Rethinking Deal Structures in the Creator Economy

The creator economy is a multibillion-dollar industry attracting serious investment, strategic brand partnerships and increasingly sophisticated deal structures. As platforms multiply and audience attention fragments, both creators and brands are rethinking how they structure relationships, distribute content and build long-term value.

In this Q&A, Mike Grossman, deputy chair of the firm’s Capital Markets & Corporate department, breaks down the current deal environment, the legal structures gaining traction and the critical considerations creators and brands need to keep top of mind as the space continues to mature.

Tell us about your practice and the types of matters you generally handle.

My practice is a mix of deal and transactional work for clients, including traditional corporate and M&A matters, capital raises, joint ventures, and entertainment and sports deals, along with more unique day-to-day matters that require creative problem-solving/troubleshooting as outside general counsel and trusted advisor to clients—including institutional, individual and family offices.

How would you describe the current deal landscape in the creator economy?

There is a lot of opportunity right now in the creator economy, and the deal landscape reflects that. One of the most notable shifts is how content is being packaged and distributed across a much broader array of platforms than compared to even just five years ago, where there seemed to be more concentration on just a few platforms. While creators are not abandoning traditional platforms (and likewise traditional platforms are expanding their offerings with new formats like video podcasts), they are also not relying as heavily on those platforms alone. In particular, audiences are discovering new platforms on what seems like a daily basis as new apps/platforms get pushed out by smart TVs, streaming devices and phones. We’re also seeing an increase in different economic models—free, ad-supported and subscription—being offered across platforms and within the same platform, and all of those present opportunities to broaden reach for creators and brands.

As creator businesses mature and brands become more strategic, which deal structures are proving most viable and what risks are commonly overlooked?

One trend we’re continuing to see is the move away from cash-only deals. We went through a similar evolution in sports and entertainment endorsement deals, where an athlete/talent would take a flat payment and walk away. Over time, taking less up-front cash in exchange for longer-term equity ownership in the brand that athlete/talent was helping to build became a priority. The creator economy is now going through that same maturation.

As a result, we’re also seeing well-known creators partner with brands, not just to produce content but to build entities together, like content studios, consumer goods, fashion, health and wellness companies, and so on. This is especially important for creators who depend on output-heavy deals or daily livestreaming, which may not be sustainable long term. Equity ownership and long-term royalty structures give creators a revenue stream that doesn’t depend entirely on staying at peak production volume.

On the risk side, equity-driven deals come with hidden complexity: tax implications, back-door noncompetes and exclusivity provisions that aren’t always obvious when you’re reading a long-form agreement. This is why it’s important that creators, brands and other businesses in the creator space work with the right counsel and advisors who understand the nuances of agreements from the beginning.

Looking ahead, how can creators and brands position themselves to capture long-term value as the space continues to evolve?

A key tension is between revenue diversification and authenticity, and getting that balance wrong is costly. When creators over-saturate their audience by chasing every partnership or distribute content indiscriminately across every available outlet, it often loses the organic quality that made that creator authentic and won their audience in the first place—and can backfire. That issue does not always get enough attention in deal negotiations.

Having experience working with clients on both sides, the key is to be intentional. Diversifying revenue streams is smart and necessary but not at the cost of the authentic audience relationship that created the value to begin with. And on the deal structure side, don’t let the excitement of an equity opportunity cause you to overlook the fine print. Exclusivity clauses, tax structure and noncompete language can quietly undermine a deal that looks great on the surface. The long-term winners in this space will be the ones who grow deliberately, protect their brand and build deal structures designed to last.