For Creators, Money is X-Rated

The pandemic-era boom in India’s ‘creator economy’ is gone. Some startups are making early profits, but their success (and rivals' struggles) bare an unsavoury truth about ‘creator economics'.

This is the story of two companies in one hyped business: the creator economy. Both companies help creators make money from connecting with their audiences directly, helping them sell everything from calls and livestreams to courses and seminars. Both were founded roughly a year apart during the pandemic, when entrepreneurs were dropping the words ‘creator’ and ‘economy’ liberally to get investors excited.?

But Rigi and Renown, both based in Bengaluru, both creator monetisation apps, picked different roads to building a business. In that choice lies an inconvenient truth about the economics of the creator economy: to really make big money, you need to sell some sex. Or at least the (remote) possibility of it.

To find out more about what it takes for a creator economy company to make money in India, head over to this link and read the full edition of The Impression - your weekly media primer:

https://theimpression.thesignal.co/p/for-creators-money-is-x-rated