Headwinds are threatening the creator economy’s potential. Audience growth, social platform monetisation, and content saturation are creating friction that is leaving creators frustrated. Now, the red lights are flashing on the dashboard:  the average weekly time consumers spend creating and producing content has fallen for the first time since 2021. Tackling the issue will be no easy task given the fragmentation within creation itself. The creator economy has bifurcated between platforms championing creators and those championing creation. Each will require a bespoke strategy for turbo-charging the industry into the future. This report will explore how social platforms can grow creators and creation with respective ‘Nurture’ and ‘Amplify’ strategies that play to the social platforms’ strengths and ensure creators reap the rewards of their efforts.

Key data and insights in this report: 

• Main challenges faced by video creators, by experience level
• Weekly average hours spent creating or producing content, listening to streaming music, and using social media between Q4 2021 and Q2 2024
• Conceptual illustration of how the strategic focus of social platforms is evolving
• Analysis of the bifurcation of the creator economy between creator-first strategies and creation-first strategies

This report contains data from:

• MIDiA Research Video Creator Tools Survey 2024, Global, n =240 
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q2 2024 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q1 2024 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, n = 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2023 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q2 2023 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2022 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 9,000
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q2 2022 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 8,800
• MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2021 fielded in US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, South Korea, Brazil, n= 8,800

Words: 4880 Pages: 19 Infographics: 4

Companies and brands mentioned: Adobe Firefly, Amazon Prime Video, ByteDance, CapCut,DeggyUK, Douyin, Duolingo, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, League of Legends, Loltyler1, Minecraft, MrBeast, Netflix, NFL Game Pass, Ninja, Nielsen, Paramount+ TikTok, TikTok Symphony Creative Studio, The Sidemen, Twitch, Twitch Tracker, V Project, YouTube, and YouTube Shorts