The ‘time has come’ for digital creators. And they are here for that.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — As VidCon has matured in recent years, so have its attendees.

This year, the annual conference, for creators, fans, and industry executives, brought together the likes of A-list Hollywood star Keke Palmer and Minecraft YouTube streamer Dream. It also featured panels like “The New Age of Celebrity” and “Stream to Mainstream: Hollywood’s New Rules of Engagement.”

Online content, often dismissed as less impressive or serious than traditional media, is proving to be an unmissable force in entertainment as the lines between digital, film and television continue to blur.

“I mean, this in the best way,” said Ian Hecox, co-founder of the OG YouTube comedy channel Smosh. VidCon has “gone from weirdos to entrepreneurs.”

Young people have more and more converted to online video for entertainment. During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, digital content on platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok dominated, which VidCon experts say helped propel digital media as a serious form of entertainment.

“We’re not on a journey anymore,” said Amber Tarshis, director of marketing for the start-up economy startup Jellysmack. “The moment has come. Early digital talents are today’s power players.”

With everyone at home, audiences were left without new shows to watch on TV or stream, but the creators kept people entertained with new content every day.

“It really led people to look at creators, not as a hobby, but as another linear option,” said Joe Gagliese, CEO of Viral Nation, an influencer marketing and talent management company.

Gagliese said that when he co-founded Viral Nation in 2014, many creators believed that the next step in their careers had to be crossing over into mainstream media.

But creators aren’t just using social media as a jumping off point for greater stardom anymore. Instead, online content is the ultimate goal. Over the years, content creation has become a serious and doable career option for many.

“Everyone thought that the natural evolution of being a creator was to become a celebrity,” Gagliese said. “As the years went by, some of them crossed paths and realized, ‘I have to go to work a 13-hour day for $1,200 and they don’t care who I am.’ …Then they realize that it is a completely different routine than what they are used to.”

The transition from digital to mainstream hasn’t always been smooth, in part because executives have tried to force traditional growth models on new-age talent. In general, the relationship between digital talent and the Hollywood executives who invest in them has been strained in the past. The creators felt that many people coming from the traditional entertainment industry did not “get” the Internet.

Hecox and Anthony Padilla, co-creators of Smosh, can attest to that. The duo, who recently reunited after parting ways in 2017 to buy back the brand, have experienced the different phases and investments in the creator space since the two started their channel in 2005.

“They had a lot of institutional knowledge about how things worked in a traditional space,” Hecox said of early executives tapping into digital. “It wasn’t really one-on-one when it came to digital. So there’s a lot of things that just weren’t very productive in the digital space. It is a very different world. It’s a lot less money.”

The directive of some executives Smosh worked with, Padilla said, was to incorporate different elements into their YouTube videos because they believed it would “help the overall business.” Hecox said that towards the end of his initial association with Padilla, they prioritized production quality in a way that his audience did not like.

“We had gotten too far away from digital and started to look more like television, and I think people just didn’t connect with that,” Hecox said.

Padilla and Hecox now own their brand and have creative control over it. Instead of stretching to fit a traditional mold, they’ve redirected their focus back to their roots and what fans loved best.

The entertainment industry has gradually improved its handling of digital creators, according to Jade Sherman, director of digital at A3 Artists Agency. Sherman said that in the early days some agencies treated digital as the “ugly stepchild” of the industry.

Now “people aren’t trying to fit digital talent into a traditional type of medium and then just leave them and say good luck,” he said.

“They’re really trying to figure out, why should we work with this creator in this kind of format? What makes it more impressive? What makes it different from what they are already doing? And the truth is, sometimes that may not be an option.”

Alan Chikin Chow, who is represented by A3, began his career as an actor but turned his attention to social media content, leading him to become the most viewed YouTube shorts creator with a dedicated fan base. While he still takes on traditional projects, he said YouTube has allowed him to create comedy and tell stories on his own terms.

“I think what’s really exciting about being a creator is that you have the power to create your own brand, create your own voice, and really distill what you want to say, without having to fit the narrative. from someone else’s project, ”he said.

Traditional stars increasingly see the value of digital content. Superstars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Will Smith have created successful and popular online content for years. Now people like Palmer and former Disney Channel actress Christy Carlson Romano are building digital media companies for the first time because of the creative freedom and reach they can achieve with it.

Romano said she wishes she had started creating content online sooner, because it has allowed her to control her image, her storytelling, and her creative pursuits. She also said that she identifies as a content creator rather than a celebrity these days.

“It’s like you’re your own network,” Romano said. “I no longer needed to wait for anyone, and he would be the only person who would benefit from my efforts. So he’s very, very empowering.”

While creators and industry experts are optimistic about the future of digital media, some say there is still a lot of work to be done.

“Anything that becomes mainstream has problems,” said Gagliese of Viral Nation. “So I think you’re going to see a lot of growing pains… but if you can get past the growing pains and you can find that kind of stable space,” this industry, he said, “will become a monster. ”