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What do a comedian, a fashion entrepreneur, a podcast star, a pair of celebrity chefs, and a room full of creators have in common? At Chronicle‘s “Emerging Icons at Tribeca” celebration, they all found themselves under the same roof.
Held during Tribeca Festival‘s 25th anniversary festivities, the event brought together a collection of personalities whose careers likely wouldn’t have existed in the same way a decade ago. Some built audiences through comedy sketches. Others through podcasts, social media, fashion brands or food content. Together, they represented a new generation of influence that is reshaping the entertainment business.
Among those attending were comedian Delaney Rowe, media personality Tinx, creator and interviewer Davis Burleson, fashion entrepreneur Jessica Wang and celebrity chefs Clinton Kelly and Michael Symon, stars of “Chewed Up.” While their backgrounds differ, they all share one thing: direct connections with audiences who follow them across multiple platforms.
That’s part of what made the gathering feel different from a traditional Hollywood event.
The Red Carpet Reflected Entertainment’s Changing Landscape
The event’s guest list was not the only thing signaling a shift in entertainment, but the fashion reflected it, too. Guests arrived in everything from sleek black eveningwear to bold, fashion-forward statement looks, creating an atmosphere that felt somewhere between a Hollywood premiere, creator summit, and fashion event.
Unlike traditional red carpets centered solely around actors or studio-backed celebrities, Chronicle’s gathering highlighted personalities who built influence across industries. Some arrived as creators-turned-entrepreneurs, while others balanced careers spanning television, fashion, podcasting, food media and brand partnerships.
The result was a crowd that looked less like old Hollywood and more like a snapshot of where entertainment is headed.
How The Creator Economy Is Reshaping Celebrity
The lines separating celebrities, entrepreneurs and creators have become increasingly blurred. Today’s most recognizable personalities aren’t necessarily discovered through television networks or movie studios. Many build audiences independently before expanding into podcasts, live events, products, books, television projects and businesses of their own.
That evolution is exactly why Chronicle has become a growing name in creator circles. Founded by Aaron Sisto, Scott Greenberg and Ollie Lewis, the company works at the intersection of technology, media and audience growth, helping creators and brands better understand how people engage with content online.
Throughout the evening, conversations weren’t centered solely on movies or television. Guests discussed brand launches, content strategies, audience trends and emerging opportunities across digital media. It reflected an industry where influence increasingly travels between platforms rather than living on just one.
Speaking about the growing role of AI in Hollywood, Chronicle co-founder and CEO Aaron Sisto pushed back on the idea that technology alone will replace traditional storytelling.
“I hear a lot of folks in San Francisco talking about AI as a way to disrupt traditional Hollywood,” Sisto explained. “That’s sort of the mentality up here – the idea that the next Pixar is going to be completely AI automated top to bottom. But after being in this world, investing in it and seeing the technology, I don’t buy it.”
Instead, Sisto argued the entertainment industry’s biggest problem is not necessarily creating content, but getting it in front of the right people. “Content isn’t actually the pain point or the bottleneck,” he said. “It’s marketing and distribution.”
According to Sisto, audiences no longer live exclusively inside traditional studio ecosystems, making discoverability one of the biggest shifts in modern media. “Audiences now live in completely different places,” he explained. “They live on these social platforms that the studios don’t control, and because of that, the studios are no longer the gatekeepers. The platforms and algorithms are.”
Why The Future Of Entertainment May Already Be Here
In many ways, the recent event felt less like a party and more like a glimpse into where entertainment is headed. The creators in attendance aren’t waiting for gatekeepers to decide who gets a platform. They’ve already built their own.
And if the crowd at Chronicle’s Tribeca gathering was any indication, the next chapter of entertainment may belong to people who started with nothing more than a camera, an idea, and an internet connection.
