Over the last decade millions of content creators have found liberation, revenue streams and new audiences for their content via platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.
For many, a simple camera or phone has propelled them to stardom and for some it has become their full time daily occupation. One report suggests that the Creator Economy Market Size is estimated to reach $104 Billion in 2022.
Statistics around this industry of influencers, videographers and often small business entrepeneurs are truly staggering.
- Influencer Marketing Industry is set to grow to approximately $16.4 Billion in 2022
- 50 Million people join in the creator economy. Using platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch, TikTok and Patreon.
- 46.7 million creators consider themselves amateurs
- 2 Million global creators make six figures
- 22 thousand YouTube creators have more than 1 million subscribers
Not all creators are creating video. Some have seen great success in podcasts and as audio creators both in music and with other forms of sound files.
One thing is clear, the mainstream bastions of linear programming via traditional radio, tv and cinema have some real competition. Niche positioning in otherwise discarded marketplaces are now opportunities for the new band of content creator.
Educate, inform and entertain
Adopted by one of the oldest traditional broadcasters, the BBC, way back in January 1927 as part of their original funding document or Charter as it is known, are the values of Inform, Educate and Entertain.
Put forward by Lord Reith, the first Director-General of the BBC, these ideals are even applicable to the content generators on YouTube and elsewhere.
Trade skills, agriculture, DIY and reviews all rank highly in a quick search of content on such platforms. Take for example the often un-noticed farmer who can now explain how our food is grown year on year from season to season, through drought and flood explaining along the way the journey from seed to plate.
A highly skilled artisan can now ‘pass on’ traditional skills to a global audience thus securing in some small way generations of experiences gained from their lifetime. Through their weekly updates, just like our ancestral story tellers, human history is preserved, skills transferred and legacy is created.
Equipment
Recording equipment has come a long way in its journey since the French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville created the first sound recording in April 9, 1860.
Almost 30 years later, in 1890, inventor Thomas Edison and his British assistant William Dickson unveiled the Kinetograph, a primitive motion picture camera.
Fast forward 100 years and the camera is common place in the households of many developed nations. Gone are the days of waiting for film processing, as the image is instantly now available for transmission around the globe.
Very high levels of production value are now in the hands of creatives with common brands such as Apple and GoPro dominating the marketplace.
Open Source software and powerful desktop computing all contribute to offer the ‘spare room’ entrepreneur access to their chosen audiences.
Software ideas
Video
Openshot – OpenShot Video Editor is a free, open-source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Designed to be an easy to use, quick to learn, and surprisingly powerful video editor according to their website.
Shotcut – Shotcut is a free, open source, cross-platform video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. Major features include support for a wide range of format
Audio
Audacity – Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Audacity is free, open source software.
Ardour – Ardour is an open source, collaborative effort of a worldwide team including musicians, programmers, and professional recording engineers. Record, Edit, and Mix
on Linux, macOS and Windows
Tell us about your content
A big thank you to the many wonderful content creators around the globe who are featured here. If you would like to be considered for inclusion please get in touch via our contact form.
Sources:
SignalFire’s Creator Economy Market Map
Forbes – 50 Million Join The ‘Creator Economy’ Thanks To Platforms Like OnlyFans, YouTube, Etsy And Twitch