The Impact of The
Creator Economy
A new research report unveils how digital content creators are helping to shape the U.S. economy and society.
April Yang, YouTube creator
Over the past 15 years, online platforms have revolutionized who gets to participate in and benefit from creative work. In the past, traditional media companies controlled who and what appeared before large audiences. But now almost anyone with inspiration and a mobile phone can record and upload a video that potentially reaches billions of people around the world – and make meaningful income doing so.
Today, 12 percent of all U.S. adults are creators, people who earn money through digital content creation.1
The exchange of money between platforms, brands and creators defines the creator economy, as revealed by Morning Consult’s study.
Creators’ content can possibly attract hundreds of millions daily active viewers, spurring some businesses to invest advertising dollars into the online platforms creators use. These platforms, like YouTube, share the advertising revenue with creators, giving them a sustainable income stream. Creators can also earn money from brand partnership deals and, at times, starting their own businesses beyond content creation. In turn, creators spend money hiring teams of support to help them grow. These teams include roles such as video editors, marketing experts and financial advisors.
The exchange of money between platforms, brands and creators defines the creator economy – and can have an expansive impact on the U.S. economy.
In 2021 alone, YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported more than 425 thousand full-time equivalent jobs in the U.S and contributed more than $25 billion to the nation’s GDP.2
Recently, Morning Consult conducted a study on behalf of Washington Post Research to gain an understanding of the impact that creators have on the U.S. economy and labor market, and what this could mean for the future. The study featured interviews with journalists, academics and creators themselves.3
Below, we share the study’s results.
According to Oxford Economics, in 2021 alone, YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported more than 425 thousand full-time equivalent jobs in the U.S and contributed more than $25 billion to the nation’s GDP.
1 Source: Morning Consult Economic Intelligence, U.S. Jobs & Labor Report
3 Morning Consult recently conducted a study on behalf of Washington Post Creative Group and YouTube to gain an understanding of the impact that creators have on the U.S. economy and labor market, and what this could mean for the future. The study featured interviews with journalists, academics, and creators. Most of these interviewees were paid for their time.
A unique ecosystem
“The modern creator economy began when YouTube introduced its partner program in 2007.”
— Casey Newton, Journalist
Academics and journalists interviewed in the study credit YouTube with establishing the creator economy. “The modern creator economy began when YouTube introduced its partner program in 2007, putting ads on videos and letting creators keep 55 percent of the revenue generated,” said Casey Newton, a journalist who writes about technology.
These experts also say YouTube continues to be seen as a trusted leader in the creator economy, as it challenges other platforms to build new ways for creators to engage with their audience and monetize their content. For example, when audiences began favoring short-form content, YouTube launched YouTube Shorts and just recently announced that creators will soon be able to earn a share of revenue from Shorts.
This relationship between creators and their audience distinguishes the creator economy from other online businesses. Many creators make content because they want to express themselves and their passions – and drive interest, relevance and loyalty among their audience. “We want to have a genuine connection with our audience,” says April Yang, a YouTube creator who creates fashion and sewing content. Relationships between creators and their audience can feel very intimate and personal, leading to a sense of authentic audience member-and-creator friendship. When creators have a regular audience that engages with their content, they can make consistent profit. YouTube, for example, offers a partner program in which two million creators have 10 different ways to monetize their content. This includes revenue from ads that run on their videos, the sale of branded merchandise on their channel's merch shelf and more. YouTube is also rolling out a new level of the partner program next year with lower requirements that will give smaller, up-and-coming creators earlier access to fan funding monetization features. “[This] gives predictability to creators by turning their audience into their employers, essentially by saying ‘If you really love a creator why not give money to support them directly?’” Newton said. Businesses, on the other hand, leverage these connections between creators and their audience by sponsoring creators to create branded content. For example, an agriculture brand may employ a farming creator to explain new types of equipment to their audience. This type of creator-centric advertising helps traditional businesses expand their reach, and adds value for both the creator and advertiser.
How YouTube impacts the economy:
2021 Oxford Economics YouTube Impact Report
Direct economic impact
As creators grow their audience and enter sponsorship deals with brands, they employ branding experts, marketers and video editors to scale their content creation, which, in turn, expands the U.S. labor market and workforce. For example, Marina Mogilko, a creator who teaches English as a second language and has three YouTube channels, employs a team of 27 people to help her with production, publicity and administrative work.
