Here’s why VidSummit is going to be bigger than ever this year

At VidSummit in 2017, MrBeast sat in the back of the auditorium. At the time, he had 6 million subscribers, and “hardly anyone knew who he was,” VidSummit founder Derral Eves tells Tubefilter.

Now, MrBeast is the most subscribed to creator on YouTube, brings in $700 million a year, and is a part-owner of VidSummit, the business and development-focused creator economy event that’ll welcome 3,500 attendees to Dallas Sept. 3-5. 

“I remember him just saying, ‘Dude, where’s this been the whole time? I’m surrounded by the people that care about data as much as I do, who care about learning YouTube as much as I do,'” Eves recalls. 

Eves was thrilled, because everything MrBeast was saying reflected his reasons for launching VidSummit in the first place. A video marketing strategy consultant since 1999, he’d been paying close attention to the burgeoning creator economy and had seen conventions like VidCon crop up, but thought creators needed something more on the biz dev side—an event that would mature with our industry as it grew to the behemoth he knew it would become.

That’s where VidSummit came in. And, just like he predicted, over the last 10 years our space has soared to a $250 billion industry, with millions of creators making their livings across YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch. MrBeast’s evolution from a guy making videos with his friends for 4 million subs to a global philanthropic phenomenon with 300 million subscribers, an upcoming Amazon TV show, and growing businesses like Feastables, is emblematic of the change creators have seen from 2014 to 2024.

“The creator economy is much bigger now, and there’s a lot of opportunity,” Eves says. “Our big thing in starting was that there was no event that was leading people and helping them understand the mechanics of how complicated this industry is.”

VidSummit in its current iteration, he adds, is “what I always dreamed of.” 

“It’s big enough that you have the right people in the room, and you go into a session and you’re seeing big creators left and right having conversations about the topics of the industry,” he says. “Furthering the conversation of what’s happening onstage. It’s the access, where creators can connect with other like-minded creators and know what they’re going through.”

Eves says that for years, the creator industry was a bit of a “run-and-gun” wild west, but now creators on the whole “are so business-minded.” VidSummit, with dozens of panels and workshops featuring industry leaders and creators–from up-and-comers like Jenny Hoyos to longtime pros like

Last year’s event was the first time VidSummit took place outside of California, moving from its usual location in Los Angeles, which accommodated 1,500 attendees, to the Irving Convention Center just north of Dallas, which could hold 3,000 attendees.

For its 2024 convention, VidSummit is returning to Irving Convention Center, and will welcome 3,500 attendees, who’ll each pay ticket prices starting at $895.

More creators, more hands-on

On the docket this year is a major expansion of VidSummit’s workshop schedule. 2023 was the first year they tried holding interactive workshops at the same time as main stage presentations, and those were “very well received,” he says. For this year, VidSummit opened up an additional 14 workshop slots. Creators who attend them can expect things to be “a little more intimate, a little more hands-on, where you’re able to get really good feedback by the person who’s leading,” Eves says. 

One planned workshop, for example, will be a deep dive into international audience growth, led by creators who’ve seen serious traction overseas. Another is a more granular look at how to get a new channel off the ground, where seasoned creators will share their experiences about the early stages of their careers, and attendees will be able to ask questions specific to their circumstances.

“We have a really solid lineup,” Eves says about this year’s schedule. “I get excited that the creator economy is maturing and we’re seeing all this new technology, especially with AI and automation to increase workflow and productivity. I really can’t wait for the conversations that will happen there.”

For creators who are thinking about attending, Eves says he knows VidSummit is a big time and financial commitment, and that he and his team “work hard to make the experience worth it.”

“Part of that is building the culture,” he says. “If there’s one thing I’ve been obsessed with since day one, it’s the culture of this summit. The culture is people’s willingness to  share, it’s creators who are helping other creators. There’s no agenda, there’s no ‘Hey, let’s partner up and I’ll make money off you.’ There’s none of that. It’s just, ‘Hey, this is what I learned.'”

Tickets for VidSummit are on sale here. Stay tuned for more from us about this year’s event, including a chat with HopeScope and the official Tubefilter Guide to VidSummit, where we’ll highlight must-see discussions and workshops.

VidSummit is a Tubefilter partner.