What is Creator Economy and how it's driving India's GDP? A peek into its growth trajectory?

YouTube's creative ecosystem contributed over Rs 10,000 crore to the Indian GDP and supported more than 750,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the country in 2021, the Google-owned company said on Monday.

Today, billions of people consume the content produced by creators in India the world over. This has helped creators unlock monetisation opportunities, allowing many to convert their passions into sustainable careers.

What is the Creator Economy?

Many independent content producers, curators, and community builders are developing their own tech-enabled digital businesses that allow them to monetize their work.

Changing the landscape of Indian job markets

As per reports, the creator economy in India is growing at a compound annual rate of 25%, catalyzed by flexible office hours, remote work and renewal of passion pursuits. With new monetisation options, more creators are looking at it as a full-time profession and many existing professionals are reaping the benefits of the creator economy as a side hustle. 

Tamseel Hussain - Founder and CEO of Pluc.tv said, "Doctors are joining the creator economy and creating shows on various health issues, farmers teaching other farmers organic farming through storytelling or even brands enabling their own community members to share powerful stories instead of going to influencers." 

Driving India's growth trajectory 

Fundamental changes in consumer behavior, consumption patterns and a large number of first-time creators showcasing their talents online, particularly in vernacular languages, are indicators of the creator economy’s growth potential. 

Tamseel Hussain from Pluc.tv noted, "Distribution of income among creators is skewed, with the top 1% of them, or the platforms themselves, taking a massive chunk of the wealth created. But this trend is changing and in the next 5 years we will see Indian creators diversify the creator economy and build business which would enable a new era of startups and SMEs - backed by a strong element of consumer trust."

While there are millions of creators rising in India, according to reports only 150,000 of them are able to earn or monetise. Pluc.tv is changing this, by enabling anyone & everyone to tell a good story & earn from it. The platform is helping creators monetise their stories early irrespective of their follower count. Creators can create original shows/courses on Pluc.tv that are sponsored by brands and get paid for every story they create irrespective of its reach.

Tamseel Hussain opined, "The rise of affordable smartphones and internet-access packages, coupled with digital media, has made being a creator easier. The capacity of hungry audiences demanding a variety of content is also a massive driver."

"Today stories are everywhere, from social media platforms to televisions, OTT, offline screens and even food and shopping apps. This is changing the landscape for the creator economy, especially in smaller Indian towns and cities, by building new opportunities for creators and offering unique stories to people where they spend the most time," he added. 

How did pandemic change Creator ecosystem?

The pandemic disrupted the dynamics of the Creators' community. The Covid-induced lockdown spurred the creative imagination of the creators. In fact, more and more people started flocking digitally to showcase their talent in different verticals like entertainment, beauty, fashion, technology, and home-cooked food. 

This not just helped them follow their passion while sitting at home but also monetizing their content. 

The creator economy in the post-pandemic world is not just limited to a few top influencers or creators. There’s a huge influx of first-time internet users who are able to learn, create and build an audience online for their stories. 

Tamseel Hussain said, "Creators are looking for monetization opportunities beyond ad-revenue, such as selling their own products, building direct relationships with fans via subscriptions, creating original content streams that can be branded or told on OTT."

Creator Economy: Key challenges and Opportunities 

There are many challenges, from having to churn out trend-based content as dictated by algorithms, to monetisation for medium and small creators. This leads to restricted creativity and also burnout. Creating constantly, without support, is also challenging as most creators are a one person army, being their own writer, director and producer.

Pluc.tv is solving such challenges by offering space to build original stories and shows, monetise irrespective of number of followers and having a virtual studio, so that creators have a team to collaborate with. We are democratizing storytelling and building a more equal creator economy, allowing creators to manage storytelling as a side gig or main gig whenever they want.

The future is promising: A world where people can do what they love, connect with their roots, own what they make, monetize it, empower audiences to become rock stars consumers. The creator economy will be an important part of India’s growth story and is here to scale.

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