What this year is doing to creator rates

Brand budgets froze in March. Campaigns that were signed got postponed, and campaigns that were verbal disappeared. At the same time, audiences went up across nearly every account we look after, because everyone was at home.

That combination is dangerous. More attention, less money, and a lot of brands quietly offering “exposure” and product instead of a fee, to people whose numbers have never been better.

Our advice to everyone we represent has been the same: do not reset your rate downward in a bad quarter. A rate you drop in a panic takes about two years to climb back. Take fewer deals at your number rather than more deals below it, and spend the spare time on the things you own.