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Later acquires Mavely for $250 million: The deal integrates influencer monetization tools, enhancing measurable ROI and full-funnel marketing capabilities.

But if you look at the creator economy as a whole, brand deals are the number one revenue stream. So, at eMarketer, we just released a forecast looking at all of the different ways in which creators and influencers are earning revenue on social media and brand deals account for about 60% of that.

The news: Instagram added new limitations to its livestream feature, now requiring creators to have a public account with over 1,000 followers to go live, per TechCrunch. Our take: While it could benefit Meta’s competitive position in the livestream space, Instagram’s latest restrictions will harm creators looking to break into the influencer space—necessitating rapid adaptation. Smaller creators could shift attention to other platforms with less restrictive livestream requirements—think YouTube, which only requires 50 subscribers to go live, and Twitch, which has no livestream minimum.

Accenture Song has acquired Superdigital, a Florida-based social-first and influencer agency with clients including Microsoft, Welch’s, and Nerf. Founded in 2013, Superdigital specializes in TikTok-driven content, community building, and creator-led campaigns, with activations ranging from Welch’s pop-ups to Microsoft’s AI influencer work. The deal reflects a broader wave of M&A as consultancies and holding companies buy into the creator economy. With social and influencer marketing outpacing other formats, the move positions Accenture to win young, digital-first audiences and scale creator-driven growth.

Germany leads European influencer marketing investment. German companies allocate €5.7 million ($6.2 million) annually to influencer marketing—the highest in Europe—with 82% increasing spending 10% to 49% in the past year and 65% planning similar increases in 2025, per a 2024 Kolsquare & NewtonX report. Multiplatform influencer strategies dominate.

What this means for creators: A lower-cost ad-free tier could change how content creators and influencers get their income and make subscription revenues a more important part of their business. Ä¢¹½AV 23.5% of social media creators’ revenues come from platform payouts, including ad revenues, per our forecast.