Why Investors Are Racing To Acquire Creator Back Catalogs

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 26: YouTube sensation Jenna Marbles (L) poses with a never-before-seen “selfie experience” Madame Tussauds figure of herself during the unveiling at Madame Tussauds New York on October 26, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Madame Tussauds)

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For more than a decade, the creator economy has been viewed as a fast-moving, unpredictable ecosystem driven by viral hits, platform shifts, and individual personalities. But a quiet revaluation is underway that is reshaping how investors and media companies approach the space. The most valuable assets in the creator economy are no longer the creators themselves, but the content back catalogs they’ve already produced.

In the past 24 months, a growing number of investors, media companies, and specialized funds have begun treating creator content libraries the same way private equity firms treat music publishing rights, TV formats, and film catalogs: as yield-producing media assets with long-term monetization value.

And it’s creating the next major acquisition category in U.S. media.

Why Back Catalogs Are Suddenly Valuable

A strong back catalog—whether 500 YouTube videos, five years of podcasts, or a library of evergreen educational content—has three characteristics investors care about: recurring revenue, predictable audience behavior, and multi-platform monetization potential.

Spotter, one of the earliest movers to validate the model, has deployed over $1 billion to provide upfront capital to creators in exchange for rights to their YouTube back catalogs. According to Spotter CEO Aaron DeBevoise, the value lies in proven longevity:

“Creators aren’t one-hit wonders. Their content has a long shelf life, and audiences continue to engage with it for years. That’s a fundamentally investable asset.”

Advertisers and creators often think about content in real time. Investors don’t. They look at what can be monetized for the next 36 to 84 months.

Back catalogs deliver that:

• Recurring revenue without new production costs

• Evergreen search and algorithm discovery

• Brand safety through proven audience fit and tone

• Upsell and licensing pathways

In short, back catalogs flip creator content from “attention-driven” to “asset-driven.”

The Deal Structures Taking Hold

As interest accelerates, several acquisition and financing models have emerged:

1. Multi-Year Licensing Deals

Upfront capital in exchange for monetization rights over a fixed term.

This model mirrors music catalog financing and has become the default starting point for YouTube library acquisitions.

2. Full IP and Catalog Buyouts

Media roll-ups and consolidators are acquiring creator catalogs outright to control monetization, distribution, and derivative rights.

3. Network and Portfolio Acquisitions

Creators like Mr. Beast and Steven Bartlett have made recent moves to raise against their flagship channels the former raising a further $200 million at a value of $5 billion and the latter recently valued at $425 million with institutional investors recognizing the value of their catalog as a platform for growth and diversification.

Investors are finally recognizing what creators have known for years: the archive prints money.

Why PE and Media Buyers Are Paying Attention Now

In the U.S., creator-economy M&A is entering a new phase. According to Goldman Sachs, digital media assets with recurring viewership and diversified revenue streams are attracting “growing interest from alternative asset managers seeking hedge-resistant IP.”

The timing is being driven by five factors:

• Platform Maturity: YouTube is no longer an emerging media channel. It’s a top-five U.S. streaming platform by watch time.

• Flight to Quality: Investors want proven audience retention and evergreen content, not viral risk.

• Multiple Monetization Layers: Ad revenue is only the baseline; catalogs can now fuel FAST channels, streaming licensing, podcasts, education products, and brand refreshes.

• Tangible Data Sets: Investors can evaluate performance with precision—completion rates, RPMs, SEO value, and audience cohorts—not guesswork.

• Precedent from Music & Film: The playbook already exists. Music rights funds (e.g., Hipgnosis) normalized media IP as an asset class.

According to Alphonse Lordo, Partner at Content Partners Capital who have deployed over $2 billion in owning back catalog assets like La La Land, Black Swan and Relativity Media’s library:

“Creator content has grown immensely over the past several years. We have creators with large, engaged audiences and troves of video content, whether it be on YouTube channels, TikToks, or other social platforms. The question now is whether some of these creators and channels can evolve into their own content studios. We do see long-term value in the space and are carefully watching it for the right creator to invest in,”

Back catalogs offer leverage and value—without needing creators to remain front-and-center forever.

Where the Smart Money Is Heading

Investors aren’t looking for any back catalog—they’re prioritizing U.S. evergreen content with defensible niche authority, particularly in:

• Education-History and Geography

• “How-to” verticals

• Wellness and lifestyle explained

• Comedy and cultural commentary (with continuity)

Analysts expect U.S. back-catalog transactions to double again by 2026, with new capital vehicles emerging to buy creator IP the way private equity buys film and music rights.

Industry executives point out that scaling influence now requires owning portfolios of creator IP — not just representing individual talent thus the growth of

The buyer universe is also expanding. What started with platforms and digital-first funds is now drawing interest from entertainment groups, streaming platforms, and PE firms seeking uncorrelated yield.

EXECUTIVE PLAYBOOK: The Back-Catalog Opportunity

For Investors:

• Treat high-performing YouTube and podcast libraries like yield assets

• Underwrite deals based on 36-60 month cash-flow models

• Prioritize creators with 4+ years of data and evergreen SEO pull

• Build operating capabilities to syndicate and re-license content across streaming, FAST, and education

For Media Companies and Roll-Ups:

• Acquire catalogs tied to scalable niches, not personalities

• Pair catalog buys with production and distribution capabilities

• Bundle catalogs for secondary exits to funds and strategic acquirers

• Control rights to derivative products—books, courses, OTT adaptations

For Creators:

• View catalogs as your equity—not just past content

• Protect IP ownership at all costs

• Explore partial-rights leasing before full catalog sales

• Track metrics that influence future valuations (RPMs, retention, CTR, library velocity)

The Bottom Line

The creator economy is no longer operating at the edges of media—it is shaping the future of media asset ownership. And as more investors look for IP that behaves like a durable financial instrument, creator back catalogs are becoming the new battleground.

The next wave of media M&A won’t be driven by who signs the biggest creator. It will be driven by who controls the most valuable libraries.

The firms that secure those assets early—before valuations normalize and institutional capital floods in—will own the dominant media catalogs of the digital era.