✨ New Data: Nano-Micro Creator Pay Is Up +100% & Robbing the Macro-Celebrity Bag

🔥 The numbers are in, and cash deals are still climbing—unless you're a UGC creator (ouch). Median deal prices across all creators are up 13.33% YoY ($340), and median cash comp jumped 9.09% ($550), proving that brands are investing more in direct payments. Meanwhile, gifted-only deals are in their flop era (-3.22%), and cash-paid deals hit 46.01% (+2.84%). In other words: If a brand’s still offering “just gifts,” they’re playing themselves.

But here’s where it gets juicy: Nano-micro creators are making BANK (+100% YoY), while UGC creators are fighting for scraps as gifting and affiliate pay creep into their deals. Meanwhile, macro-celebrity creator pay is... stuck. No movement in cash rates. No movement in deal prices. It’s the first time in months that macros aren’t seeing pay growth, and it raises some big questions. Brands are either tightening their macro budgets and shifting their focus to nano-micro creators, or macro-celebs are reporting their gifted deals and keeping their biggest cash checks under wraps (which will FOR SURE end up biting them in the ass if true!)

What’s Really Going On?

📌 Nano-micro creators just secured the ultimate glow-up. Brands are throwing cash at them, recognizing their high-trust, high-conversion value.
📌 UGC creators are getting squeezed. More competition = more brands experimenting with gifting and affiliate models instead of just paying up.
📌 Macro-celeb creators are at a standstill. Cash rates are frozen, gifted deals are creeping up, and unpaid deals are somehow still happening.
📌 Affiliate pay is creeping in, but it’s not dominating… yet. Brands are still wary of putting creators fully on commission.

💰 Bottom line? Some creators are securing bigger checks than ever, while others are getting pushed into experimental compensation models. The numbers don’t lie — let’s break them down. 🔍