New research reveals that pay transparency in the creator economy benefits both brands and influencers, helping to professionalize an industry projected to reach $500 billion within five years.
According to February 2025 data from Traackr, referenced in an EMARKETER report, marketers face significant challenges in determining creator compensation. These include internal budget constraints (23%), lack of standardized pricing benchmarks (21%), and inflexible or high rates from creators (20%).
“It’s like the Wild West when it comes to creator payments,” said Christen Nino de Guzman, founder of Clara for Creators, during a recent SXSW panel. “You would have one creator charging $20,000 for a video and another one charging $2,000.”
Addressing Pay Disparities
The research highlights persistent pay gaps across gender and racial lines in the creator economy. Without standardized processes, these disparities often worsen when creators only discuss rates within their specific communities.
“There is a pay gap between creators across gender, across race, and having some set of standards will help to alleviate the biases that might infiltrate that process,” explained Blair Imani, creator of Smarter in Seconds.
Business Benefits
Pay transparency isn’t just beneficial for creators—it represents a strategic advantage for brands. While a Traackr survey found that two out of five marketers believe creators are paid fairly, and another two out of five believe they’re overpaid, the lack of standardization creates inefficiencies.
“Being creator-friendly is a business benefit,” said Jamie Gutfreund, founder of Creator Vision. “Brands that treat creators well have a much better chance of getting the best talent.”
Emerging Best Practices
Some brands are implementing baseline compensation rates for campaign participants to reduce pay disparities. This approach ensures that no creator in a campaign is paid below a certain threshold, even if compensation varies based on audience size or engagement metrics.
Pierre-Loïc Assayag, CEO of Traackr, noted that brands implementing data transparency with agency partners are seeing positive results: “When the person in charge of creator marketing can go in front of the CMO and explain why they need to increase their investment because now they know [the ROI].”
As the creator economy is projected to grow tenfold in the next five years, industry professionals emphasize that standardization will be essential for scaling operations.
“This is an ecosystem, a marketplace, but it can’t be a marketplace until everyone has the same information,” Gutfreund stated.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
New research reveals that pay transparency in the creator economy benefits both brands and influencers, helping to professionalize an industry projected to reach $500 billion within five years.
According to February 2025 data from Traackr, referenced in an EMARKETER report, marketers face significant challenges in determining creator compensation. These include internal budget constraints (23%), lack of standardized pricing benchmarks (21%), and inflexible or high rates from creators (20%).
“It’s like the Wild West when it comes to creator payments,” said Christen Nino de Guzman, founder of Clara for Creators, during a recent SXSW panel. “You would have one creator charging $20,000 for a video and another one charging $2,000.”
Addressing Pay Disparities
The research highlights persistent pay gaps across gender and racial lines in the creator economy. Without standardized processes, these disparities often worsen when creators only discuss rates within their specific communities.
“There is a pay gap between creators across gender, across race, and having some set of standards will help to alleviate the biases that might infiltrate that process,” explained Blair Imani, creator of Smarter in Seconds.
Business Benefits
Pay transparency isn’t just beneficial for creators—it represents a strategic advantage for brands. While a Traackr survey found that two out of five marketers believe creators are paid fairly, and another two out of five believe they’re overpaid, the lack of standardization creates inefficiencies.
“Being creator-friendly is a business benefit,” said Jamie Gutfreund, founder of Creator Vision. “Brands that treat creators well have a much better chance of getting the best talent.”
Emerging Best Practices
Some brands are implementing baseline compensation rates for campaign participants to reduce pay disparities. This approach ensures that no creator in a campaign is paid below a certain threshold, even if compensation varies based on audience size or engagement metrics.
Pierre-Loïc Assayag, CEO of Traackr, noted that brands implementing data transparency with agency partners are seeing positive results: “When the person in charge of creator marketing can go in front of the CMO and explain why they need to increase their investment because now they know [the ROI].”
As the creator economy is projected to grow tenfold in the next five years, industry professionals emphasize that standardization will be essential for scaling operations.
“This is an ecosystem, a marketplace, but it can’t be a marketplace until everyone has the same information,” Gutfreund stated.