1、Taking Root: The Growth of Americas NewCreative EconomyRobert Shapirowith Siddhartha AnejaLExecutive Summaryast year, we conducted the first rigorous analysis of the millions of Americans who produce and disseminate their own creative content on the internet from videos on YouTube and books through
2、Amazon Publishing, to photographs on Instagram and handmade objects onEtsy and earn money from doing so. We focused on nine major platforms for this new creative economy, finding that nearly 14.6 million Americans earned more than $5.8 billion in 2016 from posting their personal creations on those n
3、ine platforms. Those totals capture only one prominent piece of this new creative economy, since they cover only Americans posting on one of nine platforms.For this updated study, we can now report that this new economy grew at a robust rate in 2017.Here is a summary of the updated studys principal
4、findings: In 2017, nearly 17 million Americans earned income posting their personal creations on these nine platforms, an increase of more than 2.4 million U.S. creators, or 16.6 percent , in one year. The numbers of income-earning creators grew most rapidly in percentage terms on YouTube, Twitch, a
5、nd Instagram. All told, these American internet creators earned a baseline of $6.8 billion on the nine platforms in 2017, a one-year increase of nearly $1 billion, or 17 percent. Those earnings increased most rapidly for the creators on Instagram, Twitch, Tumblr and YouTube.TABLE 1: ESTIMATED TOTAL
6、EARNINGS OF U.S. CREATORS ON NINE LEADING PLATFORMS, 2016U.S. CREATORS EARNINGS BY U.S. CREATORSPLATFORM2016 2017CHANGE2016 2017CHANGEAmazonPublishing177,647 177,042 - 0.3% $216,870,288 $220,447,368 1.6%eBay 23,802 23,797 - 0.02% $35,713,819 $36,974,301 3.5%Etsy 862,778 928,343 7.6% $1,286,154,632 $
7、1,458,513,952 13.4%Instagram 3,573,001 5,639,996 57.9% $307,791,034 $460,100,000 49.5%Shapeways 20,509 24,526 19.6% $1,393,452 $1,701,804 22.1%Tumblr 2,560,681 3,138,962 22.6% $145,210,567 $178,003,586 22.6%Twitch 6,168 9,796 58.8% $67,035,588 $87,147,723 30.0%WordPress 6,128,101 4,851,266 - 20.8% $
8、439,261,046 $347,737,771 -20.8%YouTube 1,205,418 2,187,107 81.4% $3,307,333,333 $4,004,000,000 21.1%Total 14,558,105 16,980,834 16.6% $5,806,763,759 $6,794,626,505 17.0%We also found that social media continues to amplify the reach of U.S. creators. Most visitors to the nine platforms visit directly
9、 or through search engines, but a significant share use links from social media websites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit and Twitter. We estimate that the traffic coming to the nine platforms from seven leading social media sites the four above, plus Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube generated earni
10、ngs of more than$504.6 million for creators in 2017, nearly the same as the estimated $512.2 million in earnings generated in 2016 from links on the seven social media websites. However, these estimates capture only a fraction of the earnings linked to those websites, because available data cover on
11、ly traffic from desktop computers. Most social media traffic now originates from mobile devices; and in September 2018, an estimated 65.4 percent of such traffic came from mobile devices. Similarly, an estimated 60.2 percent of traffic to the nine platforms now comes from mobile devices. While data
12、on mobile devices from social media websites to the platforms are not yet available, it is very likely that U.S. creators derived more income in 2017 from mobile traffic directed from social media.The nearly 17 million Americans who earned income in 2017 posting their creations on the nine platforms
13、 are located in every state and the District of Columbia. Using U.S. Census Bureau industry- level data, we have estimated the numbers of creators and their earnings by platform in each state, and how much each states creators and their earnings increased in 2017. For example, here are the top five
14、states in 2017 based on their numbers of creators. California: 3,260,571 creators, a 21% increase New York: 1,899,869 creators, a 16.8% increase Texas: 1,033,292 creators, a 16.3% increase Florida: 938,764 creators, a 15.4% increase Illinois: 607,980 creators, a 15.7% increaseThe numbers of creators
15、 and their earnings increased in every state, including the five states with the smallest numbers of income-earning Alaska: 38,466 creators, a 13.8% increase Delaware: 32,076 creators, a 13.9% increase South Dakota: 31,560 creators, a 13.6% increase Wyoming: 25,768 creators, a 14.6% increase North D
16、akota: 22,843 creators, a 13.5% increaseThe states with the fastest growth in their numbers of new creators span the country, demonstrating the wide geographical reach of the new creative economy. California: 21.0% increase in creators Utah: 18.3% increase in creators District of Columbia: 17.5% inc
17、rease in creatorsThe nearly 17 millionAmericans who earned income in 2017 posting their creations on the nine platformsare located in every state and the District of Columbia .creators in 2017. Louisiana: 17.1% increase in creators Georgia: 17% increase in creatorsEven those states with relatively s
18、low growth in this area still report significant increases in their numbers of creators. Delaware: 13.9% increase in creators Alaska: 13.8% increase in creators Maine: 13.8% increase in creators South Dakota: 13.6% increase in creators North Dakota: 13.5% increase in creatorsThis updated study and t
19、he original report are the first rigorous quantitative analyses of the new creative economy in the United States. For reasons enumerated below, the results are very conservative and provide merely a baseline for measuring its scope and economic power. Among the thousands of websites that host creato
20、rs, we focus on only nine major platforms with publicly available data: Amazon Publishing, eBay, Etsy, Instagram, Shapeways, Tumblr, Twitch, WordPress and YouTube. As a result, the numbers of American creators and their earnings are unavoidably understated. Given the availability of data, we assume
