02:28 Is Cannes Still Not Creator-Centric?

03:32 The Volume of Creator Conversation is Louder

04:27 Creator Awards Without Creators?

06:12 Why Creator Campaigns Aren't Winning Yet

06:55 How Dove is Winning with Creators

07:27 Coca-Cola's Innovative UGC Campaign

08:44 The Future of Media, Marketing, and Advertising

09:43 Josh's Trip to StreamTV in Denver

11:09 Legacy Media is Finally Embracing YouTube

12:28 Prediction: Disney-Level IP Will Launch on YouTube

14:10 YouTube's Big Announcement: 'Open Call'

15:40 How YouTube Will Prevent Creator Burnout

17:50 YouTube's Incentive to Win Short-Form

19:32 This Isn't For MrBeast

20:27 Trend: TikTok Summer Camp

22:14 More Summer Collabs: Mark Rober, Baby Shark & Cocomelon

23:57 VidCon Recap with Phil Ranta

24:16 VidCon Vibes: Chill, Accessible, and Fewer Brands

24:40 VidCon Hot Topic: AI

25:24 VidCon Hot Topic: Brand Impact & Shoppable Content

26:22 VidCon Hot Topic: Consolidation & M&A

27:02 A Lack of 'Boffo' Announcements

28:56 Outro

Creator 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

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