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Content Creation Now Seen As Legitimate Business, Report Finds

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Content Creation Now Seen As Legitimate Business, Report Finds

Major financial institutions are beginning to recognize creators as small business owners, with Visa leading corporate integration of creator-focused business services. 

According to new research from Schwarzwald Capital, the shift signals broader institutional acceptance of content creation as a legitimate business category.

This transformation extends beyond individual creators, with successful content producers increasingly operating as production companies. Evidence of this shift, Schwarzwald Capital notes, appears in the Forbes Top 50 Creators list, whose members collectively earned $720 million in 2024, a $20 million increase from the previous year, while managing substantial teams and implementing strategic business operations.

Financial Dynamics Signal Industry Maturation

Despite the sector’s growth, the report reveals significant income stratification among creators:

  • 73% earn below $30,000 annually
  • 19% earn between $30,000 and $100,000
  • 8% earn above $100,000

As the industry professionalizes, creators approach their work with increasing business acumen. Production costs now average 13% of creator income, covering essential business expenses, including equipment, software, and editing resources, which creators increasingly treat as business investments rather than hobby expenses.

Platform Economics Drive Revenue Diversification

To maintain financial stability, creators are diversifying revenue streams across multiple platforms. The study finds varying levels of platform adoption:

  • Instagram leads marketing activity, used by 59% of creators
  • TikTok captures 24% of creator marketing activity
  • Facebook maintains a 23% market share
  • Traditional platforms like Pinterest (6%) and Twitch (3%) show smaller but stable usage
  • YouTube remains dominant for six-figure earners
Content Creation Now Seen As Legitimate Business, Report Finds

This multi-platform approach supports diverse revenue sources:

  • Product and service sales: 30%
  • Advertising revenue: 22%
  • Subscriptions and memberships: 13%
  • Affiliate marketing: 11%
  • Brand collaborations: 9%
  • Streaming revenue: 8%
  • Tips and donations: 4%
  • Other sources: 3%
Content Creation Now Seen As Legitimate Business, Report Finds

Industry Growth Trajectories

The creator economy is projected to reach $480 billion by 2027 and $528 billion by 2030, expanding from its current $300 billion valuation. Supporting this growth outlook, 78% of creators expect increased earnings in the next 12 months.

These findings emerge from comprehensive research by Schwarzwald Capital’s analytics team analyzing creator earnings, platform usage data, and industry employment figures across nine global markets encompassing 430 million content creators. 

The full report is available on Schwarzwald Capital’s website.

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Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.

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