The Creator Union has launched in an attempt to regulate the influencer marketing industry and protect its creators. As with many other industries, the influencer marketing space needs to find a suitable middle ground for brands and creators to work together, in a fair manner.
Below, we take a look at what the Creator Union is, and what we can expect from it.
What is The Creator Union?
For years, creators have been crying out for a unified voice that represents their interests. In June, the Creator Union launched in the UK to answer this need and represent creators and bloggers to ensure that they are treated fairly in all aspects of their work.
In the past, there has been some criticism of the regulations, or lack thereof, of the influencer marketing industry due to the relative ‘newness’ of it; it moves at such a rapid rate that representing the best interests of the creators has often appeared to be the last priority.
In some cases, creators have been so eager to work with brands that they have ended up in disputes without the proper protection in place. In other cases, brands have deliberately used creator work without crediting them properly.
In the past, these kinds of incidents would have happened without any level of protection for creators. Now the Creator Union aims to create a unified standard that safeguards creators against any kind of wrongdoing within the influencer space.
How will it help the influencer industry?
We believe that this will be a great thing for the industry, and something that is incredibly overdue. As mentioned before, the influencer marketing industry grew up very quickly and therefore hasn’t always had enough legislation to protect its creatives; issues such as working without contracts, or without agency over their intellectual property have arisen time and time again without resolution, and now the Creator Union aims to challenge that.
A major benefit of this new union will be education; educating creators on what they deserve will be an extremely valuable lesson. Another benefit will be that an increased standardisation from the influencer marketing companies will result in better all-round industry knowledge.
How does Influencer protect creators?
Our goal has always been to create a platform and a service that works on behalf of the creator, just as much as it works for the brands. And as Influencer was co-founded by YouTuber and content creator Caspar Lee we knew his first-hand experience in the influencer marketing space would ensure this would be the case.
As well as this, our technology ensures that contracts are clearly laid out, so creators can educate themselves on the rules and regulations of working with certain brands and clients. We understand that often contracts can be lengthy and confusing for a creator, so we work to make them simple and easily digestible.
A lot of what we do is also based around educating brands on how they should work with creators. We want the best for both parties, in order to ensure the most fruitful and long term partnerships for both creators and brands.
Ultimately, the Creator Union will be able to help creators, brands and agencies in increasing accountability and transparency across the industry. Head over to our website to discover how we support both creators and brands in their influencer marketing journeys.