There's never a dull moment in the world of content creation, and 2024 was no different. It’s been a memorable year - from multi-million dollar deals and boxing matches, to viral Olympians and cucumber salads. 2024 showed us there are no limits to what creators can achieve.
We wanted to end the year with a look back at some of the biggest successes and pivotal moments in the creator space. Rounding up every major milestone and viral trend would be impossible - we couldn't find space for Brat summer or the apple dance - so we've brought together a single defining moment from each month of 2024.
January and the TikTok take-down
The year started with TikTok falling silent. Universal Music Group announced they were removing their music from the platform after pay talks turned sour. Millions of creators had content muted overnight, inspiring a host of parody videos which made light of the situation.
Thankfully, UMG and TikTok settled their differences by May and music quickly returned to people's videos - although savvy creators using Uppbeat’s copyright-free music were unaffected the whole time.
@noahglenncarter People on Tik Tok have gotten creative since UMG removed all of their sounds #umg #foryou #tiktok #artist ♬ Fluffing a Duck - Kevin MacLeod
February and the viral chocolate strawberries
There’s no knowing what will go viral. In February, it was a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries set to the tune of Bobby Cladwell’s ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’. It quickly became one of the most liked videos in TikTok history. 50.9 million people double-tapped, showing that sometimes a simple bit of silliness is all it takes to go viral.
@pr4yforgabs #fy #foryou #strawberry #chocolate #chocolatecoveredstrawberries ♬ What You Won't Do for Love - Bobby Caldwell
March and the dawn of Beast Games
Mr.Beast knows his way around a gameshow. In March he announced his plan to film the biggest gameshow ever, featuring 1,000 players and a $5million prize. Beast Games premiered on Prime Video in December, but not before the YouTuber was met with a slew of allegations, including misconduct during the filming of the series.
April and the multi-million dollar deal
Creators cashed-in big time in 2024. YouTube channel Dude Perfect banked an investment of over $100 million in April to turbocharge their global entertainment brand. Highmount Capital saw promise in the group’s family-friendly content - which they’ve expanded to include an app, merch and even board games. This was just the first seven-figure deal of 2024 (Call Her Daddy creator Alex Cooper banked $125 million in August!).
May and realizing the Hollywood dream
Want proof that dreams can come true? 19-year-old filmmaker Wesley Wang was snapped up by Hollywood after his short film on YouTube went viral. Nothing, except everything had already won an Indie film award when Wesley signed with director Darren Aronofsky to turn it into a feature length film. This is a must-watch if you haven’t already seen it!
June and the inescapable catchphrase
This time last year, no-one would’ve known what ‘Hawk Tuah’ meant. 22-year-old Haliey Welch’s street interview back in June changed all that and pushed her into infamy as the ‘Hawk Tuah Girl.’ Six months later she had her own podcast, jewelry line, and cult following. But not everything she touches turns to gold - the launch of her cryptocurrency $HAWK in December lost a lot of people a lot of money.
July and the Olympic muffin enthusiast
The 2024 Paris Olympics was the first time Olympians used the event to build a social following. Athletes began dominating our feeds with never-seen-before glimpses into the life of an athlete. US rugby star Ilohina Maher grew her following from 580,000 to over 2 million in a month. And who could forget Henrik Christiansen's love affair with the chocolate muffin?
@henrikchristians1 We have chocolate muffin before GTA 6 #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #muffins #gta #gta6 ♬ GTA San Andreas Theme (Remake) - Ben Morfitt (SquidPhysics)
August and the viral power of cucumbers
Sometimes the recipe for viral content features the most humble of ingredients. Logan Moffitt's Asian-inspired cucumber salad recipes went viral, leading to booming sales which caused a shortage of the fruit in Iceland. Moffitt has placed the cucumber at the heart of his brand, plying his ‘cucumber community’ with cucumber merch. Turns out there’s a lot of love for the cucumber!
@logagm My fav cucumber recipe for real🐟🥒
♬ original sound - Logan
September and the addictive tales from a pathological liar
Reesa Teesa used her platform to share true stories from her marriage to a pathological liar. The TikTok series ‘Who TF did I marry?’ amassed over 100 million views, and inspired a competitive bidding war for the rights to turn it into a TV series. The resulting adaptation was announced in September and is due to feature Natasha Rothwell.
@reesamteesa Who TF Did I Marry- Part One #pathologicalliar #reesateesa #fypシ #fyp ♬ original sound - ReesaTeesa
October and the presidential battle going social
U.S. presidential election candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump leveraged the creator industry to get seen by as many people as possible. Podcasts were the go-to arena: Trump appeared on 12 podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience. Harris appeared on 6, including Call Her Daddy.
November and the fight that sent creator boxing into the mainstream
65 million people tuned in to watch Jake Paul fight legendary boxer Mike Tyson in November. The YouTuber made his boxing debut back in 2020, fighting big names in the industry - but none quite as big as Mike Tyson. Whether the match was fixed is debated online, but what’s certain is that Jake Paul’s win will go down in boxing history.
December and the creator-led spicy acquisition
Hot Ones is one of the biggest shows on YouTube. Host Chris Evans and founder Chris Schonberger took back control of the show after buying its parent company First We Feast. Hot Ones regularly racks up over 20 million views per video, featuring interviews with celebs (think Margot Robbie and Idris Elba) and some really spicy chicken wings. This purchase from Buzzfeed marks a shift towards creator-owned content, which we think can only be a good thing.
The creators set for stardom in 2025
The past year has shown how unpredictable the creator landscape can be. Who's to say what trends, new stars, and controversial moments we'll be talking about next year.
While we can't see into the future, we've tried to predict the creators we think are going to enjoy a big twelve months. We've pulled together a list of up-and-coming TikTokers, YouTubers and Instagrammers - check out our Creators to Watch in 2025 to see who we're backing!
