Short-form video consumption and growth in the overall creator economy have resulted in India now having at least 8 crore creators and knowledge professionals, but only 1.5 lakh of them are able to monetise their services effectively.
Most of the 1.5 lakh professional content creators earn between $200 and 2,500 (more than Rs 16,000-Rs 200,000 per month), depending on their platform’s reach and engagement.
Approximately one percent of professional creators (those with more than 1 million followers) earn $2,500 – $65,000 (more than Rs 53 lakh) per month, according to Kalaari Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on technology.
Only a few of these breakout stars earn more than $100,000 (more than Rs 82 lakh) per month.
According to the report, there are 50,000 professional creators on regional short-form video platforms in India, and over 60% of their audiences come from outside metros.
The study found that while social platforms allowed creators to build a large audience and reach their fans directly, very few creators were able to monetize their works effectively.
According to the report, despite the rise and empowerment of creators over the last decade, income distribution among them has remained uneven.
Among the 8 crore creators in India are content creators, video streamers, influencers, bloggers, OTT platform creators, and physical product creators.
The next evolution of the creator economy will see creators owning their relationship with their fans and customers, according to the report. Fans will be able to directly monetize their content through direct monetization channels, and an entire ecosystem of creator tools and platforms will emerge to enable them to function as a small business.