There’s never going to be another Alix Earle. That’s what creator experts told Mashable at SXSW 2026.
That’s not because Earle has an especially unique personality or brand. It’s because discovery algorithms on apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have dramatically changed. On top of that, the market is wildly oversaturated with aspiring creators, inspired by the likes of Earle, MrBeast, and streamer IShowSpeed.
And that means the next Earle will lose out as more niche creators get picked up by algorithms. That’s according to creator economy expert Arthur Leopold.
“If you think about platform algorithms four years ago — very different from where they are today. I don’t believe there will ever be another Alix Earle-type short-form creator who reaches mega, mega, mega celebrity status.
Leopold sat down with us at a diner in downtown Austin during SXSW to talk about the creator economy. Leopold co-founded Agentio, a programmatic creator advertising platform, and he works closely with big creators like Rhett & Link.
“In this diner, four years ago, five years ago, if we all picked up TikTok, probably every single person in this diner would have seen an Alix Earle-type piece of content, right? But now the algorithms have gotten so good that you look at everyone in this diner, you could all scroll TikTok and Reels and probably no one here would see anything the others see.”
Mashable Trend Report
Brooke Berry, head of creator development at Snapchat (and a popular creator herself), said something very similar at a panel on what new creators should do in their first 90 days.
The era of the generalist influencer is over, she believes. “I cannot stress it enough,” Berry said at the panel.
“I feel really strongly about this. I’m actually gonna kind of yell at everybody because I feel strongly about this, but I do think the internet is oversaturated. We are. We are moving away from being a generalist creator. Even saying you’re a travel creator is generalist; saying you’re a food creator is generalist. Tell me you’re a travel creator that specifically spends 24 hours in cities.”
In an oversaturated creator market, having a unique niche or voice is key, Berry said.
“So, niche wins, specificity wins. It’s OK to have multiple interests, but you need to have defined lanes within those interests and developed formats within those interests.”
And at a SXSW panel with Rhett & Link, Leopold explained why it’s not easy to shift from niche to mainstream content.
“And now the algorithms have gotten so good that it is so rich. It’s like the vegan chicken nugget maker in Iowa, and she has a great community, I’m sure, but the MrBeast-ification of that, I think, is going to be very, very hard [to break through to the mainstream],” Leopold said.
SXSW 2026 ends on Wednesday, but you can still catch up on our coverage from Austin, where our reporters have been talking to Caleb Hearon on the red carpet, trying weird AI VR games, and trying out Darth Vader chambers.
