Goldman Sachs has released a comprehensive report on the creator economy, forecasting significant growth in both the number of content creators globally and the monetization opportunities available to them.
The investment bank estimates that approximately 67 million individuals worldwide identify as “creators” in 2025, with projections suggesting this figure will grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 107 million by 2030.
The report, titled “Creator Economy: Framing Market Opportunity, Drivers of Content Creation/Distribution & Ads/Commerce,” highlights the ongoing shift toward individual creators and user-generated content that has emerged since the early 2010s. This evolution has given rise to new platforms, products, and business models over the past several years.
Goldman Sachs notes that while the overall creator base is expanding, a larger percentage of individuals now consider themselves “amateur” or part-time creators, as opposed to “professional” or full-time creators. This trend has created a barbell-like distribution of earnings, with a small percentage of creators capturing a disproportionately large portion of the overall revenue. The report cites data indicating that 3% of YouTubers capture 90% of net creator earnings on the platform.
The firm expects this pattern to continue, with amateur creators driving the majority of growth in total global creator numbers going forward. By 2030, Goldman Sachs projects that professional creators will represent just 2.5% of the total creator ecosystem, down from 3.0% in 2025.
Monetization Models and Revenue Streams
Creator monetization is increasingly taking share from traditional channels across multiple industries, including digital advertising, e-commerce, and streaming media. The report categorizes creator economy monetization models into three broader categories:
Advertising (platform-based ads and brand-direct sponsorships)
Commerce (direct-to-consumer brands and co-branded products)
Subscriptions (creator-based content via paid subscriptions)
According to the report, ad spend on creator-based content is outgrowing the broader digital advertising industry and continues to gain share of total ad spend. EMARKETER estimates cited in the report indicate that total U.S. influencer marketing was approximately $26 billion in 2023, representing about one-third of total U.S. social digital ad spend.
Image source: Goldman Sachs
Key Themes Shaping the Creator Economy
The Goldman Sachs report identifies three significant trends currently driving the creator economy:
1. Stronger Private Funding Environment
After peaking in 2021 with approximately $3.6 billion invested in content creation and creator platforms, funding declined to $2.3 billion in 2022 and $950 million in 2023. However, funding reaccelerated in 2024, growing to approximately $1.5 billion, outpacing overall U.S. startup funding growth. The report attributes this increase to mainstream adoption of the creator economy, rising interest in generative artificial intelligence tools, and a more stable macroeconomic backdrop.
2. Rise of Creator Enablement Tools and Evolving Monetization Models
As creators expand their brands and businesses, platforms are adapting their payout strategies by blending monetization channels, particularly between platform payout models and audience-based monetization. The report notes a reduction in fixed creator funds, following the closure of TikTok and Meta’s respective $1 billion+ Creator Funds, and a shift toward Creator Programs that incorporate revenue sharing, subscriptions, tipping, and other monetization methods.
3. Growth of Long-Form Content
Despite the popularity of short-form video formats, the report indicates significant growth in long-form content, particularly on YouTube. According to SensorTower data cited in the report, the average daily time spent per user on YouTube has increased significantly since 2021, while time spent on TikTok has declined in the United States. The report attributes this trend to audiences gravitating toward episodic and TV-like video formats.
The report also notes that creators are adopting other forms of long-form media, including podcasting and livestreaming, to build authenticity, increase monetization opportunities, and diversify content offerings.
Image source: Goldman Sachs
Impact of AI on the Creator Economy
Goldman Sachs sees artificial intelligence as a key driver of the Interactive Web and believes it has the potential to revolutionize the creator economy through:
User-Generated Content – AI tools for content creation enable creators to generate ideas, optimize efficiency, and achieve greater scalability. Examples include text generation, image creation, and video editing tools.
Content/Data Licensing – The licensing of data and content by publishers to AI platforms has emerged as a new monetization stream. The report highlights that video content creators are being offered significant payouts by companies like Google and OpenAI for access to unused content for AI model training.
AI Avatars – New developments in generative AI are offering platforms and creators the opportunity to utilize AI avatars for monetization, audience engagement, and content creation, including AI characters and influencers, voice technology, and virtual goods.
Potential Impact of TikTok Restrictions
The report addresses the uncertain future of TikTok in the U.S. market following legislative action and court decisions in early 2025. While avoiding predictions about the outcome, Goldman Sachs suggests that Meta (Instagram & Facebook) and Google (YouTube) would capture the majority of ad spend reallocated from TikTok in the event of a ban, followed by Snap, Pinterest, and Reddit.
Companies Positioned to Benefit
Goldman Sachs identifies six characteristics that allow platforms to create a “flywheel effect” of attracting scale of creators, users, and monetization:
Scale of audience
Access to large pools of capital to fund monetization
Strong AI-powered recommendation engines
Effective monetization tools
Robust data and analytics
Elements of shopping/commerce
The report highlights Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Spotify Technologies, and Webtoon Entertainment as Buy-rated stocks that are positively exposed to the rise of the creator economy. Reddit, Roblox, and Snap are identified as Neutral ratings with favorable exposure to this theme.
