This Week’s Influencer: Why the Fight For Creator Rights Is Important; YouTube and Netflix Talk TV; Podcast Measurement Gets an Upgrade; and More…

The Creator Economy is a $250B industry powerhouse. So, how do you keep the creators at the heart of it from being exploited? Find out below.

There is no creator economy without creators and no podcast advertising without podcasters. So, brands have a vested interest in making sure the economy is run responsibly and sustainably.

On this week’s episode of Media Roundtable, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) hosts Emmy-nominated digital culture expert Shira Lazar (Founder, What’s Trending and Creators 4 Mental Health), who is at the heart of the effort to help creators.

Join us as Shira and Dan talk: Fair Labor, Mental Health, and The Creator Bill of Rights.

“In the trenches of [the Creator Economy], there’s a lack of infrastructure and support, and that is wild to me considering the maturation of this industry and how quickly it’s evolving.” – Shira Lazar (Founder, What’s Trending and Creators 4 Mental Health)

Labor is Labor –  Brands want to work with creators. Creators want to work with brands. Yet some deals go nowhere. Shira recommends a two-step approach to avoid Project Purgatory. First, agree on a budget and get a contract. Basic, but necessary. Then do ideation. No one benefits when creators do creative labor on spec. It doesn’t allow creators to develop relationships with brands and it’s too easy for brands to walk away. If you don’t want them for a full engagement yet, hire them as a consultant. You’ll get high-level thoughts you can use, and you can end it quickly if it’s not a fit.

Highlighting the Hurt – If we had a gym where 30-50% of the people were seriously injured, we’d notice. Shira founded Creators 4 Mental Health because studies show that social media is clearly hurting creators, yet they lack protections and infrastructure. The organization’s landmark study found 1 in 10 creators reported suicidal thoughts (nearly twice the average adult rate in the U.S.), and 9 in 10 lacked access to specialized mental health care. The lynchpin of the creator economy is fragile and, on its current path, not sustainable (62% of creators experience burnout). Just like podcasting has needed to install safeguards, the creators who underpin the creator economy need the same thing.

The Creator Bill of Rights – Why does a bill of rights for creators matter to marketers? Because creators are a workforce. One with few protections and little leverage against their platforms or brand partners, but whose unique talents move hundreds of billions globally. Shira, Lisandra Vásquez, and Rep. Ro Khanna were the bill’s co-architects. Just like we’ve tried to bring transparency to brand safety to create stable podcast marketing, transparency and protection for creators benefits brands. Your favorite host who gives killer live reads is a creator. If you want them to create sustainably, their party of the economy needs to be formalized.

For more insights from a powerhouse helping to organize the creator economy we all rely on, check out the full episode below.

The Classifieds

Dhar Mann Goes Unscripted

Network: Studio71 / Monthly Downloads: 250k

Kindness is a commodity that is constantly undervalued in today’s media landscape, but luckily, one of its biggest proponents is launching a new podcast focused on highlighting it. Dhar Mann started gaining viral popularity in 2020 and has since amassed a substantial YouTube following of 27m subscribers, earning him a top ranking among all US-based channels. His informative, morality-based content has consistently trended over the past six years, leading to internet fame and brand partnerships.

His first podcast episode launched this week and includes a conversation with actress and activist Jameela Jamil. Though his usual videos are scripted, his interviewing skills lend an intimate, personal feel that is soothing and touchingly honest. Any advertiser with a predominantly female audience is strongly recommended to test this new offering, especially those who value self-improvement and mental health. If you’re not sure what happens next, click the link below to find out more.

Get The Deal

Listen to Your Gut, It’s Telling You Something Important

Network: Wellness Loud / Monthly Downloads: 20k

The “gut biome” has become a major conversation in the wellness space. This is not surprising once you realize that it influences allergies, metabolic diseases, chronic illnesses, and hormonal regulation. Integrative Nutritionist Courtney Swan is a food activist who wants to bring equity and stability to America’s disparate food systems. In her weekly podcast with Wellness Loud, she sits down with fellow experts to discuss the roadblocks currently in place, the strategy involved to reshape our daily diets, and the necessary conversations we should all be having.

