ABSTRACT
Creators would not have been in any media business textbook at the turn of the twenty-first century. So this a new sector, the offspring of social networks. The creator economy gives any individual with a smartphone the ability to achieve global reach and monetisation – a profound change to the media business model, which previously required content to be filtered, funded and delivered through major corporations. The Creator business model is deceptively simple, and is examined through the four stages of media value creation. At the Development stage, creators (‘influencers’) devise content without the aid of significant production teams, mediation from business entities or regulatory intervention. This creates opportunity for profit, but without any upfront cash flow, or financial and legal safety net. Production is executed at minimal cost – using low-cost tools including smartphones – pre-recorded or live-streamed. Distribution uses the free resources of global networks. Key creator platforms include YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok and niche services like Patreon and OnlyFans. Monetisation happens through eight principle means for a creator: programmatic advertising, affiliate advertising, a platform’s creator fund, sponsorship/product placement, e-commerce, direct follower subscription (and donations), NFTs and back-catalogue exploitation. Many creators run a combination of strategies. Because the first three phases of value creation are low-cost, when content achieves traction, monetisation is at high margin. An analysis of the Roblox influencer Megan Plays, asks how a gamer with a large YouTube following can scale the business beyond her own appearances. The chapter ends with an exercise around legal and production issues that can come up in creator content: intellectual property rights, chain of title, defamatory content, obscene or offensive content, copyright and music rights.
