WEBVTT - Bringing Equality to the Creator Economy

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and

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<v Speaker 1>Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio. Hey, I want to switch

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<v Speaker 1>gears because our next guest spent a decade at NBC Universal,

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately becoming a communications executive before striking out on her own.

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<v Speaker 1>Monty Ellis is founder and CEO at The Creative Collective.

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<v Speaker 1>It's an organization that, in its own words, is building

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<v Speaker 1>a more equitable future for thousands of black and brown creatives.

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<v Speaker 1>Manti Ellis joins us on Zoom from New York City.

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<v Speaker 1>Good to have you with us, Amani, how are you?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm great, Carolyn, Tim, thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>I should note the Creative Collective your company, also puts

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<v Speaker 1>on Culture con. It's a conference for diverse creatives and

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<v Speaker 1>young professionals. Hey, tell us a little bit about your story,

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<v Speaker 1>because you left a job that you know you started

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<v Speaker 1>basically as a page I thought this was really interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>At NBC working, you're working your way up to an

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<v Speaker 1>executive there. At what moment were you like, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to strike out on my own.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, it was such an amazing experience. I was in

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<v Speaker 2>my dream job, love ingad working at NBCUniversal and what

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<v Speaker 2>I realized was I really was in search of community,

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<v Speaker 2>and so I invited a few friends over to my

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<v Speaker 2>one bedroom apartment. Ten people turned into thirty people, turned

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<v Speaker 2>into fifty people, and I realized there was truly just

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<v Speaker 2>so much hunger for education, sharing and resources. And that's

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<v Speaker 2>how the Creative Collective and then ultimately culture con was

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<v Speaker 2>was born.

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<v Speaker 3>So tell us about some of what you guys are

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<v Speaker 3>doing today and what the creative Collective does in terms

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<v Speaker 3>of helping those who either want to enter the influencer economy.

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<v Speaker 3>Talked us a little bit about that.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, what we're seeing, you know, the creator economy is

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<v Speaker 2>now a two hundred and fifty billion dollar enterprise. It's

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<v Speaker 2>not going anywhere, and we want to make sure that

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<v Speaker 2>the creators, the black and brown creators that are starting

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of these trends, are equipped with the resources

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<v Speaker 2>and the tools and the education to really compete in

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<v Speaker 2>that market. And so one of the really great things

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<v Speaker 2>that we're doing, you know, is culture con. Culture brings

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<v Speaker 2>together brands, creators, mentors, educators to really equip them with

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<v Speaker 2>that education, sharing everything from how to build your own deck,

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<v Speaker 2>how to negotiate on your own terms, discovering if you

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<v Speaker 2>need a manager, if you need a publicist. All of

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<v Speaker 2>those tools are available at Culture Con and then throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the year we have classes where creators can really learn

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<v Speaker 2>about how to find their zone of genius, how to

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<v Speaker 2>collaborate with other creators again, how to negotiate their rates,

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<v Speaker 2>really getting into the nitty gritty of those tools, those

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<v Speaker 2>conversations to really make sure that they have a seat

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<v Speaker 2>at the table money.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking about this on our editorial call this morning,

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<v Speaker 1>and our YouTube and TV producer Elizabeth brought our attention

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<v Speaker 1>to some context when it comes to black and brown

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<v Speaker 1>folks in the creator community and what's happened over the

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<v Speaker 1>last few years when it comes to really not receiving

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<v Speaker 1>credit for their work. An NPR story from a few

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<v Speaker 1>years ago talked about how black TikTok creators are on

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<v Speaker 1>strike to protest a lack of credit for their work.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk a little bit about the history here and what

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<v Speaker 1>you guys are doing to kind of change some of

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<v Speaker 1>the pattern that we've seen.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely unfortunately, you know, black creativity is nothing new, but

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<v Speaker 2>we really want to make sure that black creatives are

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<v Speaker 2>getting credit for all of the contributions that they are giving,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, to the social platforms. One of the agencies

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<v Speaker 2>that we work very closely with is Kensington Gray, and

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<v Speaker 2>Kensington Gray is really fighting on the front lines with

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<v Speaker 2>these creators, making sure that brands are not only considering

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<v Speaker 2>these creators, but also prioritizing them when they should and

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<v Speaker 2>not just during a certain time of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>We want to make sure that when we think about

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<v Speaker 2>the future of creativity, the future of equitable you know,

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<v Speaker 2>creative influence, that it's not just during a certain time

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<v Speaker 2>of the month or during certain themes of the month.

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<v Speaker 2>Diverse black and brown creatives are not just to be pigeonholed,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, for specific campaigns. They also have lives out

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<v Speaker 2>side of Black History Month, Indigenous People Month, and for us,

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<v Speaker 2>it's just really widening the scope of what America looks like,

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<v Speaker 2>what the world looks like. In that perspective, it's diverse

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<v Speaker 2>and so I we're seeing a new generation that's not

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<v Speaker 2>going to you know, accept anything that's handed to them.

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<v Speaker 2>They want credit, and there will be, you know, voices

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<v Speaker 2>that want to make that.

