The Creator Economy Is a Race to the Bottom for Human Dignity

The hidden costs and house of cards in the age of influence

The following piece is a collaboration between Matt Klein + Brooks Miller.

Brooks Miller is EVP of Creator Marketing at Edelman and United Entertainment Group. Prior, Brooks spent nearly eight years at Twitter, where she helped build their creator marketing discipline from the ground up, partnering with creators and brands across every platform and vertical. Brooks started her career at 72andSunny and Barrett Hofherr. Her work has won at Cannes, The One Show, The Clios, The Shorty Awards and has been recognized in AdWeek and Ad Age.

Over the last decade, creator marketing has exploded.

In 2017, the creator industry was estimated to be worth $1.7B and by 2020 an estimated 50M were considered “creators.”

Today, Goldman Sachs predicts the creator industry will swell to $500,000,000,000 by 2027. That’s right. $500 billion with a ‘b.’ We’re witnessing industry staples like Cannes Lions widely embrace creators, holding companies like Publicis acquire influencer agencies for upwards of $500M a pop, and major consumer conglomerates like Unilever pledge half their ad budget to individual creators.

But amid this creator hype, what’s not considered however is that the workhorses powering this “revolution” are collapsing under the weight of their own success.

A whopping 78% of today’s creators are already reporting that burnout is impacting their motivation. Meanwhile, many still think of the “creator” as a full-time profession, while in reality it's a side-hustle at best. Turns out, 96% of creators earn under $100K/yr.

Like the starlets decades ago, today’s bedroom streamers have stars in their eyes. But dreams in the black mirror are not as close as they appear.

Regardless, corporations continue shoveling billions into a system which incentivizes and upends ordinary people into always-on broadcast channels without any financial stability. Without protective investments for the longevity of this movement, visions may be short-sighted and at risk of collapse.

How long can it hold?

Who’s watching out for the creators?

(Endless) Supply & Demand

The boom’s valuation is driven by a perfect match of supply and demand.

As for demand...

Brands are desperately seeking novelty and effectiveness, especially at friendly prices. While the price of linear TV ad space has declined over the past decade, a standard :30s spot on NBC’s Sunday Night Football still demands over $1M — not including the cost of the creative to fill it.

Creators, meanwhile, command significantly less and 94% of advertisers report they see higher ROI with creator-made ads vs. traditional advertising.

As for supply...

Gen Alpha ranks “YouTuber” and “TikToker” as their top two dream jobs. Everyone and their mother is now a “creator” with a podcast, newsletter and monetizable audience. In fact, audio agency ARM reports that 60% of the podcasts they buy against have been started in the last five years. Supply is seemingly infinite.

But the most influential reason for this boom is trust.

Growth here is inextricably linked to the loosening grasp of more traditional institutions like government, legacy media and even religion. We require and are desperate for new voices of trust and sense-making. Creator hype is not as much symbolic of filtered #ads, but how legacy institutions fumbled honesty, respectability and authority, costing themselves billions and democracy.

Edelman Trust Data reveals (especially for Gen Z) that people are more likely to trust what a creator says about a brand than what the brand’s own CEO says about the brand. Compounded by parasocial relationships and a dash of isolation, people believe what tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee tells you about the new iPhone more than the company which made it. This is not a new realization.

But, it turns out that 61% of people actively hold grievances against governments, businesses and the rich.

Roughly 70% of people believe government leaders, business leaders and the press “purposely mislead people.” These figures climb higher and higher since 2021.

And as such, diverting messaging and offloading trust to “the people,” despite being on the payroll, is a lucrative alternative.

But, again, for how long?

The Existential Risk

As investment in creators increases, we must consider the fragility of the assets we’re talking about here: real, young, individuals, treading to stay afloat, predispositioned and prone to mental and economic instability.

This instability is only exacerbated by how platforms themselves create precarity through algorithmic opacity, sudden policy changes and ever-evolving revenue-sharing models.

Years ago, 70% of creators reported that algorithm changes could have “serious effects” on their lives, and if their go-to platform would disappear, so would their income. Since, Instagram organic reach dipped below 5% and we’ve seen how easy a platform like TikTok could disappear. Let’s also not forget that platforms wipe users’ content, AI makes the majority of moderation decisions, and demonetization happens unpredictably. Platforms know they’re responsible as Instagram, Pinterest, Patreon and YouTube all already offer "burnout prevention" resources. Validating the crisis, platforms admit burnout is a serious threat to their ecosystems. But a redirect to the Crisis Text Line for cyberbullying is not changing the system.

