Creative Control

Latest Episodes:

Is banning Tiktok “un-American?” May 04, 2023

Show notes

Since the last time we discussed the efforts to ban Tiktok, we’ve been hearing more about future legal challenges to these restrictions and the international impact they would have.

So to get some different perspectives on Tiktok’s actual security risks and the courtroom sagas already shaping up, we talked with Timothy Edgar and Anupam Chander. Timothy is a professor at both Harvard and Brown, specializing in cybersecurity, and Anupam is a law professor at Georgetown who focuses on global regulation of new technologies. Both experts emphasized how banning Tiktok opens up a lot of new questions about how tech companies, specifically social media platforms, are treated in the U.S. and other countries. Because, while other countries including China and India have banned certain apps in the past, an American ban on Tiktok would send an entirely new message about how we do—or don’t—want to communicate with the rest of the world.

How AI could shape the next 50 years of hip-hop Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, a genre that’s gone from a niche art form to a cultural and financial powerhouse across the world. But with that huge burst of growth, are the true hip-hop creators getting their due? And what role will AI play in hip-hop in the next 50 years?

To help us unpack hip-hop’s history and future, we talked with Sacha Jenkins. Sacha is a filmmaker, musician, and the creative director of the media company, Mass Appeal. He’s also the cocurator of Hip Hop: Conscious Unconscious, a photo exhibit presented by Fotografiska New York and created in partnership with Mass Appeal.

What do politicians not understand about TikTok? Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

As Montana becomes the first state to pass a bill banning TikTok on all personal devices, discussions about why and how to restrict the Chinese-owned platform are circulating everywhere. TikTok creator V Spehar, @underthedesknews, has amassed 3 million followers with their clear, brief explanations of current events, and they believe that the communities and conversations on TikTok play a vital role in how we engage with each other across the globe. So when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress a few weeks ago, V went to listen in, and see firsthand how politicians are talking about the controversial app.

Navigating the creator economy 2.0 Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

To jumpstart season 3 with an overview of the creator economy, we’re featuring a roundtable conversation with some experts, recorded a few weeks ago at SXSW.

Our panel of experts—Julie Haleluk, global head of video creator program at Amazon Live Shoppable Videos; Adrienne Lahens, global head of operations at TikTok Creator Marketing Solutions; Julian Reis, founder and CEO of SuperOrdinary; and Brent Weinstein, chief development officer at Candle Media—chatted with KC about the ups and downs of the creator economy. Given the huge influx of creators who entered the space in 2020 and the economic concerns that emerged last year, how is the creator economy maturing? And how do political conflicts play out, with so many creators staking their livelihoods on TikTok and other platforms?

Announcing Season 3 of Creative Control! Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

Next week, Creative Control is back with Season 3! Some of the topics we’re unpacking this season include the push to ban TikTok, how hip-hop has undeniably shaped social media, and why it’s so difficult for adult content creators to monetize their work. Also, we’re diving into how the creator economy is challenging our norms around copyright, ownership, and originality.

CC Flashback: Brittany Broski live from Fast Company’s Innovation Festival! Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

While we’re on break, working on the next season of Creative Control, we’re revisiting this live episode from Fast Company’s Innovation Festival last fall. Content creator and comedian Brittany Broski gave her candid take on the creator economy and how she’s building a career beyond that kombucha meme that made her famous.

CC Flashback: Emma Chamberlain on taking a coffee break from YouTube Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

In between seasons, we’re taking another listen to this interview with Emma Chamberlain, one of YouTube’s undisputed royalty.

Since starting her channel in 2017, Emma has amassed more than 11 million YouTube subscribers, in large part because of her wry comedic tone and signature lo-fi editing style. Her vlogs aren’t overproduced or too slick, instead she’s candid with her fans—which means being honest about needing a break from YouTube.

Emma’s shifted her focus to building out her podcast, Anything Goes, and her coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee. We talked about how she’s redefining her relationship with YouTube and finding her place in the coffee industry—potential haters and all.

CC Flashback: Should your doctor be an influencer? Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

We’re working on the next season of Creative Control. In the meantime, we’re revisiting this still-relevant topic: doctors on platforms like TikTok and Twitter making medicine less of a mystery for people—and becoming celebrities along the way.

But the ethics of being a medical influencer are a bit hazy. We’ve seen how misinformation can run rampant on social media, and it doesn’t take much for anyone to gain a following, no matter their credentials. So what are the implications of doctors being influencers, and is it actually making us healthier?

CC Flashback: Why copyright law is out of step with choreographers in the digital age Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

While we’re on break, working on the next season of Creative Control, we wanted to revisit this throwback episode about copyright law and dance, and how some choreographers are fighting to get their work protected as intellectual property. It’s part of the wider issue of how popular trends can spread online without proper credit or compensation—something creators of color, in particular, have been calling out.

CC Flashback: How NCAA athletes are navigating the Wild West of NIL deals Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

We’re taking a little break right now while we work on the next season. We’ll be back soon with new conversations and stories about what’s changing in the creator economy. In the meantime, in honor of March Madness, we wanted to revisit this throwback episode about the NCAA changing their rules to finally allow college athletes to make money from their own name, image, and likeness.

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