The creator economy isn’t just about viral dances anymore. It’s big business — and UTA’s Ali Berman and Raina Penchansky are right at the center of it.
The two co-heads of UTA’s Creators division sat down with The Verge’s Decoder podcast at Cannes Lions to explain how they work. Their roster? Charli D’Amelio. Markiplier. Kai Cenat. Emma Chamberlain. Alex Cooper. Alix Earle. These aren’t just influencers — they’re running multimillion-dollar businesses.
Berman’s been at UTA for 16 years. She started in the digital department when “blog-centric” was the cutting edge. Penchansky co-founded Digital Brand Architects before Instagram even launched. Together they’ve spent two decades watching the creator space evolve from brands just wanting sponsored posts to full-blown product empires.
The big shift? Creators today aren’t just making content. They’re launching physical products, building brands, and sitting on cap tables. UTA helps them do it — not just by negotiating deals, but by being in the room for packaging, distribution, marketing, and strategy.
“The table stakes are adding whatever percentage it is,” Berman says. “That’s the bare minimum. We need to be adding 10-plus.”
Penchansky talks about the “influencer cliff” — that moment when a creator tries to sell something directly and the audience pushes back. The ones who survive it? They have a genuine connection between their content and the product. Patrick Starrr launching One/Size Beauty with makeup remover wipes — tied to his personal story — is the example she gives.
On AI? They’re not worried. “We’re not threatened by AI,” Berman says. “It’s art meets science.”
The funnel for creator success has never been wider — or the spout more narrow. Getting through it takes a real team.
