The creator economy: An introduction and a call for scholarly research

Bloggers, streamers, artists, celebrities, musicians and service providers are just a few examples of creators who aim to monetize their talent by generating and posting digital content. Aided by technological platforms and AI tools, they form a complex and dynamic ecosystem of economic activity, estimated to be worth over $100 billion dollars, and growing rapidly. In this editorial we explore the creator economy from a marketing perspective, addressing questions such as: How can creators optimize their content, establish their brand, build their content composition, and expand their audience? How do platforms create the right mix of creators and curate their content? What challenges and opportunities are presented for traditional firms?

We define the basic terminology and identify key stakeholders. We propose research questions related to creators, consumers, firms, and platforms, and discuss the implications for the marketing function within organization. A key insight of this editorial is that although content creators may appear to be a diverse group of individuals operating independently, their joint activity creates emergent patterns that can be monitored, monetized and managed strategically. To achieve this, research must develop suitable metrics and methodologies while adapting relevant marketing constructs.

This editorial is accompanied by four research notes written by marketing scholars, who all learned first-hand from major players in the creator economy. Bleier et al. (2024) examine the role of social media platforms in enabling the creator economy. Hofstetter and Gollnhofer (2024) zoom into one of the most important dilemmas faced by creators on social media: balancing authenticity with monetization. Edeling and Wies (2024) also touch upon monetization in their focus on “creatrepreneurs,” entrepreneurs in the creator economy, and on the ecosystem that enables their activities. And Prandelli et al. (2024) discuss how luxury brands are leveraging the creator economy.