U.S. creator ad spending reached approximately $37 billion in 2025, according to IAB, with 48% of creator ad buyers now considering creators a "must buy."
But as brands increase investments in creators, the financial infrastructure supporting those partnerships hasn't kept pace.
On October 22, XR Extreme Reach, the company behind more than 80% of U.S. commercial talent payments, launched XR Pay for Creators, extending its decades of experience paying Hollywood celebrities and commercial talent to the growing creator economy.
TVREV recently sat down with Frank DeVito, President and COO of XR Pay, to discuss why creator payments need an overhaul, how the new platform works alongside existing influencer marketing tools, and what it means for brands, agencies and creators.
What is XR Pay’s business, and why does it matter to advertising?
XR Pay handles the complicated business of paying actors and celebrities who appear in advertising.
It’s not just about cutting a check. There are union rules, taxes, pension and benefit contributions, and most importantly, oftentimes large upfront guarantees that must be paid at very specific times to keep the productions moving.
XR manages all this complexity, making sure that the talent is paid accurately, compliantly, and on time so that the brands and agencies can focus on making great creative.
Why is this the right time to bring that expertise to the creator economy?
Creators are playing an increasingly important role in advertising, and the size and sophistication of those campaigns continue to grow. In fact, XR's own 2025 State of Pay research found that creator compensation has increased 103% since 2022. But the financial systems supporting these payments haven't necessarily evolved at the same pace.
Brands and agencies are working with everyone from creators producing a single sponsored post to major personalities commanding multimillion-dollar deals. They need a payment infrastructure that can support that entire spectrum.
What is the biggest pain point you are solving?
The biggest pain point is fragmentation. Brands and agencies are juggling four to five different payment systems and up to 10 logins just to support one creator campaign. It leaves a lot of room for error. XR Pay for Creators delivers onboarding, payments, and rights tracking all in one platform, so teams can move faster, get campaigns to market sooner, and most importantly, get creators paid faster.
Most agencies already run an influencer marketing platform. Where does XR Pay fit
Most influencer marketing platforms are built to find creators and manage campaigns, not the complexity of paying them. So once a creator is selected, agencies and brands are stuck dealing with payments, taxes, compliance all manually.
XR Pay for Creators fills that gap. We focus on what happens after the creator has been chosen to ensure that they are onboarded properly and paid accurately, compliantly, and on time.
Can the same platform handle both smaller creators and major celebrity campaigns?
Absolutely. Creators are already contending with a variety of platforms, which makes everything very complicated. We have designed an experience to reduce the friction, not add to it.
We already manage complex advertising payments, including multimillion-dollar talent agreements and union guarantees. We're bringing that same expertise to creator campaigns.
What does this mean for creators themselves? Is it just another platform they have to manage?
Creators are already dealing with multiple systems, so we wanted to simplify the experience, rather than add another layer of complexity.
A creator can build a verified profile with their payment and tax information and reuse it across campaigns with participating brands on XR Pay. That reduces the need to complete the same paperwork every time they start a new project.
They also get a mobile-friendly dashboard where they can track payments, projects and earnings, giving them greater visibility into their work and income.
Why is XR uniquely positioned to bring this to market?
XR already supports payments for nearly every celebrity in U.S. advertising today. We’re not just a player in this space, we’re the critical infrastructure that the industry runs on.
We bring decades of experience working with brands, agencies, talent and unions, along with expertise in compliance, identity verification and complex payment requirements.
What we're doing is extending that proven infrastructure to a much broader creator economy. Whether someone is appearing in a national television campaign or creating sponsored content for social media, they should have access to professional, reliable payment systems.
For more information, visit XR Pay for Creators.
