A few years ago, “creator economy” sounded like something a marketing agency made up to fill a slide. Now it’s one of the bigger stories in business. Back in 2023, Goldman Sachs put the market at around $250 billion and predicted it could nearly double to $480 billion by 2027. Some industry trackers reckon it has already passed $500 billion this year, a good bit ahead of schedule.
Estimates vary a lot depending on who’s counting and what they include, so take the exact figure with a pinch of salt. The direction isn’t really in doubt, though. So where is all that money actually going?
A big chunk still sits with the platforms
The biggest winners are still the platforms themselves. YouTube, TikTok and Instagram keep a hefty slice of ad revenue, and they decide who sees what. One algorithm change can halve a creator’s income overnight, and there isn’t much anyone can do about it.
Brand deals are growing up
Sponsorships remain the main earner for most creators. Goldman’s research found brand deals made up roughly 70% of creator income. What’s changing is how those deals are structured. Brands increasingly want to see sales, not just views, so more agreements now include affiliate commissions, revenue shares or co-created products. That can mean bigger payouts for creators whose audiences genuinly buy things, and smaller ones for those who mostly have big follower counts.
Selling direct is the fastest-growing slice
The more interesting shift is creators selling straight to their audience: paid memberships, courses, templates, coaching, newsletters. Investors have noticed. Whop, a marketplace where creators and small businesses sell digital products and memberships, raised $200 million at a $5.1 billion valuation in October, roughly three times what it was worth in February. Shopify’s venture arm co-led the round with Sequoia, which tells you how seriously the e-commerce world is taking all this.
The appeal is obvious. When you sell directly, you set the price, you own the customer relationship and you aren’t at the mercy of a feed. There are still fees, but they’re usually a lot smaller then the share ad-funded platforms keep.
What this means if you’re a smaller creator
You don’t need a million followers to get a piece of this. A few practical takeaways:
- Own something. An email list or your own website is worth more than any follower count, because no algorithm can take it away.
- Have one thing to sell. Even a simple guide or a small paid community gives you income that doesn’t depend on landing the next sponsor.
- Track sales, not just reach. If you can show brands what your audience actually bought, you’ll have far more room to negotiate.
Only a small fraction of creators earn a full-time living, and that probably won’t change quickly. But the money flowing into the space is real, and more of it is ending up in creators’ own pockets than it was a few years ago.
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