Fifteen years ago, people started finding fame and making a living simply by being themselves on the internet. This phenomenon began with the proliferation of social platforms, Myspace being one of the first.
In those early days, Alec Shankman launched a new department at Abrams Artists Agency focused on alternative programming, unscripted television, and shortly thereafter, digital and social media. A new type of client had emerged, seeking help navigating a new type of success and extending it into the offline realm. Then in 2005, YouTube launched, and even bigger opportunities began to take shape.
Shankman left Abrams between 2009 and 2014, during which time he founded and ran an incubator for digital and social media talent, as well as spent some time at another agency. In 2009, he says, a YouTube creator’s best hope for success outside of the platform was to be cast in or sell the rights to a web series,…
