Content is going from scarce to abundant to infinite. As AI industrialises the feed, something else is becoming precious: human presence, craft, and real connection. The creators who see this first have a head start on a revenue stream that’s entirely in their control.
Yalin Solmaz (EMEA Acquisitions Lead, Airbnb Experiences) spent seven years at YouTube watching the creator economy take shape, then two more inside the generative AI industry watching it transform. In this session, he makes the case for why IRL isn’t a retreat from digital: it’s the next frontier. He’s joined by three creators who’ve already made the move: Zack Pinsent, historical tailor with 782K followers; Låpsley, independent musician with 380 million streams; and Mary-Havana Little, one of Britain’s few female fibrous-plaster specialists with 221K followers.
Each shares a five-minute talk on why they started hosting experiences, what it’s done for their community, and what it’s unlocked commercially, including a new, more meaningful surface for brand partnerships that a like, a view, or a comment simply can’t match. Q&A follows.
The creators that win the next decade won’t be the ones who optimise the feed. They’ll be the ones who give their audience a reason to leave it.
