VidCon Baltimore wants to be a big hit with creator industry pros

The first-ever East Coast edition of VidCon is bulking up its industry track.

VidCon’s industry track is a staple of the annual main convention in Anaheim, Calif., but VidCon Baltimore is putting even more focus on professionals: It’s bringing in industry speakers including Night president Ezra Cooperstein and Karat Financial co-founder Eric Wei, plus is hosting an industry leadership summit it says will be “an exclusive gathering of key stakeholders shaping the future of the Creator Economy.”

Cooperstein will give a main stage presentation about Creators.org, his burgeoning project to unite creators and industry professionals so they can collectively push for things like better platform revenue cuts and more explanation around account bans.

Other industry speakers making appearances include Rich Greenfield, general partner at LightShed Ventures; Meghan Lightcap, principal at Slow Ventures; Meridith Rojas, chief brand officer at Captiv8; and journalists Taylor Lorenz of The Washington Post and Kaya Yurieff of The Information.

VidCon Baltimore has also confirmed several industry panels (with descriptions provided by the con):

• Today’s Creator Economy: Defining the Landscape – A look at the state of the creator economy, who the key players are, what is the scope and scale and what does the future hold
• Money Matters: Creator Economics & Revenue Diversification – The creator economy has enjoyed a sustained period of growth over the last few years, but a shaky macroeconomic outlook and resulting advertising pull-back mean the days of “all up and to the right” may be behind us. What will the economic infrastructure of the creator economy look like in 2023 and beyond, and how will creators diversify their revenue streams
• Media and Entertainment in a Creator-First World – How traditional media and entertainment are intersecting with a booming creator economy, giving rise to new challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders in the value chain
• RIP Gatekeepers: Culture, Equity, and Representation – The creator economy has created new platforms for new stories to be told, ultimately dismantling old gatekeeping mechanisms and helping to move the needle when it comes to culture, equity, and representation
• Tech, Trends and TBDs for the Very Near Future – exploring the landscape of emerging technology to help cut through the clutter to identify where to place bets, materially invest, or just straight up ignore, in a world defined by unending trend pieces, hype cycles, and shiny new objects

VidCon adds that the inaugural industry leadership summit will allow participants to “discuss and collaborate around critical industry issues in an off-the-record environment.”

On top of these announcements, it revealed another round of Featured Creators for the Baltimore event, including BrentTV, Kiran + Nivi, Shiadanni, Gianna Marie, Ashley Alexander, Imani Barbarin, and Chelsea Bear. They join nearly 80 other Featured Creators (all of whom you can see here).

VidCon Baltimore will happen at the Baltimore Convention Center Sept. 28-Oct. 1.