Creator Economy & The Road Ahead
Kiran Dutta
Stealth Fintech | Helping Global Allocators (FOs & Institutions) on India Investment Strategy
I’m not a “Business-Man” I’m a Business…man – Jay Z
These were the exact lyrics from the 2005 “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” remix of Jay Z.
Little did we know or might have realized that these lyrics were foreshadowing the creator economy to come, the beginnings of which were laid in 2005. (Thanks to YouTube!)
On Valentine’s Day, 2005, YouTube was launched and Jawed Karim, created the first YouTube Video “ Me at the Zoo” ?(Might be someone should create an NFT out of this!)
By the summer of 2006, YouTube was serving more than 100 million videos per day, and the number of videos being uploaded to the site showed no sign of slowing down.
“The Creator Economy was Born”
Before even deep-diving further, let’s understand what a Creator is all about. There are a ton of definitions out there on the Internet, but I would define Creator as:
“Anyone who has an idea and degree of intent to create who can build audience can be defined as a Creator”.
It could be a Youtuber, Blogger, Podcaster, Social media influencers, Videographers, Teachers or Twitcher, TikToker, etc.
The tools and services empowering Creators – “Platforms, Software, Finance tools” designed to empower them with growth and monetization constitutes Creator Economy.
Let’s deep dive a little further into the various stages of Creator Economy
Creator Economy 1.0
This era where we still have an overlap constitutes the birth of platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch wherein the Creators were encouraged to upload content onto these platforms and were at the mercy of the platforms for Monetization.
For example, YouTube launched YouTube Partner Program, allowing users who meet a minimum set of criteria for a revenue-sharing model through AdSense account. It was all dependent on the quantum of advertising dollars YouTube was able to generate through a YouTuber’s video and giving creators a cut of it.
“Creator Economy Millionaires were born”
For example, PewDiePie who amassed 110 MM users on YouTube is regarded as one of the successful Creator of 1.0.
Though some Creators have seen success, there was always a dilemma and unanswered question among many Creators.
·???????Who is really benefitting from the content I as a creator produce?
·???????Is it the Creator or the big tech platforms?
·???????Is there equal distribution of Wealth?
·???????Am I getting the right share of the pie?
As the user base of these platforms has grown, (YouTube: 2.3 BN users as of 2021), these platforms have created a powerful ecosystem that it would be very difficult for a creator to leave the platform and monetize the work they do. These platforms yield enormous power over their end-users, advertisers, and creators.
Creator Economy 2.0
Enter the era of TikTok, which has democratized and provided tools for anyone to become a Creator.
The Creators have realized that they need to expand their monetization models beyond the mercy of the big tech platforms.
Here, Creators were able to collaborate and rely on brand partnerships to expand their monetization base, but again only a few creators tapped into consistent brand partnerships on a recurring basis.
Creator Economy 3.0
The next generation of Creators, who are especially Gen Z is looking for alternatives that will put their preferences best, allow them to monetize their hard-earned fan user base, rather than playing by the whims and fancies of the platforms on which their content is hosted.
The creators of 3.0 are looking to monetize their fandom base directly (Fan donations, Merchandise, etc.), along with control on the kinds of ads that are displayed over their creations, giving more control to the creator.
As the power shifts back to the creators, this is giving rise to new, decentralized platforms where the control lies with the creator and the community (fandom) they have created. Thanks to NFT’s, creators can mint their own social tokens and fully own their content.
We will see a rise in “New Type of Social Experiences” in the next 1-2 years.
Special thanks to Jing Wang Herman Vani Kola Pranav Sharma Kashish Shah Tarun Davda for believing in the Creator Economy and its potential and who inspired to pen this article.
?Ps: We at Hanli.io, are building an exclusive platform to drive Creator Economy 3.0. If you are an investor passionate about the space, happy to deep dive and chat further.
If you are a believer in the power of decentralization and want to empower millions of creators and define “Future of Work”, we are hiring! Please send your profiles at [email protected]
?#creatoreconomy #nfts #livevideocommerce #hanli #creatoreconomy3.0 #decentralization #monetization
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Pegasus Angel Accelerator
2 个月Kiran, great post!