Private Market Opportunities
Beyond public companies, the report identifies several private companies enabling creator content production, distribution, and monetization across three categories:
Monetization & User Engagement Channels (Patreon, Discord, Substack, etc.)
Social Media Management & Analytics (Kajabi, Hootsuite, Later, etc.)
Content Creation & Editing (including text, image, and video generation tools)
Goldman Sachs concludes that the creator economy represents a growth opportunity across multiple industries, with creators continuing to take market share from traditional media and commerce channels.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Goldman Sachs has released a comprehensive report on the creator economy, forecasting significant growth in both the number of content creators globally and the monetization opportunities available to them.
The investment bank estimates that approximately 67 million individuals worldwide identify as “creators” in 2025, with projections suggesting this figure will grow at a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 107 million by 2030.
The report, titled “Creator Economy: Framing Market Opportunity, Drivers of Content Creation/Distribution & Ads/Commerce,” highlights the ongoing shift toward individual creators and user-generated content that has emerged since the early 2010s. This evolution has given rise to new platforms, products, and business models over the past several years.
Goldman Sachs notes that while the overall creator base is expanding, a larger percentage of individuals now consider themselves “amateur” or part-time creators, as opposed to “professional” or full-time creators. This trend has created a barbell-like distribution of earnings, with a small percentage of creators capturing a disproportionately large portion of the overall revenue. The report cites data indicating that 3% of YouTubers capture 90% of net creator earnings on the platform.
The firm expects this pattern to continue, with amateur creators driving the majority of growth in total global creator numbers going forward. By 2030, Goldman Sachs projects that professional creators will represent just 2.5% of the total creator ecosystem, down from 3.0% in 2025.
Monetization Models and Revenue Streams
Creator monetization is increasingly taking share from traditional channels across multiple industries, including digital advertising, e-commerce, and streaming media. The report categorizes creator economy monetization models into three broader categories:
According to the report, ad spend on creator-based content is outgrowing the broader digital advertising industry and continues to gain share of total ad spend. EMARKETER estimates cited in the report indicate that total U.S. influencer marketing was approximately $26 billion in 2023, representing about one-third of total U.S. social digital ad spend.
Image source: Goldman Sachs
Key Themes Shaping the Creator Economy
The Goldman Sachs report identifies three significant trends currently driving the creator economy:
1. Stronger Private Funding Environment
After peaking in 2021 with approximately $3.6 billion invested in content creation and creator platforms, funding declined to $2.3 billion in 2022 and $950 million in 2023. However, funding reaccelerated in 2024, growing to approximately $1.5 billion, outpacing overall U.S. startup funding growth. The report attributes this increase to mainstream adoption of the creator economy, rising interest in generative artificial intelligence tools, and a more stable macroeconomic backdrop.
2. Rise of Creator Enablement Tools and Evolving Monetization Models
As creators expand their brands and businesses, platforms are adapting their payout strategies by blending monetization channels, particularly between platform payout models and audience-based monetization. The report notes a reduction in fixed creator funds, following the closure of TikTok and Meta’s respective $1 billion+ Creator Funds, and a shift toward Creator Programs that incorporate revenue sharing, subscriptions, tipping, and other monetization methods.
3. Growth of Long-Form Content
Despite the popularity of short-form video formats, the report indicates significant growth in long-form content, particularly on YouTube. According to SensorTower data cited in the report, the average daily time spent per user on YouTube has increased significantly since 2021, while time spent on TikTok has declined in the United States. The report attributes this trend to audiences gravitating toward episodic and TV-like video formats.
The report also notes that creators are adopting other forms of long-form media, including podcasting and livestreaming, to build authenticity, increase monetization opportunities, and diversify content offerings.
Image source: Goldman Sachs
Impact of AI on the Creator Economy
Goldman Sachs sees artificial intelligence as a key driver of the Interactive Web and believes it has the potential to revolutionize the creator economy through:
Potential Impact of TikTok Restrictions
The report addresses the uncertain future of TikTok in the U.S. market following legislative action and court decisions in early 2025. While avoiding predictions about the outcome, Goldman Sachs suggests that Meta (Instagram & Facebook) and Google (YouTube) would capture the majority of ad spend reallocated from TikTok in the event of a ban, followed by Snap, Pinterest, and Reddit.
Companies Positioned to Benefit
Goldman Sachs identifies six characteristics that allow platforms to create a “flywheel effect” of attracting scale of creators, users, and monetization:
The report highlights Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Spotify Technologies, and Webtoon Entertainment as Buy-rated stocks that are positively exposed to the rise of the creator economy. Reddit, Roblox, and Snap are identified as Neutral ratings with favorable exposure to this theme.
Private Market Opportunities
Beyond public companies, the report identifies several private companies enabling creator content production, distribution, and monetization across three categories:
Goldman Sachs concludes that the creator economy represents a growth opportunity across multiple industries, with creators continuing to take market share from traditional media and commerce channels.
The full report is available here.
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