The Supply Economics
The creator economy keeps expanding: (The creator economy has grown about 19% since the start of 2025, with the total number of active creators now north of 127 million). The scale is staggering: (Over 200 million creators exist around the world, with more than 50 million actively monetizing their content).
The market opportunity looks enormous: (Goldman Sachs Research forecasts the Creator-Influencer Economy will double to $480 billion by 2027). But the income reality is stark: (Despite 207 million people identifying as content creators, only 4% of creators worldwide are considered “professionals”, earning more than $100,000 annually).
Supply continues increasing: (Over half (57%) of Gen Z-aged people want to be influencers). And the flood isn’t stopping: (Goldman Sachs Research estimates the global number of creators will increase 10% to 20% by 2028. Oversupply depresses prices).
Traditional economics applies. Supply increases. Demand fragments. Value concentrates at the top.
The Distribution Reality
The numbers are brutal. YouTube: (97.5% of creators don’t make enough to reach the U.S. poverty line). Spotify: (98%+ of artists make <$200 annually from the platform). Twitch: (Creators averaging >10 viewers on their stream are in the top 3%, yet most earn <$5000 per year from ads).
The concentration is extreme: (More than 80% of value for creators on platforms are typically captured by <1% of the creators). Breaking through is increasingly difficult: (Creator audiences are highly concentrated, with less than 1% of YouTube accounts having more than 100,000 subscribers).
Experience matters, but it takes years: (For creators with less than one year of experience, average annual earnings came in under $20,000. Creators with at least four years of experience collectively quintupled that haul, taking in more than $100,000 per year on average).
The Demographic Gaps
Gender pay gaps persist: (The average male creator is making about $8500 more per year than the average female creator). The pattern is consistent: (Female creators and Black creators have long claimed to earn less than their white, male counterparts, and those demographic disparities still exist).
Content type matters: (Creators who work in labor-intensive content categories struggle to keep up with the demands of platform algorithms, with art content winding up close to the bottom in genres ranked by relative revenue generation).
The broader picture remains grim: (The abundance of content has created a crowded marketplace where creators must fight harder than ever for attention, with only a small percentage of global creators earning more than $100,000 annually).
The Platform Power
Algorithms control destinies: (Policy changes in algorithms lift and sink fortunes overnight, staying relevant in never-ending cycles of change, making it difficult for creators to earn steady income). Predictability doesn’t exist: (Algorithms are updated frequently without warning, leaving creators frustrated by unpredictability of what content will resonate).
The power imbalance is structural: (The endless cycle continues to build inequalities between creators’ labour and platforms’ capital, as creatives bring attention to platforms but receive only a fraction of income generated).
The audience shift is complete: (In 2025, Americans are estimated to watch 2.48 hours of traditional TV but four hours of digital video). Younger generations have fully moved: (In 2022, 89% of UK children habitually consume content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, while fewer than 50% habitually watch live TV).
The Attention Economics
Fragmentation hurts most creators: (Consumer attention is further fragmenting across growing numbers of creators and platforms, but revenues are increasingly consolidating into top names, squeezing the long tail). Technology outpaced biology: (Our technology has evolved far faster than humanity—while we now have technology to serve each individual thousands of ads per day, no person has mental capacity to remember more than a handful).
Processing has changed: (Short-form video has totally changed how we process information. Instead of reading or having deep conversations, we absorb fragments and regurgitate talking points). Capturing attention grows harder: (The rise of short-form videos and addictive nature of doomscrolling have made it significantly harder for creators and brands to capture and retain audience attention).
The fundamental challenge: (When everyone lives online, bombarded by perpetual deluge of ads, how does a brand stand out? How do you bridge the ever-growing chasm between exposure and attention, between being on screen and being seen?)
The Burnout Factor
Financial instability drives burnout: (For many creators, burnout is not an occupational hazard but a norm, with financial instability ranked as the number one cause of this burnout epidemic). Some turn to manipulation: (The pressure to maintain boosted metrics can add another layer of anxiety, leading some to turn to “like farms” or “click farms” to manipulate platform algorithms).
Staying relevant is exhausting: (There is pressure to constantly engage with trends, which highlights challenges of maintaining relevancy in the ever-evolving digital landscape). The narrative misleads: (The narration of content creation being a “get-rich-quick scheme” is mainly because of glamour thrown by viral success cases).
The attraction contains the trap: (Content creation has an irresistible charm; it promises freedom and opportunity to earn money by developing skills according to one’s own interests). The barrier is too low: (What makes content creation so attractive is, at the same time, one of its weaknesses—the barrier to entry might be owning nothing more than a smartphone).
The Live Streaming Economics
Scale is impressive: (The market for live streaming on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, or DouYu has grown exponentially, with viewers on Western platforms watching 7-8 billion hours of content per quarter). Attention becomes literal currency: (Facebook Gaming Stars and Twitch Bits can be purchased with money or earned by watching advertisements—literally ‘paying attention’).
Rare success stories exist: (Audiochuck, the true crime podcast network founded by Ashley Flowers in 2017, just received a $40 million investment from Chernin Group valuing her business at $450 million). But they’re increasingly rare as the market matures and competition intensifies.
The values invert: (When narrative production becomes more valuable than actual production, we risk creating a world where attention harvesting matters more than building things).
The Broader Context
Economic inequality is a global concern: (A median of 54% across 36 countries say the gap between the rich and poor is a very big problem in their nation). Economic mobility looks bleak: (A median of 57% of adults expect children in their country to be worse off financially than their parents when they grow up).
The concentration problem: (Inequality becomes a problem when success is concentrated to the extent that it stifles innovation and chokes out existence of a strong middle class). Applied to creators: (In the creator economy, if attention is ubiquitously directed toward a few creators, leaving the rest unable to build audience and wealth, the inflow of new and emerging creators will subside).
The rational response: (The opposite of rationality isn’t irrationality—it’s being normal. When the “safe path” might be eliminated by AI overnight, hypergambling becomes emotionally and economically sensible).
The Strategic Response
Diversification matters: (Multichannel strategies are essential as the creator economy becomes fragmented across numerous platforms, enhancing reach but adding strategic complexity). Technology helps: (AI tools help creators build out more content, save time, and scale).
Brand investment is significant: (One-fifth of marketers worldwide dedicate 30% or more of their marketing budget to creators). Measurement is improving: (Marketers are utilizing new data sets and deeper insights to validate ROI of their influencer marketing efforts).
The winners won’t be those with the most creators in their program. They’ll be those who understand the power law dynamics and structure partnerships accordingly. More content, more creators, more platforms—but less ability to capture meaningful attention. The creator economy promised democratization. It delivered concentration.