The creator market will be a $104 billion market in 2022. The growth of the creator economy should be expected to accelerate even more in the coming years. The rise of web3 creator platforms will significantly increase the payouts going out to creators and lower the barrier of entry for creators to start making a career off of their craft.    

Let’s take a look at the main players in the creator market today. Youtube is estimated to provide $30 billion in revenue to creators in 2022 – a significant fraction of the $104 billion total valuation of the market. 

This sounds like a lot of money until you realize that the top 1% of Youtube is likely receiving a lion share of that payout. To start receiving money through the Youtube Partner Program, a channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers, and receive 4,000 valid watch hours in the past 12 months. These are pretty high hoops for the amateur creator but more importantly a significant investment in time and effort before any payout hits your wallet. 

Our friend Adrian has lost interest working his desk job and wants to make a career teaching online yoga classes. If Adrian is part of the 64% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, he can’t quit his job to dedicate all of his energy into becoming a yoga creator. Adrian is in A Creator’s Valley of Death, the greatest obstacle standing in the way of becoming a creator. To get out of the valley, Adrian must make enough money from his yoga classes to support his living expenses. 

What if Adrian were to create on a platform like Youtube? Youtube doesn’t pay out creators until they reach the threshold to become a Youtube Partner. In the time it takes for Adrian to grow to 1,000 subscribers and receive 4,000 watch hours, he can count on exactly zero dollars being paid out for his hard work. During this time, it is very likely that Adrian loses motivation or burns out as a creator. A Creator’s Valley of Death consumes many budding creators on traditional platforms. 

Let’s compare Adrian’s journey as a creator if he were to provide yoga classes on a web3 platform. From the start, Adrian raises some cash by minting an initial run of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to friends and family. These NFTs provide holders with perks like lifetime membership to his yoga classes. The value of such NFTs would appreciate with Adrian’s growth as a creator, giving early adopters a financial upside with their investment. The money from the NFT mint gives Adrian the capital to purchase anything he needs to get started, but more importantly provides Adrian external validation to pursue his creator career. 

Adrian uses Ethereum and Bitcoin to accept class fees from participants. From Adrian’s first class of twelve participants, he brings home $340 dollars! From here, the word spreads about Adrian’s yoga classes and within two months, he’s earning enough to confidently quit his desk job. Adrian has made it out of the Valley of Death!

Adrian’s story is optimistic. Most budding creators that set out on the same journey will not see the same success. However, the importance lies in understanding how drastically cryptocurrency primitives tip the scales in improving a creator’s chance of success. 

Adrian’s first yoga classes netted him $340. Let’s imagine if Adrian had instead launched his class on a platform like Skillshare. Skillshare pays teachers between $0.05 to $0.10 for each minute-watched. For the twelve participants attending an hour long class, Adrian would have earned $50. 

Traditional creator platforms take home much of the monetary value that creators produce. Youtube has a take rate of approximately 45%, while Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have a take rate of ~100%. Contrast these rates with NFT Marketplace OpenSea, which has a take rate of 2.5%. 

Ritchie Torres, a US Congressmen representing the South Bronx, says it best when he says, “You know something is profoundly wrong with our economy when Big Tech has a higher take rate than the mafia.” 

The growth of web3 creator platforms gives creators the power to put more money into their own pockets. The $290 difference for Adrian over 3 yoga classes means paying the rent on his apartment instead of just the week’s groceries.

Automation is rapidly taking over jobs -- a 2020 World Economic Forum study estimates over 85 million before 2025. Now, it is ever more important to start building the bridges that can help people transition out of their repetitive, menial jobs into creative work. Web3 primitives are the key to making the digital marketplace friendlier for the striving creator.

The creator market will be a $104 billion market in 2022. The growth of the creator economy should be expected to accelerate even more in the coming years. The rise of web3 creator platforms will significantly increase the payouts going out to creators and lower the barrier of entry for creators to start making a career off of their craft.    

Let’s take a look at the main players in the creator market today. Youtube is estimated to provide $30 billion in revenue to creators in 2022 – a significant fraction of the $104 billion total valuation of the market. 

This sounds like a lot of money until you realize that the top 1% of Youtube is likely receiving a lion share of that payout. To start receiving money through the Youtube Partner Program, a channel must have at least 1,000 subscribers, and receive 4,000 valid watch hours in the past 12 months. These are pretty high hoops for the amateur creator but more importantly a significant investment in time and effort before any payout hits your wallet. 

Our friend Adrian has lost interest working his desk job and wants to make a career teaching online yoga classes. If Adrian is part of the 64% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, he can’t quit his job to dedicate all of his energy into becoming a yoga creator. Adrian is in A Creator’s Valley of Death, the greatest obstacle standing in the way of becoming a creator. To get out of the valley, Adrian must make enough money from his yoga classes to support his living expenses. 

What if Adrian were to create on a platform like Youtube? Youtube doesn’t pay out creators until they reach the threshold to become a Youtube Partner. In the time it takes for Adrian to grow to 1,000 subscribers and receive 4,000 watch hours, he can count on exactly zero dollars being paid out for his hard work. During this time, it is very likely that Adrian loses motivation or burns out as a creator. A Creator’s Valley of Death consumes many budding creators on traditional platforms. 

Let’s compare Adrian’s journey as a creator if he were to provide yoga classes on a web3 platform. From the start, Adrian raises some cash by minting an initial run of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to friends and family. These NFTs provide holders with perks like lifetime membership to his yoga classes. The value of such NFTs would appreciate with Adrian’s growth as a creator, giving early adopters a financial upside with their investment. The money from the NFT mint gives Adrian the capital to purchase anything he needs to get started, but more importantly provides Adrian external validation to pursue his creator career. 

Adrian uses Ethereum and Bitcoin to accept class fees from participants. From Adrian’s first class of twelve participants, he brings home $340 dollars! From here, the word spreads about Adrian’s yoga classes and within two months, he’s earning enough to confidently quit his desk job. Adrian has made it out of the Valley of Death!

Adrian’s story is optimistic. Most budding creators that set out on the same journey will not see the same success. However, the importance lies in understanding how drastically cryptocurrency primitives tip the scales in improving a creator’s chance of success. 

Adrian’s first yoga classes netted him $340. Let’s imagine if Adrian had instead launched his class on a platform like Skillshare. Skillshare pays teachers between $0.05 to $0.10 for each minute-watched. For the twelve participants attending an hour long class, Adrian would have earned $50. 

Traditional creator platforms take home much of the monetary value that creators produce. Youtube has a take rate of approximately 45%, while Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have a take rate of ~100%. Contrast these rates with NFT Marketplace OpenSea, which has a take rate of 2.5%. 

Ritchie Torres, a US Congressmen representing the South Bronx, says it best when he says, “You know something is profoundly wrong with our economy when Big Tech has a higher take rate than the mafia.” 

The growth of web3 creator platforms gives creators the power to put more money into their own pockets. The $290 difference for Adrian over 3 yoga classes means paying the rent on his apartment instead of just the week’s groceries.

Automation is rapidly taking over jobs -- a 2020 World Economic Forum study estimates over 85 million before 2025. Now, it is ever more important to start building the bridges that can help people transition out of their repetitive, menial jobs into creative work. Web3 primitives are the key to making the digital marketplace friendlier for the striving creator.