These systems create a cruel paradox: the more creators wish to succeed amidst this instability, the more they must stretch, experiment with and sacrifice the very qualities that made them genuine and appealing (to audiences and advertisers) in the first place.

The entire appeal of creators is their humanity. But as creators grow, becoming frayed corporations themselves, humanity is lost.

Consider how corporations want to appear human, and how humans want to appear corporate. The fundamental risk of creators is their very success.

Humans are messy, unpredictable and emotional. So what happens when humans do human things like get sick? Want to take a break? Decide not to commoditize their children? Or demand better working conditions? Or what happens when a creator refuses to turn their mental health struggles into content... even when vulnerability drives engagement?

To put it another way:

We’re designing a race to the bottom for personal monetization.

Whoever is willing to sacrifice more of their boundaries will be able to more easily outcompete and cash a brand check. This creates a perverse selection pressure where the “most successful creators” aren't those that are the most talented or authentic, but those who are the most willing to strip mine their personal lives for monetizable views and outsource their moral compasses and tastes for whichever brand slides into the DMs.

The discounted personal brand is never the most valuable.

The market is rewarding the complete dissolution of the private self. There are no real winners here. Audience capture always finds a way.

We’re dealing with a profound fragility here that too few are doing anything about. A creator’s work is solitary, with little to no support, let alone safety nets. There are unclear contracts and missing benefits like any other established field. Ultimately, an absence of guidance, mentorship or progression makes the future feel as uncertain as the next algorithm update.

What’s felt like a huge win for the industry — interest, dollars, and results — overlooks the complete picture.

The individual isn’t fairing well.

But what else is new?

What Are We Building Here?

Mass creator burnout isn't a quirky side effect of modern fame or business, but a reflection of our larger global labor transformations. After all, being a creator is just a small branch of our larger gig, media and entertainment economies where insecurity is the growing norm. The future of work is a flexible, on-demand commodity, devoid of any sense of security and structure.

The pattern is clear: workers increasingly compete not just with their skills, but with their willingness to negotiate boundaries, stability, and health for market relevance. They’re also competing against virtual influencers or glorified stickers.

We’re sacrificing our humanity and doing it to ourselves.

Why?

The creator economy didn't invent exploitation, but it made it aspirational, wrapping it in entrepreneurial flair, and convinced our youngest to do it to themselves. At the end of the day, all creators — or the people — must realize that individuals here have the upper-hand. Corporations need them, more than they need corporations. In this realization is power. And in power is change.

While the creator economy is celebrated as a democratizing force by lowering barriers for anyone with a smartphone and story to participate, success is not equitable. Time, equipment, financial cushions, subsidized employment and any other form of resource support create a lopsided playing field. Opportunity may be democratized but outcomes are not.

The race to the bottom is optional.

We don't need more burnout prevention tips. We need to decide whether human sustainability means more than advertising dashboard metrics. The Creator Economy is just the mirror. Do we really like what we see reflected back?

We need a reset, rest and reflection. Not because the creator economy is broken — but because it’s human. And humans need care.

Here’s what we can do in the meantime:

01. Creator Longevity ≥ Campaign Performance

Move beyond short-term campaign metrics and invest in creators' long-term sustainability. This means fairer compensation, longer-term partnerships and support during breaks. Consider subsidizing, sponsoring or co-developing creators’ other content, products or projects vs. demanding net-new material. As creators, amplify those that meet these demands, creating market pressures, conditioning others to do so as well.

02. Establish Clear Boundaries & Respect Limits

Work with creators to establish what aspects of their lives are off-limits for content. With a code of ethics, do not incentivize creators to exploit personal relationships, mental health or any personal matters unless explicitly discussed. As creators, proactively pitch these boundaries, framing them as a professional asset. Those with the clearest morals should be the most valuable.

03. Compete on New Standards for Wellbeing

As this space further establishes itself, agencies and brands have the opportunity to create consortiums alongside creators to up-level standards for partnerships. Expectations include limited edits and feedback, rapid payment terms and various benefits and perks like any other employee or contractor. By leading by example, organizations establish themselves as those with the best-in-class practices, attracting talent. As creators, continue fighting and raising the bar without ever bowing.