How Web3 Will Disrupt the Creator Economy 🤳🏾

One industry that’s gotten some serious buzz in the Web3 streets, and for good reason, is the creator economy. As avid consumers of content across platforms (whatchu mean you’re not on TikTok??) and Web3 enthusiasts, we’ve seen that the synergies are undeniable. This week, we’ll do a deep dive into the creator economy and how Web3 has the potential to completely transform it.

What is the creator economy?

The creator economy describes an economy where anyone with access to the internet can create content, build a brand or following, and monetize off of it. Creators can be anything from social media influencers, to singers, to micro-bloggers, to digital artists, and more. According to Fast Company:

• More than 50 million people globally consider themselves content creators

• The market size has grown to well over $104 billion. 

• There’s even been a stronger middle class, with 41% of creators earning a living wage ($69,000 annually or more) year-over-year.

For decades, even before the internet, entertainment and news were largely run by “big media” companies. Now, anyone can decide that they’re going to put out content that can be discovered by people across the world. This has birthed an entire new generation of people who have been able to chart their own path by building a following on the internet.

One of our favorite examples of this is none other than the Corporate Baddie himself, DeAndre (Dre) Brown. 

During the first year of his corporate job, Dre used TikTok to create short skits about being GenZ in the workplace. Through his hilarious yet relatable antics, he developed a brand that connected with hundreds of thousands of people–all done from the comfort of his home using his phone and Tiktok. After his short stint in corporate America, Dre’s platform became so successful that he was able to quit his job, secure several brand partnerships and speaking engagements, and ultimately make a new career out of his passion for entertainment. Now that’s VERY elite!

Why is Web3 positioned to disrupt the creator economy?

Thinking about people like Dre, whose life changed in a year because he decided to create content that resonated with a lot of people, we can’t help but think about what the next upcoming creator’s journey as a creator in Web3 could eventually look like. Below we’ll break down the strengths and shortcomings, that perfectly complement the advantages of Web3:

The beauty of our current internet:

• Anyone can create from anywhere in the world. Whether you’re an artist, entertainer, influencer, or any other form of creator, you have access to platforms that can connect you with your audience.

• As a consumer, you can discover new content and choose to continually engage with creators you love as part of their fan base. 

Where the current internet falls short today:

• Big tech companies profit off of creators who leverage their platforms–often making more money than the creator.

• Early supporters aren’t rewarded for being a Day 1 fan. 

What Web3 allows:

• Creators can have direct access to their supporters, and there’s no central entity dictating how much money the creator can make. 

• New technologies, such as tokens, allow early supporters to be rewarded with the creator as they grow in notoriety. 

Web3 takes the best principles of our current internet AND addresses the shortcomings. It’s a version of the internet that allows creators to do what they love, and their supporters to be more invested in their success. A win, win situation for all. 

“Lemme get a cut of that creator economy” - said, every social media platform

If you thought that these big tech companies were about to give their creators the bag without taking some for themselves, you thought wrong! While it’s tough to gauge what the long-term strategy is for a lot of these players, one thing is for sure: they want to monetize their creators as much as their creators want to monetize. 

Here are a few recent creator economy headlines from our favorite social media services:

• Meta is working on Super, a live streaming platform that will enable users to run interactive livestreams, engage with followers and generate revenue

• Instagram is testing its new creator marketplace, a hub designed to help brands discover and reach out to creators about partnerships and campaigns

• Twitter launched Product Drops, a feature that will allow online merchants to tease product launches with a special tweet highlighting the item and when it will become available for purchase 

• YouTube’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki, announced its plans to double down on the creator economy in 2022 in its annual letter

• Snapchat launched a new Sounds Creator Fund to support audio creators

• TikTok launched paid subscriptions for creators and fans

While we love what the creator economy stands for, the big players are still critical. Whether we like it or not, these platforms have scale and reach that a creator can’t have independently, and their audience reach (read: growth as a creator) relies on the algorithm. 

But not to fret, there are a handful of startups and creator-led initiatives trying to change the conversation: 

• Adim: a web3 entertainment startup for creators and fans to collaborate on new content and characters for TV, games or the metaverse 

• Calaxy: a web3 marketplace that allows creators to mint their own cryptocurrencies that their fans can buy to interact with them or trade value for a social media engagement 

• Niche: an LA-based decentralized social media network with user-owned communities

• IreneDAO: a platform that allows content creators and influencers to convert their social media content into NFTs known as social-collectibles created by Chinese crypto influencer and model, Yuqing Irene Zhao

• 7th Ave: a platform bridging the gap between web2 and web3 by helping creators consolidate their audience, start making money, and deepen relationships with their followers

The innovation in the space excites us for what’s to come, and it’s our hope that it leads to a more equitable creator economy for all.

Thanks for reading! See you all next week ✌🏽

Contributors: Chad Payne, Kendall Rankin