Hollywood is Dead: the Rise of the Creator Economy
I came up as an assistant in writers’ rooms during the height of the TV bubble. One of the writers’ rooms I was in was literally a mansion we rented out in the Hollywood Hills overlooking all of Los Angeles.
I remember sitting out by the pool, next to the tennis court, and asking myself: how is any of this sustainable?
The answer? It’s not. At least, not in the way it once was.
The gilded age is over, and 30% of film, TV, and sound recording jobs disappeared in the past year, with no sign of ever coming back, and over 300,000 creative jobs in California creative industries were lost (source). The TV bubble burst, and the fall of the DVD means movies have to make all their money in theatrical sales as streaming doesn’t pay like DVD sales once did, thus changing the types of films that can be made (read: only Avengers, Star Wars, and an Avengers/Star Wars crossover.)
I started my career in TV because it was a revolutionary place to work as a creative, but that place no longer exists.
And you know what? The fact that TV is dead is actually the exciting news. Because stories aren’t dead: the gatekeepers who decide what gets made are.
I’m writing this piece to share with you my vision for the future based on changing market trends that actually hearken a better landscape for creatives.
Ready?
Welcome to the Creator Economy
The Creator Economy is a term that encapsulates all of us gunslingin’ creatives: bloggers, YouTubers, TikTokers, travel influencers, indie writers, dancers dressed as Sloths with millions of followers — yeah, all of us weirdos who spend a lot of our time making things for the consumption of others.
The resistance to the Creator Economy often comes from Traditionalists:
Why create content when Netflix has all the resources and money in the world? Why make your own thing when the streamers can out-spend and out-produce you?
Well, as it turns out Netflix bleeding all the cash in the world still doesn’t compete with the creator economy.
From CNBC:
“Quarterly revenue [from the Creator Economy] is on a par with Netflix, and it’s growing at a faster rate. Alphabet said YouTube booked $7 billion in ad revenue last quarter. That’s up 83% from the year-ago quarter. Compare that to the $7.34 billion in revenue Netflix booked during the same period. Netflix’s revenue grew 19.4% from a year ago.”
Let’s also remember that Netflix has to spend quite a pretty penny to maintain their Content King status. They’ve borrowed $15 billion since 2011.
YouTube, on the other hand, just has to maintain their algorithm and create tools and initiatives for their creators.
What seems more sustainable?
The Creator Economy also plays into the traditional American myth of the rugged individualist. While I have problems with this mythology, it makes sense that this is the next wave of how creators will function. I think we’re also going to see a fall in the guilds like the WGA and SAG-AFTRA (which are currently pricing out creators from becoming signatories to work with their guild members — more on that later) and instead we’ll see the rise of creative collectives that create systems of mutual aid and profit-sharing/dues to help creatives have more durable safety nets.
The Myth of Industry Validation
I was once working on a show for some big showrunners and having a miserable time. When I was talking to some of my co-workers, it was clear they also weren’t having the Time of Their Lives.
When I told them I was thinking of leaving and just… I don’t know. Being unemployed? Figuring it all out?
“You’ve got to stay. Use their success to get your own,” they told me.
I ended up leaving, and that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Despite growing up in the age of content creation, a lot of millennials still buy into the myth that an industry needs to “validate” you in order for you to be successful.
But in the pursuit of ladder climbing, we’re still climbing someone else’s ladder. At any time, that ladder can get pushed over, or break. But if we build our own ladders? It might take more time, but we know they can hold us and get us to where we want to go. And we can offer space on our ladders for others, too.
A great example of this is Bo Burnham. He grew to prominence because of his YouTube presence and undeniable creativity and star power, and used his own platform to get to where he is today. He didn’t wait on an industry to validate him. He found more “traditional” success through non-traditional creator-first thinking.
As my partner Kyle likes to say, the only place Hollywood validates you is on the way out of the parking structure.
What the Creator Economy Looks Like
Instead of going to Netflix for your content, we’ll see higher and higher production values on YouTube, and the long-tail theory of content gives users more of an opportunity to pick the creators and content that speak to them.
