Spotter is on the lookout for the back catalogs of YouTube creators

The Future. Spotter is dropping major money for the back catalogs of YouTube creators. The checks give creators fresh capital to expand their business or level up their current content. As the creator economy continues to skyrocket, influencer back catalogs could one day command the prices paid for those of musicians and film and TV studios.

Backcheck
YouTube has officially been around long enough that there is value in acquiring an influencer’s back catalog of videos.

• A startup called Spotter pays a lump sum of money to YouTube creators for the rights to their back catalog of videos… for a limited time.
• Its licensing back catalogs across every content category — the only criteria is that creators have consistent performance and have proof of monetization for one year.
• The company uses a “prediction engine” to determine the worth of the catalogs and has already dropped $200 million in deals across 115 channels.
  • Deals have ranged from $50K to $30 million.

Spotter has already inked deals with top influencers such as MrBeast, Dude Perfect, Donut Media, and Smile Squad (paying them $1 million for five years).

Video library
Spotter’s business model is a boon for YouTube creators, most of which are living paycheck to paycheck. Though the creator economy is worth a whopping $104 billion, 78% of full-time creators only make $23,500 per year — not much of a living wage.

But growing a business takes capital, which is what Spotter wants to provide. Honing in on the biggest names on YouTube in order to get traction, CEO Aaron DeBevoise,  a former VP of YouTube multichannel network Machinima,  says the company’s current mission is to just reach as many creators as possible.