Trendy new dating apps, inside Alex Cooper’s $125M deal, Meta shutters AR studio

Hi there! This is Amanda Perelli, and welcome to our weekly creator-economy newsletter, Business Insider Creators.

Here’s what to expect in this week’s edition:?

• Move over Hinge and Tinder, there's a new crop of dating apps

• How Alex Cooper's $125 million podcast deal with SiriusXM actually works

• Meta is shutting down its custom AR studio?

• And more, including new Shopify data shows how important influencers are to merchants and most influencers say they plan to weigh in on the presidential election.

Move over Hinge and Tinder, there's a new crop of dating apps

There’s a new crop of dating apps coming up against Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.?

Sydney Bradley and Dan Latu wrote about the founders behind these apps disrupting dating.

These startups are backed by founders like Elle Wilson of Met Through Friends, Nandini Mullaji of Sitch, and Anushka Joshi of Friend of a Friend.?

"Singles today are looking to bring back real-life encounters, like going to bars and restaurants," Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO of Happn, told BI. "Our mission today is to bring back people meeting offline."

Read more here.?

How Alex Cooper's $125 million podcast deal with SiriusXM actually works

Alex Cooper signed a three-year deal with SiriusXM that's reportedly valued at up to $125 million.?

The deal surpasses her previous $60 million Spotify contract and SmartLess's $100 million deal.?

Madeline Berg and Lucia Moses spoke with insiders who laid out the types of targets and goals she'll likely have to meet to hit that number.

Read more here.

Meta is shutting down its custom AR studio?

Meta said it's shutting down its augmented-reality studio Spark early next year.?

The feature allows AR developers to make custom effects for apps like Instagram and Facebook.?

Sydney Bradley and Dan Whateley wrote about how AR effects have become a mainstay of the short-video era, driving trends on TikTok and Snapchat.

Read more here.

More coverage from this week:

The business of being a creator

• New Shopify data shows how just important influencers and social media are to merchants (Business Insider)

• Most influencers say they plan to weigh in on the presidential election, even if it means losing followers (Business Insider)

• The 25 most influential creators of 2024 (The Rolling Stone)

Social platforms and creator-economy startups

• Everyone loves free TV. That's a big problem for Hollywood. (Business Insider)

• Beauty YouTube creators turned TikTok into QVC (Business Insider)

What’s happening in digital culture

• TikTok creator who popularized “very demure” trend didn't trademark her catchphrase (NBC News)

• How a TikTok influencer became an “easy mark” for burglars (LA Times)

• Alix Earle “deeply sorry” for using racial slurs (USA Today)

Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: [email protected].