AI is about to blow up the creator's economy – the people who win and fail here
AI is the power of polarization: Optimists see it as an innovation that defines the times, while pessimists see the epic bubble that is coming. Regardless of the point of view, there is a broad consensus: AI will not be gradually missed or soft-tuned in the industry. Instead, each department will have a different era before and after, which is the sign of the most transformative shift that has been experienced since the rise of the Internet, if not. Among them, the creator's economy will face one of the deepest transformations as it can profit the nature of generative AI-stunning content.
The industry around content creation exists as long as the storytelling itself. Books, radio, television, and music all rely on the licensing, royalties or sales of content. Successful publisher or broadcaster success is to control distribution, affecting people who are recognized and pour in revenue and large budgets. Then there is the Millennial-driven social media revolution that gives creators an unprecedented ability to directly attract audiences. This shift redefined the distribution, allowing creators to foster niche communities and monetize independently. While the quality of the studio is not far away, high-quality content stands out, boosting audiences and maximizing revenue through brand partnerships, sponsored positions and paid appearances.
Recently, Generation Z has introduced two concurrent and opposing revolutions. Tiktok appeared on the one hand, democratizing the virus by favoring the real original content captured on the phone rather than the exquisite professional work. Monetization has undergone a corresponding shift, with creators modestly earning from perspective and engagement (requiring a lot of content and views), or often attracting audiences to other platforms for other sources of income. Instead, another revolution embraces exclusivity and personalization. Platforms such as Onlyfans (about $2 billion in annual revenue), Patreon (about $200 million in annual revenue) and cameo (about $100 million in annual revenue) sell high premium, personalized content directly to consumers, from modest subscriptions to thousands of dollars per interaction.
Now, AI brings singularity to the creator's economy. With AI’s ability to quickly generate almost unlimited text, images, audio and video, content scarcity becomes obsolete. AI-powered tools can achieve personalized professional quality content at a large scale, while tailoring and delivering it to countless users. There is no further trade-off or decision between mass market or personalized, amateur or professional standards or the opportunity cost of a paid activity.
This singularity represents change: yesterday’s limitations, surrounding cost, time and body boundaries, disappear, which means tomorrow’s opportunities will fundamentally differ. The real experience has now become commoditized, and this is a new paradigm. I expect that, similar to other media industries, this may mean a decrease in value for each experience and an increase in the number of equal, if not larger, experiences. Therefore, we expect that for those who fit the new paradigm, the industry will be enabled by AI, from quality to quantity.
Ultimately, AI will fundamentally change the industry, and every creator’s adoption or resistance to AI will shape not only their own career trajectory, but the industry as a whole. In this free market, creators will bring fans and revenue to AI platforms and developers. Therefore, their adoption of different AI products will help shape the shaping of AI becoming dominant and transfer the creator economy to the future.
