- As the influencer industry continues to grow, so does the demand for talent managers and agents to help creators build on their success and turn follower counts into lasting businesses.
- Business Insider has reported on the industry as hundreds of managers and agents — from both upstart companies and legacy Hollywood talent firms alike – have raced to sign the next generation of entertainment stars.
- We spoke with industry professionals to identify the managers and agents signing the buzziest creators and built an exclusive interactive database that gives an inside look at who is working with the top stars on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more in 2020.
- View the interactive database below, and send your influencer industry tips to the authors at dwhateley@businessinsider.com and aperelli@businessinsider.com.
- Subscribe to Business Insider's influencer newsletter: Influencer Dashboard.
Over the past few years, Business Insider has tracked the influencer industry's explosive growth into a multi-billion dollar category that's made digital creators a core part of the entertainment world.
In the process, we've watched as hundreds of talent managers and agents — from both upstart companies and legacy Hollywood talent firms alike – have raced to sign the next generation of stars.
Each year, new creators are breaking into the industry across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and now TikTok. And as the industry grows, so does the demand for managers and agents to help them build on their success.
Hollywood's top entertainment agencies, from WME to UTA, have developed digital-focused departments, and now work with popular creators like Charli D'Amelio and David Dobrik.
"As agents, we're not necessarily looking for somebody who's a TikTokker, or even someone who is a YouTuber, or any one specific thing," said Greg Goodfried, cohead of UTA's digital talent department. "We look at people who we think are incredibly talented."
With the help of a manager or an agent, many influencers expand their digital businesses by selling consumer products or securing lucrative brand partnerships.
Some influencers have both a talent manager and an agent. In those cases, a manager will often help with the day-to-day work of crafting the creator's brand. The agent will work bringing in deals and on broader business strategy, offering access to top brands, celebrities, and helping the creator enter into the world of traditional entertainment (like movies, music, and television). There's also some overlap between the roles.
The need for representation and a fully-developed (and diversified) business strategy has been important for many influencers in 2020, as a pandemic and economic downturn have required digital creators to rethink how they earn a living.
But despite the ubiquity of talent managers and agents in the industry, there wasn't a central database to view the top power players in the business and who they represent. So we decided to build one.
Business Insider drew on our reporting and conversations with professionals to identify the talent managers and agents signing innovative creators and helping them build lasting businesses. We created an exclusive interactive database that gives an inside look at who is working with the top influencers on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and more in 2020.
View the interactive database below. Click on the company name for additional information on each and bios of their prominent agents and managers.
Contact the authors: aperelli@businessinsider.com and dwhateley@businessinsider.com.
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