Many creators also view their YouTube career as a launchpad for additional projects and businesses that will allow them to further share their passion. Erik and Jaime Perkins, brothers who create content about home building and construction, recently launched their own line of tools. April Yang recently signed a book deal and is designing her own clothing line. “It’s all thanks to my YouTube channel that I am given these opportunities,” Yang said.
Kinsey Grant, host of “Thinking is Cool”
By all accounts, Morning Consult found the covid-19 pandemic accelerated engagement in the creator economy. When brick-and-mortar locations shuttered amid lockdowns, business owners of all types turned to digital platforms to stay afloat. Restaurateurs and hair stylists made content to market and promote their brick-and-mortar businesses – or create a new source of revenue with cooking and hairstyling tutorials. Entrepreneurs established online-only businesses, like virtual dance classes, powered by social platforms.
“There was definitely a huge shift in early 2020,” said Kinsey Grant, host of the Thinking is Cool podcast. “A lot of people said if I'm ever going to have a shot at being a creator, it's going to come now while I'm trapped inside while I have all these ideas and nothing to do.”
Becoming a creator doesn’t mean you need an audience of millions. In fact, experts find the rise of a creator middle class, a category of creators who make enough money to support themselves on a middle class income, to be an exciting prospect for the U.S. economy.
The creator middle class is composed of creators whose content covers specific audiences’ interests. For example, they may make content only about their neighborhood in a city or teach a unique pottery process. According to Kat Tenbarge, a tech and culture reporter, middle class creators usually have around 100,000 subscribers and are highly sought-after for brand sponsorship deals because of their ability to connect with highly targeted, niche audiences.
“I think of [the creator middle class] as the future of YouTube,” said Tenbarge. “They seem to have a healthier work-life balance because they're not pursuing the 24/7 content churn.” Tenbarge suggested being a middle class creator represents a sweet spot, providing the freedom to create content that they enjoy making without the weight of superstardom.
Marina Mogilko, YouTube creator
Marina Mogilko, a creator, employs 27 people to help with her production, publicity and administrative work.
Diverse voices and democratized ideas
Quentin Langley, Adjunct Professor at Fordham University
In addition to helping bolster the broader U.S economy, the creator economy can also help shape the ideas driving society forward. Experts agree it democratizes citizens’ voices, enabling different perspectives to be heard and considered.
As the creator economy expands, more people share ideas with larger audiences. “Diversity of opinion is a good thing,” said Quentin Langley, an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University. “Moving to a more competitive market opens things up to people that wouldn’t have an outlet for their opinions.”
In the results of the study, experts point out that the creator economy’s diversity of ideas, opinions and forms of expression can drive business success, too. Employees can learn from creators who teach everything from coding to design to writing. This consistent viewership of creators' videos, in turn, creates a reliable source of income for the creator.
Middle class creators usually have around 100k subscribers, according to Kat Tenbarge.
“YouTube is like the printing press of our time,” said Jeffrey Meyer, a creator who makes history and literature content. Like the printing press, the platform allows for knowledge to be spread with unprecedented ease. “The creator economy is amazing because there are so many creative people who have ideas to share with the world but never had an outlet to realize them until now.”
Jeffrey Meyer, YouTube creator
“YouTube is like the printing press of our time.”
The future of the creator economy
The rise of the professional creator over the past decade has brought with it opportunities for new, diverse voices to possibly reach larger audiences, and for new businesses to form around, and in service of, creators themselves.
Morning Consults’ panel of journalists, academics and creators expect that this is only the beginning of the creator economy.
Art Markman, Vice Provost at University of Texas
As being a creator is now a career option, colleges are taking notice. “At the University of Texas we are creating programs to help creators bring their ideas to the market successfully,” said Art Markman, Vice Provost of Continuing and Professional Education and New Education Ventures at the University of Texas. The university brings in successful creators to talk to students about topics like personal branding and how to develop a budget. “The need [for this type of education] is only going to grow, and students are really interested in this path,” Markman said.
Along with education at the collegiate level, experts believe more jobs and businesses will continue to develop in ancillary services to support creators, like creative and talent management agencies, graphic designers, video editors and more.
Experts also pointed to the creator middle class as an area for exciting growth, predicting people will increasingly leave unfulfilling jobs to pursue their passions through content creation. Undoubtedly, this will help shape the future of the U.S. workforce and economy. David Craig, a Clinical Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California said, “The creator economy represents the future of work.”