Platforms like YouTube and TikTok invest heavily in their creators, which keep people on the platform. This will lead to more Creator Funds and resources like shared soundstages for filmmakers to have a playground of opportunity to make their stories real.
We’ll see a rise in podcasts, especially as platforms like iTunes roll out subscription models to support podcast hosts and scripted podcast makers.
As a creative, you’ll be able to wake up, make yourself a warm cup of coffee, and get started on a new project, film a video, collab with another creator, and apply for the numerous artist grants given away by platforms and collectives. You’ll also be able to do this all remotely, whether that’s in your home studio or on the other side of the world.
You’ll make money through ads, branded content, subscriptions, and online content like courses, e-books, or selling your art prints online.
You’ll never have to see the inside of an office again if you don’t want to.
Things to Be Wary of in the Creator Economy
The Creator Economy isn’t all sunshine and digital roses.
Kyle Chayka’s piece in The New Yorker discusses the real danger of the Creator Economy: artists’ work being turned into mere gig work, devaluing their skills. Platforms can also block creators, sometimes without giving creators much recourse.
That’s why you don’t want to build on rented land. Having a blog here on my own domain gives me power to post what I want, which means a platform can’t censor me. However, if your following is only on IG or TikTok or Patreon, those platforms control your welfare if they’re your main source of income.
Nowadays, it’s super easy to build sites on Squarespace or Wix and to have all of your e-commerce features created independently using widgets and tools. That way, you’re not relying on another app.
This does cut into your discovery ability, meaning you have to grow organically using SEO or leveraging another platform to get email subscribers on your website and build a following that way. Or, you may want to buy Google Ads or find other advertising routes so you can more organically find an audience without relying on a social platform.
Having multiple streams of income is also key. That way if you do decide to go with a platform like Substack or Patreon, that’s only one income stream. Offering things like digital downloads, online courses, and then ad-supported videos can help you find different ways of monetizing. That way, if one goes away, you have the other sources of income to help soften the blow.
Also beware of creator burnout. Think long-term: building anything takes time, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Going viral and seeing everything take off immediately is a rare phenomenon. Even if you do have early success, you still need to sustain momentum. So, be sure to take care of yourself and take breaks. This isn’t a sprint! Building a creative career is like tending to a garden. It takes time for things to grow, and you need to speak kindly to yourself as if you were tending to gentle seedlings just starting to peek out from the soil. (If you need inspiration, I wrote this article about leading a holistic creative life!)
Having a day job or being a freelance writer is another great way to start, that way you can slowly grow your following while still having money come in. This allows you time to practice, time to fail, and time to grow.
You Can Make a Living Making Your Art: Here’s How
I know everyone and your mother told you that being a writer or artist or creative will leave you sad broke and alone, but that’s not true. According to this report by Supply Gem, “the creator economy is predicted to reach over $200 billion by 2026.”
Yeah, so it looks like there’s a bit of cash in this whole Creator Economy thing, right?
And that’s not just in the world of OnlyFans, either.
The secret to making money in the Creator Economy is simple: create strategically, find freedom, learn daily, travel often.
Don’t worry, I’ll get more specific in the next section when it comes to monetization tools for writers. But I really do want you to think holistically about this first:
Create strategically. As creatives learning how to thrive in the Creator Economy, our biggest struggle is combating burnout while we’re making a living. We need to protect our precious creative energy, understand the opportunity cost of each new thing we take on, and use that to make sure we’re creating both for our own enjoyment as well as career fulfillment. Sometimes those overlap, sometimes they don’t.
