Baristas, Bungalows and the D’Amelios: UTA Unveils Upscale Office for Creators

In 2006, UTA presciently launched a group dedicated to the field of then-emerging digital creators, at a time when other major agencies’ online efforts were primarily focused on finding supplemental opportunities for existing film and TV clients. Now, as its portfolio of creator clients has ballooned to include heavyweights like Emma Chamberlain, the D’Amelio family and Call Her Daddy‘s Alex Cooper, the 33-year-old company is debuting an umbrella division that is “tailor-made for their needs and success across the creator economy,” in the words of agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer.

Called UTA Creators, the just-launched division brings together four previously separate agency groups — digital talent, gaming and esports, audio, and the influencer management company DBA — under one shingle, with the goal of super-serving a pool of talent that is increasingly firing on all cylinders and working on multiple platforms. (DBA continues to operate as a separate management company that has no obligation to share business with the agency side of UTA.)

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“The day-to-day isn’t necessarily changing,” explains partner and co-head of the new division Oren Rosenbaum, who is also UTA’s head of audio. “What we’re doing is we’re leveraging all of our resources, sharing even more information, adding additional resources so that we can better represent our clients.”

The idea, adds UTA partner, Creators co-head and head of gaming and esports Damon Lau, is to respond to the fact that the creators economy “is evolving to talent becoming multihyphenates.” Gone are the days when a YouTuber might just want to stick to their initial platform; today, that client might additionally want to start a podcast, have a presence on TikTok and think about reaching their audience on Snapchat. With UTA Creators, “we’re able to still service our core clients in the same way that they need, but the combination of the expertise allows us to think about it a little bit differently,” Lau adds.

Adds DBA CEO, UTA partner and Creators co-head Raina Penchansky, the formation of the division “further proves [UTA’s] steadfast support of digital creators, who are now some of the most sought after talent in the industry and a vital force behind both businesses.”

To foster teamwork, the agency is unveiling fresh digs for this division: the 60,000-square-foot UTA Bungalows. Steps away from the agency’s Beverly Hills headquarters on Civic Center Drive, the Bungalows bring together three clubby-meets-upscale office spaces connected by an inviting patio. After a move-in period in 2023, they now house UTA Creators’ staffers (one exception is DBA, which continues to operate out of the Pacific Design Center), as well as the agency’s MediaLink and marketing divisions.

Designed by the global firm RIOS — behind Row DTLA and Imagine Entertainment’s Beverly Hills offices — the repurposed buildings are “very industrial, very creative,” says UTA partner and Creators co-head Ali Berman, who is the head of digital talent. Adds Rosenbaum, “There’s this sort of feeling of professionalism mixed with creativity.”

Multiple areas with lounges and banquettes offer varied spaces for clients to meet with their agents as well as spaces for staffers to work away from their desks. Berman explains that cellphones are paired, allowing assistants and coordinators to connect calls between creators and agents no matter where they’re sitting.

The building that houses the Creators division now intermingles agents and support staff who previously were more physically sectioned off in different groups; in one large open space, assistants working on brand deals, audio and podcasting deals and endorsement opportunities all sit together.

“Traditional offices are always so bound by an understanding of offices and where do I sit?” explains RIOS co-CEO and creative director Andy Lantz, who led the design on the Bungalows. “But I think a lot of what is captured in this project really finds ways to celebrate different ways of working, different ways of coming together.”

The Bungalows also feature a café with two full-time baristas and an intimate Dolby-certified, 10-person screening room, where Lau says gaming viewing events have already taken place. UTA staffers who used to find themselves spending quite a bit of time at the Alfred Coffee location nearby on Beverly Drive, as well as on-site at the offices with clients, can now combine those two experiences.

There are also some uniquely UTA flourishes. The agency’s collection of art is showcased in the Bungalows, as it is at UTA headquarters. In the large conference room, photographs by Rosemary Laing of women who seem to float in a gray space, surrounded by what appear to be newspaper clippings, grace the walls. And like at UTA’s main offices, there’s an indoor-outdoor feel as well as leather-wrapped handrails on the stairs.

“The Bungalows,” writes Zimmer in an email, “are the furthest thing from an ivory tower, capturing the energy and aesthetic of the Creators group while also naturally complementing the larger UTA offices just down the block.”

This story first appeared in the May 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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