What do your favorite actors and creators have in common? They both have IMDB credits, despite the latter group likely having no film or TV credits.
On Sept. 9, the Amazon-owned entertainment database introduced “Digital Creator” as a professional category on IMDb and IMDbPro, covering streamers, vloggers, video essayists, gaming creators, and influencers. According to a Variety report, no existing film or television credits are required to establish a digital creator profile.
For creators whose résumés live mostly on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, this means they can now showcase their work in the same database used by actors, producers, and casting directors — without having a traditional entertainment role get them there. Creators have appeared on IMDb for years through eligible projects. MrBeast, for example, has credits that include Prime Video’s Beast Games. The difference now is that creators can establish a profile based on their online careers alone.
IMDb’s updated guidance says Premium members can select up to three professions for their pages. Someone who creates online videos, acts, and produces can represent those roles together.
So, what does that actually do for a creator?
IMDb’s pitch is about making professional connections. “IMDbPro empowers entertainment professionals with tools that help them get discovered, build their reputation, and advance their careers,” CEO Nikki Santoro said in a statement.
“Digital creators and their representatives need that same infrastructure, and producers, casting directors, studio executives and brand partners need a reliable way to find them,” she said.
For creators, that could mean making it easier for a potential collaborator to understand what they do more quickly. “We’re excited to add a category that bridges that gap and gives creators a discoverable industry profile,” Santoro added.
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Whether that visibility translates into jobs remains to be seen, but the move fits a much longer conversation about where creators belong in entertainment in the first place.
Digital creators and their representatives need that same infrastructure, and producers, casting directors, studio executives and brand partners need a reliable way to find them.
Creators making the jump to Hollywood is hardly new. Issa Rae built an audience with her YouTube series Awkward Black Girl before co-creating HBO’s Insecure. Quinta Brunson went from viral internet sketches to creating and starring in Abbott Elementary, while Bo Burnham started posting musical comedy on YouTube before writing and directing Eighth Grade.
“In just over a decade, content creators have gone from digital outliers to industry power brokers,” Mashable’s Crystal Bell wrote in a May 2025 roundup of creators who moved into film and television. Their influence extends beyond landing roles: Creators are also writing, directing and developing their own productions.
That crossover has drawn skepticism, of course. Writing in The Ithacan, columnist Sydney Brumfield argued that influencers’ built-in audiences can give them an advantage over experienced performers. “However fiscally reasonable casting influencers is, it results in fewer, well-deserving actors from being discovered,” she wrote.
The catch? You’ll have to pay. Selecting the category requires IMDbPro Premium. Standard individual membership costs $19.99 per month or $149.99 annually in the U.S., before applicable taxes. Opening the category to creators gives IMDb a whole new group of paying subscribers. (Very smart.)
Should you pay for an IMDbPro profile?
Not every creator needs it. Someone actively pursuing representation or production partnerships may have a clearer reason to use the profile. For a creator focused on sponsorships and direct relationships with brands, the value will really depend on whether those partners actually turn to IMDb to find talent.
Under “Digital Creator,” users can choose from six sub-professions:
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Streamer
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Vlogger
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Video Essayist
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Video Creator
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Gaming Creator
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Influencer
As creators take on a bigger role in entertainment, it’s clear the industry is listening, and trying to find new ways to bring them into the fold. IMDb’s new category is another step in that direction, recognizing careers built online and giving potential collaborators another way to find them. What comes next will determine its value.