Find freedom. As a creative, I would encourage you to optimize for freedom. What does that mean? If you’re offered a full-time job, but it will prevent you from going on an incredible trip you just booked, you need to pick the path that will give you the most freedom. If you go on the trip, you’ll be free to enjoy and then figure out your job situation when you get back. If you take the job and cancel the trip, you’ve given up your freedom in exchange for security. It’s a reasonable decision, but it’s not one that’s optimizing for freedom. The goal with the Creator Economy is to create passive income streams and other safety nets so you can take a big risk and not end up in a challenging spot. For example, I live in Los Angeles but hate driving. So, I sold my car to a friend and took off on a three month trip to Europe. I have no plans on getting a new car anytime soon: I can take Uber or ask for rides from friends when I need it, and my neighborhood is super walkable so I have everything I need around me (and I work from home/work remotely so don’t have a commute!) I optimized for freedom, and I no longer have to pay car insurance or the rising LA gas prices. What does optimizing for freedom look like for you?
Learn daily. Each day, strive to learn something new. Read a book, watch a video explaining something, take an online course, learn a new skill, or talk to someone more experienced than you in something. By expanding your mind, you give yourself concrete skills and frameworks to help you get to where you want to be.
Travel often. I’ve been traveling since August of last year. It’s helped me shake loose of things I was holding on to and encouraged me to grow beyond my comfort zone. I’ve always dreamed of spending a lot of time exploring Europe, and so we booked a three month trip to Europe and I’m writing this from a Prague cafe. By having context for the world, we become better, more empathetic creators. If you can work from anywhere, work somewhere incredible.
Mindful Monetizing in the Creator Economy for Writers
Okay, now let’s get a bit more in the weeds of what it means to make money in the Creator Economy. This is going to be the first of many posts, so I hope you stay tuned for more ideas on how you can turn your creative talent into something that sustains you.
There’s a lot of different ways you can monetize your work, and here are some that work for me:
Affiliate links. When I was in high school, I started monetizing my blogs with affiliate links. I remember being able to buy a dress for my winter formal out of the money I made from affiliate links, and I felt so proud that my creativity produced a tangible return. Affiliate links are also nice in that they often come with a discount code for your readers, so they can also be gifts or helpful buying suggestions for your audience. (Example: you can save $40 on a Remarkable 2 tablet, my top choice for a paper-like sustainable notebook tablet I’ve been recommending to my friends and gave as a gift to my partner. Full product review coming soon!) Note that these links still need to be used in a way that provides true value for your readers, because one of the keys of the Creator Economy is building trust with your audience.
Donate buttons. If you have fans of your work who believe you’re giving them value, offer a donate button through a payment platform where they can share their appreciation.
YouTube and Google Ads. You can create ads on your website and YouTube videos to generate revenue, but too many ads can detract from the readership experience on your site. Right now, I’m experimenting with taking away my Google ads and instead focusing on a readership-first experience, but I have monetized from ads in the past. With the rise in ad blockers, I don’t see this as a revenue stream that’s as central as it was in the past, and I would recommend creators find other ways to monetize. The caveat to this is that I think YouTube ads are more tolerated by viewers, and can lead to a lot of revenue.
Digital content. If you noticed, I added a “shop” button on my homepage. That will soon lead you to a paid content page where I’ll be sharing some of my favorite digital downloads, ebooks, and other content I’m creating for you. That’s where my stories will live, as I’m opting out of the traditional publishing route in favor of the Creator Economy-led indie publishing journey.
Freelance writing leads. A lot of my consulting and memoir clients find me from this here blog. Writing posts is an investment in helping people find my work and services. Even if you’re giving away free content, it can create paid leads. That’s why you always want to put your best foot forward in everything you make! The only “don’t” of the creator economy is to put out trash you don’t believe in, or selling out and stuffing posts with affiliate links. The Creator Economy is built on trust and finding your one true audience.
Your Five Day Creator Economy Challenge
How are we feeling? Amazing? Ready to seize the day? Fantastic.
I put together a simple five-day challenge for you. It’s meant to get you up and running, to flex your skills, try something new, and then share it with the world without judgment. From there, I want you to learn, receive feedback with an open mind, and then keep going.
Welcome to the Creator Economy! We’re happy you’re here :)
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See ya on the flip side of the changing entertainment landscape!
xoxo,
-Amy
