The Definition
The creator economy is the full system of commerce around independent creative work: content produced by individuals, distributed through platforms, monetized through advertising, sponsorship, and direct audience payment. It is not a trend layered on top of media. It is a structural shift in how creative work is made, funded, and owned.
Who Is In It
Four groups make up the economy. Creators produce the work. Platforms distribute it and set the terms of reach and revenue. Brands fund it through advertising and partnerships. And a service layer of editors, managers, agencies, and software companies has grown around all three. Understanding the economy means understanding how these four depend on one another.
How Money Moves
Money enters the creator economy from two directions. Brands pay to reach audiences, through platform advertising that creators share in and through direct sponsorships creators negotiate themselves. Audiences pay creators directly, through subscriptions, memberships, and purchases. The healthiest creator businesses draw from both. For the mechanics, read How Creators Make Money.
Two estimates, two definitions.
Market size and advertising spend measure different things. Read the scope alongside the number: a global estimate of all creator monetization is not directly comparable to U.S. brand advertising alone.
Global creator economy, 2023
$250 billion
Goldman Sachs: all creator monetization, worldwide
Global creator economy, 2027 projection
$480 billion
Goldman Sachs: same global measure
U.S. creator ad spend, 2021
$13.9 billion
IAB: brand advertising with creators
U.S. creator ad spend, 2024
$29.5 billion
IAB: same U.S. advertising measure
U.S. creator ad spend, 2025 projection
$37 billion
IAB: up 26% year over year
Source 1: Goldman Sachs Research, April 19, 2023. Global estimates and 2027 projection.
U.S. creator advertising spend
2021 · $13.9 billion
2024 · $29.5 billion
2025 projection · $37 billion
USD billions. Bars start at zero and share the same scale. Lighter bar indicates a projection. Source: IAB, November 20, 2025 (linked below).
Source 2: IAB, November 20, 2025. U.S. creator advertising spend. The 2025 figure is a projection, not a final result.
“We expect some element of a ‘flight to quality’ whereby creators will prioritize platforms with stability, scale and monetization potential.”
Eric Sheridan, Senior Equity Research Analyst, U.S. Internet, Goldman Sachs Research. April 19, 2023. Source 1
Why It Matters
Work is changing, and creativity is becoming one of its defining forms of labor. A generation is choosing independent creative work as a career, not a side project. That workforce has outgrown the infrastructure meant to support it: no shared standards, little formal training, thin economic literacy. The scale of the shift is why institutions are now being built around it.
The Measurement Problem
The creator economy is routinely estimated, rarely measured. Definitions vary from study to study, and the people doing the work are undercounted in labor statistics built for an older economy. The Creators Guild of America Foundation funds research to close that gap, producing data that policy, journalism, and academia can rely on.
Learn the Economy
Start with the fundamentals: What is a Creator? explains the profession at the center of the economy, and How to Become a Creator maps the path in. To follow the Foundation’s education and research as it publishes, join the list.
Get the Creator Briefing:
Practical guides, rate benchmarks, contract tips, and research on the creator economy. Free from the CGAF. Unsubscribe anytime, we will never sell your information.
The Foundation is funded by donations from creators, brands, and institutions who believe the creator economy deserves real institutional support. Contributions to the Creators Guild of America Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. EIN 41-5345101.
Footnotes
Our eligibility requirements are thoughtfully crafted by a diverse committee of creative professionals from all backgrounds, ensuring inclusivity and representation across the industry.
We proudly support members from all cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. As a Guild, we stand with the LGBTQ+ community and are committed to fostering an environment of equality and acceptance for all.
As a non-profit organization, the dues paid by our members are reinvested into the Guild to fund events, legal costs, and continuous improvements, making sure to look after our volunteers and ensuring a vibrant future for all creators.
Creators Guild of America Foundation © 2026