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An estimated 50 million people worldwide consider themselves content creators. What began as something akin to a grassroots movement where aspiring creators uploaded video blogs has transformed into a global industry valued at $250 billion.
The Europe Creator Economy Market is expected to reach a value of USD 13.4 billion by the end of 2024. Across Europe, both content creators and industry policymakers are shaping the future of the local creative industry.
For example, specific countries within Europe offer unique opportunities, according to current research. Germany offers a highly developed tech infrastructure with a tech-savvy audience. There is also a rich tapestry of diversity with influencers finding success in cultural niches like farming to fashion in the UK to literature and the culinary arts in France.
This explosive growth of an entirely new industry is exciting, but it’s important to remember that this industry is still emergent and evolving.
Unlike more traditional employment pathways, the content creator industry has evolved in a much more organic manner. While this means there are huge earning opportunities for creators both established and aspiring, the systems in which they operate aren’t always ideal.
At the same time, technology has been changing just as rapidly, meaning there are a number of emerging solutions that stand to help the creator economy develop further and support the individuals responsible for this billion-dollar industry.
From our experience in several ventures in the content space, let’s take a closer look at the newest opportunities for European creators in 2024.
1. Web3 is giving creators even more control over their income.
European startups across the continent are building new solutions that are empowering the creator economy, from helping brands scale influencer partnerships to supporting creators with AI-fueled designs and animations.
Meanwhile, the European government has plenty of support and advice for how influencers can participate in the formal economy, such as the Influencer Legal Hub, a collection of materials including video training, overviews of important European laws, as well as links to other relevant national consumer authorities and further resources.
Going further, the next generation of the internet, commonly known as Web3, aims to create a secure, decentralized system that allows users and organizations to regain control of individual privacy and network systems.
While blockchain technologies are most often associated with cryptocurrency and other areas within decentralized finance, Web3 promises to disrupt the creator economy too. Currently, creators rely on the platforms from big tech companies like Meta and TikTok. These platforms essentially act as a middleman between creators and audiences. However, many creators are increasingly concerned about the amount of control that these middlemen currently have over their livelihood.
Creators’ ability to monetize depends on these platforms, but the percentage earned from ads or views may be fractional. Further, creators need to learn how to crack an algorithm that’s always changing, to ensure their accounts are visible. Finally, creators can get banned and lose thousands of carefully earned followers for policy violations that aren’t always fair or accurate.
Web3 has the potential to give creators more control over their platforms and their income. For example, creators can use blockchain technology to create NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that represent ownership of their content. This means that creators can keep control of their content and earn royalties every time it is sold or used.
In addition, they can create their own platforms where they can connect directly with their fans. This means that creators can avoid paying fees to intermediaries, such as social media platforms, and keep more of the revenue they earn without any intermediaries or third-party interference.
Finally, in a wider context, Web3 may help to overcome issues around free speech and censorship, something that major platform providers are finding increasingly difficult to manage.
2. EU governments are ramping up push-back on dominant streaming platforms.
Music streaming platforms have democratized access to music globally. They are now the most direct route to stardom, replacing reality TV shows. However, unless they are one of the handful of artists who manage to go global after building an online following, making a career as an online musician isn’t a guaranteed path to success.
Today, streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and services from Amazon, Tidal or Deezer being the dominant mode of consumption, replacing the habits of buying physical copies of released music.
In Europe, the music streaming market is expected to reach $7.7 billion. Yet despite this, particularly for smaller artists, concerns are growing about how difficult it is to earn a living wage from the revenue they receive per stream.
As of January 2024, the European Union has been taking this matter seriously. Legalisation is being discussed that would aim to ensure smaller artists are more fairly compensated and can produce a living wage for their contributions to the success of these major platforms.
Meanwhile, the government isn’t afraid to issue steep fines to any platform that is found to be in breach of competition laws. Apple was earlier slapped with a 1.8 billion euro fine for violating the bloc’s laws on antitrust.
The number of individual campaigns across global markets clearly indicates that the streaming platform royalty model is working for the few, not the many. However, the collective force means we’re likely to see a major shift in how streaming platforms collaborate with musicians as a result.
3. Governments worldwide are clamping down more on free speech.
Social media has always been an ideal place to unwind and connect with friends, but it’s also the place where half of all adults now get their news.
Reporters from more traditional journalist backgrounds are turning toward the influencer model and harnessing the reach of platforms including TikTok. Sophia Smith Galer, a former Vice and BBC reporter, creates TikTok videos that report the news often commanding 16 million views, while Dylan Page, covers the day’s top news stories for his 10 million TikTok followers.
The rise of the “journalist influencer” has been fueled in many ways by the decline of the traditional newsroom, leading many journalists to seek alternative ways to report, combining journalistic rigor with a relatable, trustworthy, friend-like presence.
However, in younger economies, journalists are often motivated by a much more urgent necessity. For example, Sofía Terrile, one of Argentina’s leading journalists, has turned to alternative broadcast channels to disseminate credible information and engage audiences who are tired of traditional newsrooms during the country’s current economic crisis.
Meanwhile, between 2013 and 2022, more than 60 Venezuelan newspapers went out of circulation indefinitely. In addition to censorship, the government has also used legal action to suppress free speech. This means journalists dedicated to providing citizens with impartial reporting have to work with independent broadcast channels that sit outside the government’s remit of control.
An adaptable future for the creator economy.
If the changes playing out for the creator economy in 2024 underline one thing, it’s that the industry is highly adaptable.
As user preferences shift, demand appears in new areas. Equally, the sheer number of creators means that when systems aren’t working optimally, the collective force of millions in the industry can make the case for change.
