Wheelhouse and Zigazoo are positioning this as an incredible opportunity for young creators, giving Gen Alpha stars a legitimate pathway to develop their content into bigger projects. The companies will likely frame it as mentorship and industry access for the next generation.
Insiders are raising eyebrows at the timing — Zigazoo has faced scrutiny over its age-appropriate content policies before. Now they're partnering with a media company to commercialize content made by kids who may not fully understand what they're signing up for. Parents and child safety advocates will want answers about revenue splits, contract terms, and parental consent protocols.
The partnership was announced July 8, 2026 via Variety. Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse is the media company behind this venture with Zigazoo, described as a 'kids and teens-friendly social media platform' that operates like TikTok.
This deal could either open doors for young creators or open them up to exploitation — the real test will be what those contracts look like when (not if) they surface.
Move over, influencer culture — there's a new factory farm in town. Brent Montgomery's Wheelhouse media company has teamed up with Zigazoo, a social platform marketed as safe for kids and teens, to launch something called Zigazoo Studios. The joint venture aims to transform content from Gen Alpha creators on the TikTok-style app into developed projects.
Announced exclusively via Variety on July 8, 2026, this deal signals that Hollywood wants its next batch of child stars — and they're coming straight from the algorithm. The logic is painfully simple: why wait to discover talent when you can acquire it directly from the platform where kids are already performing for millions of views? Zigazoo has built its reputation on being the 'safe' alternative for younger users who got banned from or aged out of mainstream apps.
Now, with Wheelhouse's industry connections and production muscle, those young creators could theoretically graduate from viral clips to actual deals. That's the pitch, anyway. But let's not get too warm and fuzzy about this.
The entertainment industry has a long, well-documented history of exploiting young talent — from Co-Co Communications to the Nickelodeon era, the pattern repeats: corporations profit enormously while performers, especially minors, struggle to retain control of their own images and earnings. Zigazoo Studios doesn't exist in a vacuum. It exists in 2026, when social media platforms are already facing mounting pressure over child safety, data privacy, and mental health impacts on young users.
What's notably absent from this announcement? Any mention of revenue-sharing structures, parental consent requirements, or safeguards for creators who may not even be teenagers yet. Wheelhouse and Zigazoo will likely release feel-good statements about 'empowering the next generation,' but the details matter.
Who owns what these kids create? What happens when they turn 18 and want out of deals signed by their parents years earlier? The receipts will eventually come — usually through litigation.
