Rolling Stone PODIUM: 5 Things The Creator Economy In India Requires To Maximize Potential

The creator economy in India is a major contributor to India’s GDP. According to a study by Oxford Economics, YouTube creators alone contributed over ₹10,000 crores to India’s GDP in 2021. There is much conversation around recognizing and regulating the space, on par with other industries. Even though creators have been disruptors and catalysts of change in the public eye, they still face numerous challenges.

Many creators face inaccessibility to upskilling, resources and capital along with other aids to assist in their growth. Since the creator economy is driving digital and tech platforms, scaling the country’s economy and creating opportunities for companies and brands, it is only fair that the creator economy stakeholders come together to help creators advance and build their businesses.

There are five major areas where work needs to be done seriously to make a positive transformation if this space is to realize its full potential.

Democratic Discovery

Creators distribute content using social media, digital and various kinds of tech platforms. It is the responsibility of these tech platforms to provide fair opportunities for the best, quality content to be promoted. With this intent, all digital and tech platforms should help consumers explore and discover new creators through increased democratization of the platform, where only content quality wins over popularity or the number of followers alone. It is necessary for tech platforms to make changes and incorporate feedback to increase unbiased distribution and promotion of content from creators.

Capital Investment

Creators today run like mini-enterprises and startups. Like any small business, when starting up and growing, these creators need funds and capital investment. However, the space for raising capital for creators is nascent in the country. Right from government bodies that can create special creator funds, to businesses that can set up capital investment opportunities for creators, there is a way that different stakeholders in the creator ecosystem can help.

Learning and Development

It’s just a matter of time before we will start seeing education degrees and diplomas for aspiring creators. It is also important for learning and development centers to be set up for creators where they can upskill and access learning materials to stay up to date. Private players like tech platforms could also set up creator-focused learning and development opportunities which should have practical knowledge focused over theoretical learning.

Regulations & Protection

A sector as large as the creator segment, functioning without proper regulation has a higher chance of frequent exploitation. IP protection of content is another major area of concern for creators, where regular rules related to the M&E segment may not suffice. Along with giving them a recognized professional status, insurance for these kinds of gig workers would be a good idea, given the highly uncertain nature of their profession.

Innovations In Monetization

Brand promotions are the most common way creators monetize their content. Today we see entrepreneurship, traditional media appearances, co-partnership and investing in other businesses are opportunities mostly open for top creators. However given the number of creators in the market, it is necessary to open up other avenues of monetizing content for creators. Innovations in social tokens where fans pay for their favorite creator and creator-focused funds are some ways content creators can be compensated for their work and talent.

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Vijay Subramaniam is group CEO and founder, Collective Artists Network