‘The Only Barrier to Entry Is the Upload Button’: Creators Sound Off on the Future of Entertainment

Creators Michelle Khare and Hannah Stocking know firsthand the power of social media in entertainment.

Reflecting Tuesday at TheWrap’s 2025 Power Women Summit, presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead, on how social media content creation is reshaping audience consumption, the creators told moderator Jo Cronk that the space is literally giving traditional media a run for its money.

The pair shared their perspectives to a full crowd during the Summit’s “The New Faces of Entertainment, presented by Whalar” panel. Cronk, co-CEO of Whalar asked Khare, who created and hosts YouTube series “Challenge Accepted,” what being a YouTuber means to her. Khare briefly explained that like many Americans, she grew up watching her favorite programming and content on the TV screen, but now she’s providing folks with new, more readily available options.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to be a part of a longer, larger platform of storytelling, and I feel really privileged to live in a generation where that can mean the only barrier to entry is the upload button,” Khare said. “YouTube is now No. 1 on Nielsen. I don’t know the exact stat, but it is the most-watched platform amongst all of the streamers. That technically means that the content I’m making, Hannah’s making, and that any YouTuber is creating, is television content and is viewed by most of our audience on TV with their families. So it’s something that I take a lot of pride in, and I’m excited about reshaping what it means.”

While these creators may use a different platform than traditional media, the content they’re making requires the same resources and people power to start and finish the production. Stocking said her role as an influencer is 24/7 job.

“I upload minimum every two days, so around the clock, weekends, whether I’m sick, whether it’s raining, I’m still thinking about content, I’m editing the content, I’m producing it,” Stocking revealed. “I also kind of look at us as our own media companies. I have my producer, I have my videographer, I have teams, people who can make prosthetics for me, or costume designers … whatever my mind comes up with.”

Khare agreed, highlighting that she became the second person in the world to recreate Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” plane scene “where he’s hanging off the side of a military aircraft as it’s taking off,” which required more than 50 people to pull off. And like the Paramount film franchise, it even got its own theatrical screening.

“We were getting permissions from the FAA, from various military organizations, we had a full stunt team,” she said.

She added: “When you start, when you upload one piece of content, you inherently become an entrepreneur in a company of one, even if you’re just uploading for your friends and family and even just posting a single video, you understand production, post-production, uploading, looking at the data, even in a fun-for-friends kind of way.”

By the end of the conversation, the two creators agreed that their field isn’t going anywhere anytime soon — and the future of entertainment media is already in their favor.

“I think the future is the creator economy,” Stocking said.

TheWrap’s Power Women Summit presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead is the essential gathering of the most influential women across entertainment and media. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. PWS provides one day of keynotes, panels, workshops and networking. For more information visit: thewrap.com/pws. For all Power Women Summit 2025 coverage, click here.

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