Whether she’s talking through pregnancy-related cravings or the role of PFAS in our drinking water, Swan strives to bring scientific theory and prescient activism to her listeners. This is a great opportunity for advertisers targeting health-focused, quality-loving decision-makers. No degree necessary to click the link below; all the information you need is available for you there.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

The Upfronts Just Told Us Where Advertising Is Headed

YouTube and Netflix used this year’s upfronts to show how far the TV marketplace has moved beyond traditional network programming. At Brandcast 2026, YouTube pitched advertisers on creators, commerce, AI-assisted video production, custom sponsorships, and shoppable connected TV ads. Netflix also leaned into a broader ad offering, saying more than 80% of ad-supported members are actively watching each week and announcing that ad inventory across podcasts and vertical video will be available globally in 2027. YouTube and Netflix are using these upfronts to sell creators, commerce, AI, podcasts, vertical video, and programmatic inventory, which tells you where the ad market is headed. “TV” is less about a specific kind of programming and more about premium video, wherever it shows up. For podcasting, being at the forefront during the upfronts is a sign that the medium is more than ever at the center of mainstream media planning.

Read More

The Creator Economy Is Not a Trend, It’s a Budget Line

Scalable’s first Creator Economy Summit focused on where the money is flowing across the creator economy. Creator ad spending is forecasted to reach roughly $44 billion in 2026, according to IAB. Major brands are increasing their investments. Visa CMO Frank Cooper said the company doubled its creator investment over the past year and hopes to double it again, while OpenAI is also expanding its influencer marketing efforts. The event also highlighted how creator monetization is shifting beyond direct brand deals, with Meta’s partnership ads reaching a $10 billion revenue run rate, and Twitch generating two-thirds to three-quarters of revenue from viewer subscriptions. Visa doubling its creator investment is worth paying attention to. When a brand at that scale increases spend, it tells you creators are doing real work across both brand and performance. The catch is that not every creator platform is built around advertising. On Twitch, where subscriptions drive much of the revenue, brands need to find ways into the content experience itself, not just around it.

Read More

Podcast’s Measurement Gap Just Got Smaller

Magellan AI and Signal Hill Insights are partnering to provide full-funnel podcast measurement by combining Magellan’s ad exposure data with Signal Hill’s brand lift methodology. The partnership is designed to connect podcast ad exposure to awareness, favorability, and intent, while also tying those results to downstream performance data. The companies say the approach can account for both dynamically inserted and baked-in ads through tags and server-side integrations. The more podcasting can connect brand impact and performance, the easier it is to properly credit the full value of the medium. That has been one of the category’s biggest challenges: podcasting often gets judged by only part of what it delivers — performance. The Magellan AI and Signal Hill partnership moves us closer to the ideal state, where advertisers see how podcast campaigns influence awareness, consideration, and action in one place.

Read More

#SaveTheLiveReads

Shop Pay Saves the Day

Mindful in Minutes host Kelly Smith has the soothing remedy for all shop-worthy problems in this week’s #STLR with Shopify. She opens with a relatable parenting moment: her daughter Poppy’s bedtime emergency over a broken zipper. From that first beat, you’re not being pitched to, you’re being invited in.

The Shopify mention emerges organically from the story, so by the time she calls the purple “Shop Pay” button “the happiest thing I have ever seen,” it lands as genuine relief, not a sales line. Warm pacing, a seamless transition to business recommendation, and a clean custom URL close it out. This is a live read that earns trust because it never once feels like an advertisement.

Listen Here

Contact us for a Consultation 

OXFORd In The News

Oxford Road Takes Home Four Communicator Awards

Oxford Road took home four Communicator Awards this year, two each for the Indie PaC Awards and What’s A Podcast, recognizing work that was always more about the industry than the agency. As Dan put it, the wins reflect “our effort to honor independent creators, expand the definition of podcasting, and grow the category for advertisers and partners across the ecosystem.” If you want to take a look at the other winners, click the link below.

Read More

ORBIT’s International Report is Gaining Attention

Our May ORBIT rankings on the Top 15 Performing International Podcasts made the rounds across Podcast News Daily, Podcasting Today, Roastbrief, Podnews, Sounds Profitable, and Podcast Business Journal, all picking up on the same core warning: international podcast advertising isn’t a copy-paste of what works domestically. The data shows which markets are primed for growth and where a one-size-fits-all buy leaves performance on the table. If you want to view the report everyone is talking about for yourself, click here.

Read More