We had earlier worked on the Creative Economy, which is a much broader macro-economic umbrella that includes traditional arts, culture, and businesses driven by intellectual property. Today we would like to talk about the Creator Economy, which refers specifically to independent individuals who monetise content and digital audiences, and is a subset of the Creative Economy. Our Creator Economy is a big Industry now; KPMG-Redseer estimated it at $ 2.5 billion in 2025 and expects it to double by 2027. BCG estimates of the Creator Economy are much higher. India now has 4-5 million content creators, who are actively generating creative work. Influencer marketing jumped 25% in 2024 to 2344 crore and is set to reach 3375 crore by 2026, as per an EY Report. India is YouTube’s biggest market on the planet with around 500 million users and contributes $ 1.8 billion to India’s GDP (2024) and around 1 million jobs in YouTube India.
India is a tough market for creators, but it is one of themost challenging places to be in. What pinches is that monetisation is relatively low compared to global markets. As per data, only 10% of the creators earn something meaningful. Competition is very high, and the audience is very sharp. The moment they suspect plagiarism, they just move on, forgetting to pay anything for a deep dive. The primary aim of the creator should be to create content which the audience likes, not what he or she likes. Also, the most impactful content comes from people who dare to be bold and honour the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. However, you may still ruffle some feathers, but keep going on the chosen path. In fact, one creator said he would create some humorous content (in a play) which may make some people angry, but still it would be so cleverly worded that they would not be able to say anything. To quote a dance creator and choreographer, “I would describe my work as bold, unapologetic and deeply empowering. My choreographies have resonated with millions, but what truly defines my content is the energy and the attitude behind it”. Another says that the hardest part of being a creator is that most people do not know how hard it is to keep going, keep doing videos and showing up, even when claps are not heard. Easy to preach sermons, but to follow in action and spirit is tough. For many, trust and honesty are non-negotiable, and once they earn the trust of the audience (and the client), money follows. But money is not high—India’s CPM (cost per mile) rate is $0.60-$1.40 for local audience content, against $1.5-$5.0 in China, $32-$36 in the USA. We would like to end by quoting Robert Frost: “But I have promises to keep and Miles to go before I sleep”. The pyramid is steep and has a huge base.