Welcome to the Creator Economy, a study from MBO Partners and Emergent Research, found that 7.1 million American independent workers (freelancers, self-employed, etc.) earn money by creating and monetizing online digital content.
In addition to sizing the U.S. creator economy, the study also explores the demographics, motivations and attitudes of digital content creators.
As the study chart below shows (click to enlarge), most digital content creators are young, with three-quarters of creators aged 40 or younger and a bit over a quarter (27%) being under 25.
This is not surprising.
Most creator economy platforms are relatively new and target younger audiences - think TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, etc. Younger people are more familiar with these platforms and more likely to be able to create content that appeals to platform users.
But a large share of creators are older (25% are over 40) and we expect this share to grow.
Already, older creators are using platforms like TikTok to produce content of interest to older audiences in subjects like finance, lifestyles, health and wellness and others.
Other key findings about creators include:
- Most (63%) are part-time independent content creators and 59% have either a full-time (46%) or part-time (13%) traditional job.
- Most are either highly satisfied (83%) or satisfied (9%) with their work, and few are dissatisfied (4%).
- Their biggest challenges are a lack of predictable income and creating and maintaining a sales/revenue pipeline.
Content creators also cited two other major challenges.
Almost 4 in 10 (38%) said it's hard to be successful and a third of content creators (34%) report struggling with burnout.
BTW, there isn't standard definition for the "creator economy" or "creators" and definitions vary substantially.
For this study, creators are defined as independent workers (freelancers, self-employed, etc.) who earn money creating and distributing online digital content.
This includes independent writers, musicians, designers, artists, instructors, video makers, online influencers, and others who create and monetize digital content.
Creators were identified through a series of survey questions about their independent work, digital content creation and monetization activities.
See the report for more information and details on the study methodology.
