What Does the Creator Economy Mean in 2024?

☎️ Imagine you’re in the 1920s.

You sit with your family in an air-conditioned theatre room with the musky smell of old curtains ready to watch Charlie Chaplin’s latest film.

📺 Now think back to when you were a teenager.

You just got home from school.

You turn on the TV and it opens to a re-run of Friends - you’ve seen it before but you watch it anyway.

📱 Now think to this morning.

You just caught your train on the metro. You didn’t manage to get a seat because some arrogant consultant in their suit beat you to it. You get out your phone and start to scroll instagram.

We have not changed at all. Our screens have.

Check your screen time.

I bet that, like me, you watch more content on your phone than you make calls or whatsapp - you can check this on your screen time in settings. Here’s mine…

We have followed creators our entire lives.

The difference is, that today, there are over 300 million creators.

The first thing to know about the creator economy is that it is new. It’s younger than most people reading this article.

For me, the creator economy began with the birth of Youtube in 2005 and younger siblings Instagram and Tiktok joined the family later in 2010 and 2016.

I define the creator economy as everything that allows content creators to monetise and share their work. Charlie Chaplin and Ross from Friends were also content creators but the difference is…

Now creators own their work, audience and revenue streams.

This includes the platforms mentioned above and people from podcasters to dancers to musicians to chefs!

The smartphone is a mini TV.

But today, for me, the creator economy can be represented by the small device we all keep in our pockets.

Just like when you shrink anything physics dictates that it will become more intense and powerful - Moore's law. (Also referring to the Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn moment in the film ‘The Internship’)

The economy in general is a game. And the creator economy is no different.

In my opinion, there are 5 key players in this game - in order of importance:

• The creator

• The fan

• The tech layer/platform

• The brand/business

• The agency

I will deep dive into each of these players in later editions - so stay tuned.

Change is happening all the time.

20 years since the ‘birth of the creator economy - engagement has moved away from lifestyle creators and shiny new stuff. Rather content and its creators are focusing on real value (improving the lives of people who watch them) - of course entertainment plays a huge role too!

And as an artist. I am excited for this. It’s our time to shine!

If you want to learn more about the creator economy DO NOT subscribe to my newsletter. Speak with any young person (a university student or a teenage relative) - they know a lot more than I do.

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