Classplus has released a report on the creator economy, detailing some interesting trends and offering an insight into how the future might shape up for the sector.
The creator economy is currently valued at over $100 billion and involves around 300 million people worldwide. The industry was earlier dominated by entertainers, but is now seeing the rise of a new breed of creators, called “infopreneurs”.
A rising number of creators prefer to establish themselves as sustainable business owners rather than chase celebrity influencer status with books and podcasts witnessing the biggest y-o-y growth in creation.
The sectors that have seen the most significant growth include personal development, health and fitness, and personal finance. Another sector on the rise is the e-learning industry, which is projected to exceed $460 billion by 2026.
On Classplus alone, earnings of non-academic creators stood at INR 200 crore in 2023, a 2X increase from the previous year. The number of creators using the platform has grown by 300 pc from 2021.
In all, 77 pc of creators said algorithm changes had a moderate-to-significant impact on their audience engagement while 25 pc of creators estimated they’ve lost $1,000-$9,999 in revenue due to algorithmic changes, and 24 pc estimated $10,000-$49,999 in losses.
The year 2023 saw the rise of ‘fin-fluencers’ as there was a rise in financial awareness among retail investors. The number of investor accounts has surged from 3.93 crore in December 2019 to 13.23 crore by the end of October 2023. Trading and investment education emerged as one of the largest categories for Classplus. The number of ‘finfluencers’ using Classplus to monetise their content has increased by 2.2X in 2022 and 3X in 2023 from 2021, the report said.
Creator-led courses are gaining traction, the report said, and are seen as alternatives to traditional education system. Their appeal is in their flexibility and accessibility and course listings on Classplus range from INR 1,000 to 50,000.
Social Media has become a medium for successful business owners to share their expertise and insights, enabling others to start and grow their own micro-businesses. This trend has empowered individuals, particularly women in Tier II+ India to generate incomes. Around 70 pc of the audience accessing courses from these creators using Classplus are from Tier II+ cities and towns.
The popular courses include organic farming, makeup art, jewellry designing, cooking & catering, tailoring, and health and well-being.