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<v Speaker 3>Hurt and many I'm so glad you went there. I

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<v Speaker 3>have conversations like that with our black colleagues here at

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<v Speaker 3>Bloomberg you know, I think it's really important that we

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<v Speaker 3>have Black History Month, but I feel like I want

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<v Speaker 3>to be thinking about this twelve months of the year

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<v Speaker 3>every day. So how do you think about that so

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<v Speaker 3>that it's not pigeonholed or that we constantly put people

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<v Speaker 3>in pockets or groups in pockets. How do we do that.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the things that we do at the Creative

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<v Speaker 2>Collective is we really work hand in hand with our

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<v Speaker 2>brand partners, right, and so we're not asking them to

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<v Speaker 2>come in and cook and know everything. It is about

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<v Speaker 2>collaboration and so a lot of our partners come to

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<v Speaker 2>the Creative Collective and they say, listen, we want to

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<v Speaker 2>get this right the community. Tell us about the community,

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<v Speaker 2>And the first thing that we say is, let us

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<v Speaker 2>show you the work that's already being done. There's no

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<v Speaker 2>need to reinvent the wheel. If you're looking for creatives

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<v Speaker 2>that are talking about fashion, we know where to find them.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I think, again, it's really pivoting, not that

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<v Speaker 2>these creatives don't exist, you might just not be looking

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<v Speaker 2>in the right place.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm very curious about your business and how you're making

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<v Speaker 1>this business work. I understand it. It's a live events

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<v Speaker 1>company and you do events throughout the year. Are you

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<v Speaker 1>also doing consulting?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I would say majority of our business does come

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<v Speaker 2>through our sponsorships and our agency work that we do.

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<v Speaker 2>We also do do some consulting with our partners. A

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<v Speaker 2>lot of the campaigns before they go live, they pass

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<v Speaker 2>through our front door, and our partners have seen incredible

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<v Speaker 2>success by just by putting that extra step instead of

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<v Speaker 2>skipping over the culture, involve the culture. It's been really

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<v Speaker 2>important for us and I think super beneficial for them.

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<v Speaker 3>We'll talk to us about give us a specific story

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<v Speaker 3>or two in terms of where you guys have come together,

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<v Speaker 3>figured something out and kind of the payoff if you will.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>One of my favorite kind of examples, and this was

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<v Speaker 2>a few years ago, but we were actually invited into

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<v Speaker 2>Conde mass by Anna Wintour and her team. They wanted

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<v Speaker 2>to talk about diversity in front of the camera and

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<v Speaker 2>behind the camera, and so we came in spoke with

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<v Speaker 2>their leadership team, and I think for me, what that

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<v Speaker 2>really showed was that there was an appetite to learn,

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<v Speaker 2>there was an appetite to do better. And so we

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<v Speaker 2>sat down with the executive team and said, listen, we

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<v Speaker 2>are so inspired and impressed by the diversity we're seeing

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<v Speaker 2>on the cover. But let's also talk about the makeup artists.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's also talk about who's doing their hair. We want

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<v Speaker 2>to make sure that the model feels comfortable in her

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<v Speaker 2>skin and that she isn't getting on the cover just

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<v Speaker 2>to have realized, oh wait, this complexion isn't my color.

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<v Speaker 2>And so for us, it starts all the way at

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<v Speaker 2>the top working its way down. And I think we

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<v Speaker 2>were so inspired by Anna Wintur and her team for

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<v Speaker 2>taking that first step and really inviting us into the conversation.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, when you talk about kind of the digital age,

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<v Speaker 3>the influencer economy, marketing and all that great stuff, how

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<v Speaker 3>do you think that that can ultimately maybe reduce the

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<v Speaker 3>gap that we see in wealth between black individuals or

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<v Speaker 3>and the white population, if you will. How do we

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<v Speaker 3>break that gap? We've talked so much about the importance

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<v Speaker 3>of wealth creation, right, that can be passed down from

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<v Speaker 3>generation to generation. How do we get there through what

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<v Speaker 3>you are doing? Like I said, through an influence or

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<v Speaker 3>economy or platform.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think you know, there's so many different lanes,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think that we need them all Right, You

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<v Speaker 2>look at Aurora James and the fifteen percent Pledge and

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<v Speaker 2>doing you know, very important equitable work in terms of

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<v Speaker 2>fashion and making sure that black and brown individuals are

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<v Speaker 2>represented on the shelves. At the Creative Collective, we're doing

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<v Speaker 2>similar work in terms of creative equitable solutions. And so

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<v Speaker 2>for us, again it starts with education, opening up the doors,

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<v Speaker 2>opening up the budgets, and making sure that we're not

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<v Speaker 2>pigeonholing specific people during certain times of the year. I

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<v Speaker 2>think we're also seeing in terms of creators, they're building

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<v Speaker 2>their own platforms. The barrier to injury has never been lower,

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<v Speaker 2>and now you can build your own audience, monetize your

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<v Speaker 2>own audience, and so I think we're going to see

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<v Speaker 2>more creators of building their own shows, building their own audiences,

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<v Speaker 2>selling ebooks, digital courses, merge and realizing that they can

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<v Speaker 2>actually be the drivers of their fate.

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<v Speaker 1>Imani really cool stuff. Really appreciate you taking the time

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<v Speaker 1>and joining us on Bloomberg Business Week. Amani elis founder

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<v Speaker 1>and CEO at the Creative Collective. They put on Culture Con,

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<v Speaker 1>a conference for diverse creatives and young professionals. Creative Collective

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<v Speaker 1>is an organization that is working to build a more

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<v Speaker 1>equitable future for thousands of black and brown creative