An inside look at the world of TikTok “collab houses” in Los Angeles, amid allegations of exploitative talent managers withholding money from influencers
The Girls in the Valley was supposed to be a collective of Instagram baddie best friends. Then it self-destructed. Tweets: @hautepop , @voxdotcom , @mbmelodies , @rafyevans , @binkleyonstyle , @voxdotcom , @nishachittal , @alanna , @nickcho , @voxdotcom , @alyssabereznak , @peter_atwater , @jentrification , @rebexxxxa , @allisonrockey , @taylorlorenz , and @taylorlorenz Tweets: Jay Owens / @hautepop : You're 19 years old. You get famous overnight. You move to LA. Now what? There's an ecosystem of managers, promoters and collab houses wanting to work with you, but it's not always what it seems. @rebexxxxa reports: https://www.vox.com/... @voxdotcom : “How do you take someone down that's going to ruin your future? If you fuck him over, you're done.” As teens gain fame and followers on TikTok, “influencer managers” — some with no credentials or experience — are creeping in and looking for a cut. https://www.vox.com/... Patrick St. Michel / @mbmelodies : This story about a TikTok house collapsing in on itself (https://www.vox.com/...) features a moment that made the whole branding of SuperM make sense for me (also...influencers are the idols of America, part 1 million!) https://twitter.com/... Rafy / @rafyevans : so upsetting and disappointing to see the way an industry can take advantage of it's creators. sleazy mentorship and lack of guidance have left young creatives full of distrust, and for good reason. i feel so hard for all those mentioned in this. https://twitter.com/... Christina Binkley / @binkleyonstyle : I finally understand it. https://twitter.com/... @voxdotcom : The influencer economy has jumped from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $6.6 billion in 2019. For TikTok stars specifically, the industry is fledgling, unstandardized, and ripe for exploitation. It's creating a Wild West situation for internet-famous LA teens: https://www.vox.com/... Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal : This piece was such a delight to read. Take a break from the doom and gloom news cycle and treat yourself to reading this!!! (Even if you don't know much about Tiktok influencers, which I did not, I still learned a lot and it was fascinating) https://twitter.com/... @alanna : before the pandemic, @rebexxxxa flew out to LA to do some reporting on TikTok collab houses; seven months later, she has this incredibly thorough, thoughtful longform about the rise and fall of one house in particular, and how fame operates now https://www.vox.com/... @nickcho : So good @rebexxxxa congratulations! Next do middle-aged TikTokers who struggle to keep up producing content for their growing follower counts. 🧔🏻😇🙃 j/k https://twitter.com/... @voxdotcom : They called themselves the Girls in the Valley. They were roommates, LA newcomers, and TikTok celebrities with millions of followers. Then everything went wrong. https://www.vox.com/... Alyssa Bereznak / @alyssabereznak : so many gems in this piece by @rebexxxxa. i especially like the description of he “girls in the valley” collab house dining room as “the world's most chaotic bubble bath or maybe a very fun womb” https://twitter.com/... Peter Atwater / @peter_atwater : Predators preying on naïve illusionists amid a bubbling sea of illusion. Very consistent behavior with what we have seen at the top of other bubbles. Influencers are the retail version of the professional con men we have seen pop up elsewhere in this cycle. https://twitter.com/... @jentrification : A subculture I didn't know existed —> How a TikTok house destroyed itself https://www.vox.com/... Rebecca Jennings / @rebexxxxa : ITS HERE! This is the biggest piece I've ever published, the culmination of 6 months of reporting and 2 yrs on the TikTok beat. But this story, about 5 girls and their experiences jumping between collab houses & shady managers, is a shockingly common one. https://www.vox.com/... Allison Rockey / @allisonrockey : 👀👀 I had no idea how much I didn't know about the TikTok influencer world N O I D E A 🤯 https://twitter.com/... Home Depot Skeleton / @taylorlorenz : More on this house and management company (and the entire cursed world of TikTok talent management!) from @rebexxxxa https://www.vox.com/... Home Depot Skeleton / @taylorlorenz : If ur looking for a weekend read this @rebexxxxa tale of TikTok houses, shady managers, and drama has it all https://www.vox.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Earlier this year, the New York Times documented how Gen Z TikTok stars were moving into Los Angeles collab houses, living and working together while chasing influence. Weeks later, The Atlantic followed teen creators through the disorientation of sudden overnight fame.
Vox closes that arc with the money layer the earlier coverage skipped: The Girls in the Valley collective self-destructed, and the reporting alleges talent managers in this ecosystem withheld earnings from the teenagers they managed. It matters because it tests whether the collab-house model is a career ladder or a trap for the youngest people in it.
First-order effects
- Young influencers in LA collab houses face immediate pressure to audit who controls their brand deals and payouts, since allegations of managers withholding money turn informal handshake arrangements into financial disputes.
- The Girls in the Valley's collapse leaves its members without the shared house-and-content machine they relocated to Los Angeles for, showing the collective model breaking under internal conflict and management issues.
Second-order effects
- Talent managers courting teen creators will find families and creators demanding written terms and payment transparency before signing, raising the bar on an ecosystem that ran on proximity and promise.
- TikTok inherits the reputational risk of the management layer built atop its stars — a dynamic Vine knew well, having resented rather than courted its top creators before losing them.
Third-order effects
- If withheld-earnings allegations prove to be a pattern rather than one house's dysfunction, ad-hoc influencer management gets pushed toward formal agencies, standard contracts, and potentially regulatory attention on minors' earnings.
- Collab houses either professionalize into businesses with accountable management or cede their role as the default entry point for teen creators seeking fame in Los Angeles.
The trend: The influencer economy is being forced to professionalize, as ad-hoc management of teenage creators gives way to contractual, financially transparent arrangements.