In a nutshell
- Today’s creators have unconventional needs regarding their finances that usually can’t be met by conventional means.
- Spotter is a company that has developed a way for creators to get large influxes of money without giving up ownership.
- Creators using Spotter are rapidly scaling up and gaining immediate market attention.
In the early days of YouTube, users simply explored the ability to create and share videos with people online. As it evolved into a robust platform with economic potential, being a content creator became a cool but obscure way to make a living for a small number of big hitters. Now, countless creators are building businesses with polished content, managed marketing and serious investors. As with brick-and-mortar startups, sometimes a small business is poised on the brink of success but needs an injection of capital at just the right time.
What is Spotter?
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Spotter is an unconventional funding company designed for the unconventional needs of the online creator market. They make deals that provide cash flow to creators while allowing creators to retain control of the creative content and business. It’s structured in a way that helps both sides to benefit from your channel’s success and growth.
How does it work?
When you connect with the Spotter team, they review your existing library and metrics. Spotter uses this information to help determine your channel’s market value potential. Based on that valuation, you can make a deal to license your existing videos. You can also choose to license future content. Your deal gets you full access to Spotter’s team of experts. They will give you insights and advice to help your channel reach its true potential and scale up quickly. Then, as your channel grows, they profit from the ad revenue on the licensed content.
Deals made with Spotter average around $1.5 million for five years. It varies depending on the channel, with some deals coming in around $15k and others well above average. You can use the new funds however you’d like. Invest in gear or staffing to elevate your content. Buy new materials to use in upcoming videos. Create new marketing campaigns. Host a crazy giveaway on your channel. It’s up to you to do what makes sense for your channel.
How is it different from getting a loan or investor?
Usually, when you bring on an investor partner for your business, the new partner will have their own ideas and plans. Plus, they’ll want to approve new ideas and expenditures. You may not always agree and may have to fight to retain your creative integrity, but that can get tricky when essential funding is on the line. On the other hand, getting a personal or business loan would allow you to hold complete control of your company while getting extra funds. However, you’ll likely be discussing thousands, not millions, of dollars. Also, bank loans have a laundry list of requirements you must meet before approval. Then, you’ll have to consider the debt’s cost of monthly payments, interest, taxation and liability.
Since Spotter is at the forefront of the Creator Economy, they understand the nuances that make digital business different. It’s not a loan. It’s more like venture capital investments. You’ll never pay back the money. Instead, they recoup their investment from your future ad revenue, and, eventually, it becomes profitable for them. Their model’s set up in a way that when you win, they win – so they love giving you the tools you need to win.
What are the requirements to get a deal with Spotter?
Before being considered for a deal, you’ll need to meet a set of criteria to show that your channel is poised for success. You must have more than 50K subscribers and maintain a minimum of 1 million monthly views. Additionally, you need to show 12 months of consistent content uploading. It doesn’t matter if you post daily, weekly or twice a month; what matters is your commitment to consistency. Spotter also has limitations on the kind of content they are interested in licensing. For example, they will decline news and politics.
Are there any real-life examples of success?
Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, is one of YouTube’s top creators today, boasting an incredible 98.7 million subscribers. He is also the current poster child for launching into wild success with Spotter. His big-budget content often revolves around giving away huge amounts of money to viewers, participants and charities. While doing that obviously generates a lot of traffic and viewership revenue, it requires a lot of cash. Donaldson has been working with Spotter for a few years now. He’s used some of Spotter’s money to launch a Spanish-dubbed version of his channel. Since Spanish is the second-most frequently spoken language in the world, it opened the door to a huge new audience. His audience has increased by over 300 percent with international fame, and he reaps over a billion views per month cumulatively.
What should you do with this information?
If you’re a dedicated and ambitious creator, you’re probably already making plans in your head about how to get into this for your channel. Start with digging deeper into the requirements outlined above. Turn those into measurable goals and go after them.