Coming in multiple different forms, such as text, audio, video, content has now become the essence of the internet. However, with content creators gradually turning into key opinion leaders, influencers, content is barely a free resource anymore. Critical business services like advertising or marketing nowadays rely heavily on the support from the content creators community.

The content creators have successfully built what we now call the creator economy. Basically, it is a financial framework allowing creators to earn money by creating content that caters to the needs and interests of their targeted audience. Bloggers and indie performers have definitely been the backbone of the creator economy’s tremendous growth.

 A promising land

The creator economy is booming, partly thanks to the rise of online platforms such as Tiktok. It’s a unique force that has a market size of over $104 billion, just by the end of 2021. More and more people are considering them content creators, and they are empowered by the popular platforms with billions of users. Even experts hesitate when asked to forecast the potential market size for content creators in the near future. Its growth is simply unprecedented. The lockdowns that came with the COVID-19 pandemic made people seek new forms of entertainment. And this is when online creators come to the rescue by sharing their creative content.

Combined with the influencer marketing industry, the creator market has reached around $13.8 billion in the market size. And it is still increasing daily and no doubt will continue to expand in the future. Experts believe that the introduction of a new technological medium will push this expansion even further, since creators now have a lot more opportunities to bring in new products and services for their users.

Less dependence on hosting platforms

The creator community currently has more than 50 million members, boasting more than $800 million in venture capital. But even these impressive numbers can’t predict what they can become later, especially with the flood of new venues incoming.

It is no doubt that blockchain technologies have radically revolutionized the financial markets, allowing individuals, instead of any institution, to be in control of their own money. The power over data and funds are now in the hands of their holders. Immutability, transparency and the trustless nature of operations are just a few among many qualities that blockchain has brought to our life. It seems like we are now entering a new era of decentralization, and this change will soon make its way into the creator economy.

The development of decentralized finance and gamefi sectors have changed how we view conventional banking and gaming practices. As one of the most savvy technological adopters, there is no doubt that influencers and content creators will soon look into changing the paradigm in their operating environments. Now that blockchain technologies have allowed users to incentivize content creators, creators can now earn more money without having to share profits with centralized hosting platforms, which often have unfair policies that may fail to protect the creator community.

Who will benefit from the metaverse?

With the rapid development of metaverses (fully digital environments powered by virtual reality and blockchain on Web3), content creation is expected to see an explosion in the future. Creators will have access to advanced tools, making even the craziest ideas become true.

Their creativity will know no bounds, as they are now able to create stunning visuals for their content, from an opera concert in space using a nebulae backdrop, to a blog stream on a deserted island. Literally anything is possible in this new era of metaverse. This also means the audience will be able to enjoy more quality content, more immersive experiences from their favorite creators.

As for the content creators, they will also have more mechanisms to monetize their content through the versatility of internal cryptocurrencies. Users may stake digital assets on their creators as a way to encourage the creators to create more content tailored to the users’ interests. They may also pay to have access to exclusive content, or just simply reward the creators’ hard work with donations. There are numerous monetization avenues, and content creators can be sure they will always be paid for their talent. They won’t have to worry about a hosting platform stripping them of their own earnings.

The growth of the content-creator economy will also bring tremendous benefits to businesses. Companies are having creators to showcase their products and services to their followers, easily reaching their targeted segment of the market.

What the future holds of us

Just a few decades ago, the internet was the biggest thing we had ever seen, and it has since made our life so much more convenient. Now we have the metaverse, which is expected to be a fully user-centric environment that will bring creativity to a completely different level. Audiences will not be the only sources of income for content creators as businesses are also excited to enter this potential market. Virtual reality content is coming, and it will be the next hit.