What *is* and *is not* a creator economy platform?
Hi all, I am a journalist for Business Insider, where I cover media and the creator economy. As the creator economy is still a pretty new concept, its exact definition is still being hammered out.
As a result, I had a question about what kind of platform can be called a "creator-economy platform."
I have always operated under the assumption that a creator economy platform needs to be user-revenue funded, either through subscriptions or transactions. Companies like Substack, OnlyFans, Patreon, Gumroad, and Etsy all meet these criteria.
I have heard others say that platforms like Instagram and YouTube are creator economy platforms as well, because the creators get paid via advertising.
However, I believe that a key part of being in the creator economy is that there is a fan-to-creator relationship, in which fans pay to support creators. A fan who watches a YouTube creator is less invested in that creator than one who supports that creator's Patreon. Creators might make money on Instagram and YouTube, but they do so through advertising, which means they're not being paid directly by fans.
I have been trying to sort this out for an upcoming newsletter post (read here: medialyte.substack.com).
I would love hear your opinion! Please weigh in below, and if you have more thoughts, please reach out on Twitter or via email. Thanks!
Hey Mark, thanks for asking it here! 💪
At first glance, I would say that "creator being paid by fan = creator economy." I agree with you that the fan-to-creator relationship is a key point to define what can be called a "creator economy platform".
I like how this article defines the creator economy platforms :
"A community platform for creators is a piece of software that makes it easy to take your most passionate followers and turn them into engaged, paying community members."
However, even though platforms like Youtube and Instagram are not meant to be for creators, so many creators are growing their audience on these platforms that it wouldn't be fair not to include them. As another example , I would call Wattpad a "creator economy platform" even though fans can't pay writers directly.
I hope it helped you! 🔥
Thanks for your response, Eliot! I guess my bone to pick is: If all a platform needs to do in order to be considered a "creator economy platform" is put money in the pockets of its users, somehow, then just about every social media platform is a creator economy platform. But maybe that's the case! I feel like I am clinging to a definition that I made up, even though it's probably not reality haha.
Even though I voted for "platforms => creator economy", I think it all boils down to "If you get paid from your content" you belong to the creator economy.
Be that a course on gumroad, or a paid newsletter, or being a youtuber that gets paid from advertising.