“Getting paid today, getting paid quicker. That’s what it’s about. Making money today, not in 160 days,” states Corey Livingston, CEO and co-founder of payment infrastructure company Splitz, when asked what single change would most transform the creator economy.

Founded in 2018 in Los Angeles, Splitz addresses a structural defect in the industry: despite generating billions in value, creators remain trapped in antiquated payment systems that force them to wait three to four months to access their earnings.

As Corey explains, this creates a labyrinthine business process: “If you’re a creator, you want to do business with the local restaurant because you’re a local DJ or influencer. That’s influencing, too. You have a hundred thousand followers; they want to do business with you. But then, where do you go from there? Do you reach out to the marketing director, and after they say yes, do you go to accounts payable? Do you go to the CEO or the owner of the restaurant?”

This fragmentation means deals often fall apart entirely or, when they come together, creators still face the same extended wait: “There are so many different ways that business is done that it doesn’t get done at all. And then once it does get done, you’re still waiting to get paid 90 to 120 days.”

Before founding Splitz, Corey spent seven years in artist management, witnessing firsthand the financial struggles of creators, then pivoted to investment banking for nearly four years at Morgan Stanley, gaining critical insights into financial infrastructure design. “That allowed me to take a global approach to what artists would need now, what creators would need now, and my background on banking infrastructure.”

Splitz offers a software-as-a-service platform with monthly subscription fees starting at a base rate and additional transaction fees for instant payment processing. The company also offers premium features like copyright registration and enterprise programs for agencies managing multiple creators.

A Business System Beyond Payments

Corey describes Splitz as a “closed system” that eliminates the need to piece together multiple tools and services.

“We don’t build our platform in a vacuum,” he says. “We’re building an infrastructure, an ecosystem. And that means we don’t need third-party tools for our users to take advantage of being paid instantly or distributing their particular content or music.”

As Corey explains, this integrated approach translates to streamlined workflows for both music artists and content creators. For musicians, the process starts with uploading a track and inviting collaborators to the platform. After defining ownership percentages, artists can copyright their work and distribute their music through Split Streams—Splitz’s direct-to-listener streaming channel. 

This process collapses the traditional payment timeline: “Money made from every sale that you make on Splitz Streams automatically is pushed back to the Splitz platform,” Corey explains. “So you’re going to see your money being made in real time.”

Content creators experience similar benefits with brand partnerships. After uploading content and establishing ownership splits, creators can bring brand partners directly into the system. The platform offers clear deal terms with built-in verification processes, requiring brands to place agreed-upon payments in escrow. When the creator hits predetermined milestones, funds are automatically released without the traditional delays.

“Both sides can see the analytics, both sides can see what’s happening with your post,” notes Corey. “Everything is happening within our ecosystem. So nobody’s confused about what’s happening and what they’re supposed to be doing here. Everything’s right there.”

Intelligence-Based Creator Value and Built-In Protection

Splitz goes beyond just facilitating payments by empowering creators with actionable intelligence about their market value. The platform’s AI-powered analytics turn raw data into practical business advantages, directly impacting a creator’s earning potential.

“Our predictive analytics tools allow users to see exactly what their content will be worth on the market,” Corey explains, adding that this creates particular value in brand negotiations. Instead of accepting whatever rate a brand offers, creators can now enter discussions with evidence of their worth: “You now can go to brands and say, ‘My likeness is worth $10,000 instead of whatever you guys offer me because I have KPIs that support why I’m worth this amount.'”

These analytics show past performance and provide forward-looking guidance that helps creators improve their content strategy. “Our machine learning in the background will say, ‘Creator, you do better when you post this way. And here’s how you’re going to be able to maximize your business doing posts like this,'” Corey notes.

Protecting intellectual property and ownership rights is another key challenge Splitz addresses through its blockchain integration. “All of the data put in our system is on a [block] chain,” Corey explains. “Every user gets a unique identifier, so anything they upload through our system is all on-chain.”

This blockchain verification serves as a permanent, unchangeable record that creators and musicians can access anytime to prove ownership—important protection when content or music can be easily copied or repurposed without permission.

Business Model and Growth Strategy

Splitz operates on a SaaS model with multiple revenue streams, designed to align with creator business needs. “We charge our users monthly,” Corey explains. “We also charge them for add-ons like copywriting. There are transaction fees, and we also have enterprise programs if you’re  a business or an agency that wants to run your business using our infrastructure.”

The platform’s financial accessibility reflects Corey’s understanding of creator economics—new creators can start with basic functionality, while established professionals and agencies can access more complete services as their needs grow.

Corey’s vision for Splitz extends far beyond gradual growth. “We want to corner or monopolize the creator payment market in the next three to four years,” he states. “And that means we want to have at least 2 to 3 billion dollars in transactional  creator business done through our platform.”

To achieve this goal, Splitz is pursuing a multi-faceted growth strategy. First, they aim to organically onboard 15,000 new users across both creator and music categories. Additionally, they want to acquire smaller to mid-sized agencies that handle creators and musicians. “We’re going to be growing by taking market share from smaller companies and just bringing their users under our infrastructure immediately,” Corey explains.

Splitz is also developing licensing opportunities that would allow creators to access capital upfront against verified future earnings. “There are artists and creators out there who would love to have a structure that allows them to make money consistently with their future earnings,” says Corey.

User Response and Market Reception

While still early in its journey, Splitz is already seeing positive reception from users who appreciate the streamlined business processes. Corey shares feedback from one creator in the UK who told them, “You guys have saved our business. You just made it easier for me to collaborate.”

Another user highlighted how the platform provided a trusted business model for direct-to-fan monetization: “You guys have given me a business model that I can trust, and I can go directly to my users, and get paid faster.”

The Next Phase

Corey views the creator economy as still in its “infant stages,” with room for growth. He believes creators must adapt to survive in a competitive and AI-influenced environment.

“They are going to have to hone in on what their brand is and what their product/image is,” Corey advises. “AI is moving so fast that it can replicate what a creator or musician is doing. They will have to corner their niche and understand the importance of building themselves, their product, and their brand, and making it so  strong that you can’t be replicated.”

For Splitz, success will come from continuing to build trust with creators and providing the reliable infrastructure they need to professionalize their businesses. As Corey puts it in their company tagline: “You create it, we protect it, we get you paid for it.”