🎤 The Karaoke King and the Creator Economy
Hey Reader,
I have a confession that is going to date me in the most specific way possible: I used to catalogue Justin Bieber's hair styles for a living.
This was back when I was the digital asset manager at Guthy-Renker, the infomercial company, and Bieber was a teenager hawking Proactiv skincare. He went through a growth spurt mid-campaign, which meant multiple reshoots, which meant I was processing an ungodly volume of new photo and video files of this kid while also trying to organize the chaos of everything that came before. What I remember most is that he was extraordinarily professional. Kind to strangers, always prepared, and hardworking in a way I genuinely don't see in adults very often, let alone teenagers. Not performing professionalism... just built that way. Those were the reps. Infomercials, reshoots, long days, asset libraries nobody would ever see. That's where production muscles come from.
So when the internet spent this week processing his Coachella appearance, I had a lot of feelings, and almost none of them were about therapy. (There's a beautiful reel about the inner child healing piece if that's where your heart is going... but that's not what I'm here to talk about.)
Here's what matters for your business:
Bieber sold his entire back catalogue of masters to pay his bills and buy his freedom. The only way he can legally perform those songs now is karaoke-style, singing over recordings he no longer owns. And he walked onto a Coachella stage in front of millions and did exactly that... and it was extraordinary. Not because it was a healing moment, but because it was a power move. He looked at a system that had extracted nearly everything from him since childhood, said "fine, keep the catalogue," took the money, built independence, and showed up on the biggest stage of the year completely on his own terms.
That is the creator economy in action. Not for small potatoes trying to go viral, but for one of the most famous people on the planet.
The old studio systems that controlled talent, gatekept distribution, and decided who got to be heard are cracking. And the space you're operating in is getting more competitive because of it, not less. Celebrities and industry professionals are entering the creator economy because it finally makes sense for them too. They come with decades of reps you haven't logged yet, and your customers have acquired tastes now. That's the real competition.
So the question isn't whether you can become famous. It's whether you're treating your work like someone who intends to still be here in five years, or whether you bought the influencer culture story about passive income and easy reach and are quietly confused about why nothing is compounding.
Bieber got those production muscles from infomercials, reshoots, long days, and endless reps before anyone was paying attention for the right reasons. You don't need his exact reps. But you need yours.
Craft matters now more than it ever did. The people still standing when the dust settles on this era are not going to be the ones who got lucky... they're going to be the ones who showed up like it was their job, even when nobody was watching.
That is the only sustainable version of this.
And if you want a room where we actually build that, you already know where to find me. 👉 Check out the Dojo, below...
Gossip From the Creator Trenches...
🎬 The Studio System Is Cracking (Again)
What's happening in film and TV right now isn't just industry drama... it's history repeating itself. The original Hollywood stars eventually broke from the studio system that controlled them and built their own. That movement is happening again, at a much larger scale and dollar value, but it's the same instinct that drives every creator who decides to stop asking for permission. Worth watching closely and I'll be bringing you the highlights as I find them.
🔗 It's time to take control back
🎙️ Watch Two Pros and Learn Something
Colbert and Oprah switched seats on his show, and the result is a quiet masterclass in what interviewing actually looks like when two people at the top of their game do it completely differently. If you host an interview-style podcast or YouTube show, this is worth your time, not just for inspiration but as diagnostic material. Where are you in relation to what you're watching? That gap is your next set of reps.
🔗 A mini masterclass in the art of the interview
💃🏻 K-Pop Just Showed Up at Coachella and Meant It
The singers from K-Pop Demon Hunters made a Coachella cameo and it was genuinely, unexpectedly moving... a slower tempo version of Golden performed live to a crowd practically drowning them out with noise. This isn't a fad. This is a genre that has been logging reps for decades finally arriving in the mainstream on its own terms. Also it's just a mood lifter and I will not apologize for that. We could all use this right now.
🔗 Listen to the harmonies
🎤 Are You Actually Doing the Reps?
If this week's newsletter landed somewhere uncomfortable, good. That means you're paying attention.
The Creator Economy Dojo is where we turn that awareness into actual infrastructure. Because if you keep getting outpaced by people with half your depth and twice your visibility… that's not bad luck. That's a systems problem, and it's fixable.
Inside the Dojo, we build the things that make your visibility hold: your message, your consistency, your ecosystem, and the kind of body of work that still makes sense when someone pulls up your back catalogue two years from now.
Being visible without structure is just burnout in a cute outfit. And I'm not interested in helping you burn out faster.
I'm still offering a limited number of founding member spots at $197/month, but I do plan to close those by mid-summer.
👉 Join the Creator Economy Dojo
🌙 This Week in Woo
Last week lit the match… this week asks if you’re going to commit & tend the fire. This private reading is a no-fluff check-in on follow-through, emotional honesty, and what happens when you stop negotiating with what you’ve already outgrown.
✨ Tap into the full reading inside Woo Crew and get grounded before the momentum hits. ⤵️
Want the whole thing?
Join the Woo Crew for $7/month and get the full reading. Because the next chapter doesn’t need more from you… it needs a different version of you.
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