--- title: Who’s actually benefiting from the creator economy boom? - The Hustle description: The top 1% of podcasters and video streamers earn the majority of revenue for those media verticals. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1085823933-News-Brief_2021-10-14T001619.820Z.webp --- # Who’s actually benefiting from the creator economy boom? ![Trung T. Phan](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Image-from-iOS-300x300.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=Image-from-iOS-300x300.jpg) [Trung T. Phan](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/trung-t-phan) [Trung T. Phan Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan) Published: October 14, 2021 Updated: October 11, 2023 *Source: *[*Jason Miller/Getty Images*](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jake-paul-enters-the-arena-prior-to-the-fight-against-tyron-news-photo/1337176759?adppopup=true) ![Who’s actually benefiting from the creator economy boom?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1085823933-News-Brief_2021-10-14T001619.820Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1085823933-News-Brief_2021-10-14T001619.820Z.webp) Like the green sweatsuit from “Squid Game,” the so-called creator economy exploded in 2021. Powered by a suite of [tools](https://signalfire.com/blog/creator-economy/) — from broadcasting (YouTube) to publishing (Substack) to payments (OnlyFans) — the trend was supposed to empower digital media creators of all types to earn a livable wage. #### **But actual riches across media verticals…** … are accruing to only the top creator, per *Axios*’ [Sara Fischer](https://www.axios.com/creator-economy-revenue-content-b704fef1-af40-467b-91d3-88ed7e200cec.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=twitter): - **Video: **The top 1% of streamers on Twitch earn 50%+ of revenue (most earn $120 or less) - **Podcasts: **Top 1% of podcasters earn the “vast majority” of ad revenue - **Newsletters: **The top 10 Substack publications make $20m+ a year collectively (vs. the majority of less popular accounts making 5 figures) #### **This type of distribution is common entertainment** Superstars like Taylor Swift (music), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (film), and Lionel Messi (soccer) make many multiples of the average person in their field. Investor [Li Jin](https://hbr.org/2020/12/the-creator-economy-needs-a-middle-class) has offered recommendations on how platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok can help make a “creator middle class”: - Allow creators to capitalize on superfans - Offer a form of Universal Creative Income (UCI) - Provide capital investment to up-and-coming creators - Recommend content algorithmically with an element of randomness - Create passive (or almost-passive) income opportunities for creators While these Big Tech platforms offer hundreds of millions in [creator funds](https://thehustle.co/05132021-creator-fund-wars/), more work needs to be done. 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