21、for purposes of this analysis that each account, channel, or store on the nine platforms is affiliated with only one creator, when multiple creators are involved in many cases. This further understates the number of creators. The data also limit our analysis of creators earnings to the most prominen
22、t source of their earnings on each platform. In many cases, creators earn income in multiple ways, including website ads, sponsorships and influencer compensation, revenue from social media traffic, gifts from fans and direct sales. The original study and this update focus exclusively on American cr
23、eators, excluding tens of millions of creators in other countries who earn income from posting creations on the nine platforms. This study also focuses on independent creators, distinct from mainstream artists such as Ariana Grande or Dwayne Johnson who generate substantial income flows from their I
24、nstagram brand sponsorships, YouTube revenue-sharing and other means.Driven by constant innovation and entrepreneurship, the internet continuously and seemingly inexorably expands its reach and increases its economic effects. Our inaugural study of creators who have seized opportunities arising from
25、 those innovations and entrepreneurship and this updated analysis can only begin to map and measure this new creative economy and its impact in the United States. The evidence in this study, and others, virtually establishes that this new creative economy will continue to expand as the publics aware
26、ness of its opportunities increases and as technological advances provide more advanced platforms.Summary of the Studys Principal FindingsNumber of U.S. Creators Earning Income In New Creative Economy3.1 millionTumblr5.6 millionInstagram2.1 millionYouTubeAn estimated16.9 millionAmericans used these
27、platforms in2017 to earn income from their creations4.9 millionWordPress9,800 Twitch24,000 eBay24,526 Shapeways177,000Amazon Publishing928,300EtsyCollectively, these independent creators earned a baseline of an estimated $6.8 billion in 2017 from their creations.Top statesfor new creators California
28、 3,260,571creatorsNew York 1,899,869creatorsIllinois 607,980creatorsPennsylvania 563,410creatorsOhio 454,011creatorsGeorgia 449,042creators1,033,292creatorsMassachusetts 469,985creatorsFlorida 938,764creatorsNew Jersey 461,457creatorsTexasTaking Root:The Growth of Americas New Creative EconomyRobert
29、 Shapiro with Siddhartha Aneja 1I. Introduction and FindingsThe internet continues to extend its reach into virtually every aspect of the American economy. A 2018 report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) found that from 2006 to 2016, the internet-based digital economy grew at an annual
30、 rate of 5.6 percent, or 3.7 times the 1.5 percent average annual growth rate for all GDP. 2 Every industry and sector has incorporated the internet in their business models and integrated its technologies into their core operations, marketing, andadvertising, as well as e-commerce. As a result, the
31、 digital economy accounted for 6.5 percent of all GDP in 2016, a larger share than wholesale trade or retail trade, construction or accommodations and food services. 3This study focuses on the growth in 2017 of one piece of the internet economic landscape that is often overlooked: a booming economy
32、of new American creators. Before the internet, an aspiring writer, photographer, filmmaker, musician, craftsperson or other type of artist had to depend on agents, managers or dumb luck to be considered by a publisher, music label, film studio or gallery to showcase their work. These middlemen and c
33、orporations were the gatekeepers of American popular culture. Today, those aspiring writers, musicians, filmmakers, and other creators both aspiring professional and hobbyist can reach national and even worldwide audiences by simply posting their creations on a range of internet platforms. And if pe
34、ople respond, they can begin to earn income from their creative activities.These creators are a growing part of a major segment of the American workforce who now operate as independent agents or workers on a part-time or full-time basis. The McKinsey Global Institute has estimated that 8 percent of
35、working-age Americans, or some 12.6 million people, earn income from performing independent work on internet platforms. 4 Our analysis has found that the subset of independent workers who post their creations on internet platforms is even more numerous. We focus on those creators who are using one o
36、f nine leading internet platforms: Amazon Publishing for print, audio, and digital self-published books; Etsy and eBay for personal handmade items; Instagram for photographs; Shapeways for custom 3D-printed objects; Tumblr and WordPress for personal blogs; Twitch for video game streaming; and YouTub
37、e for videos.1 We want to thank the Re:Create Coalition for its generous support for our research. All of the analysis and views expressed here are solely those of the authors.2 Bureau of Economic Analysis (2018).3 Ibid.4 McKinsey Global Institute (2016).In our initial study, we found that nearly 14
38、.6 million Americans used those platforms in 2016 to earn income from posting their creations. After refining our methodology, we now estimate that the number of income-earning creators on these nine platforms reached 16.98 million in 2017, a 16.6 percent increase. We further find that those nearly
39、17 million U.S. creators earned an estimated $6.8 billion in 2017 from posting their creations on the nine platforms, an increase of $988 million, or 17 percent, over 2016.This new creative ecosystem arises directly from the extraordinary power of the internet. Creators no longer have to convince br
40、ick-and-mortar outlets to market and distribute their work. Instead, those creators can now display and market their work on an internet platform for the cost of crafting a profile or a webpage. Now, budding musical artists canpost new songs to YouTube, craftsmen can sell their handmade items on Ets
41、y and eBay, fashionistas can showcase their personal stylings on Instagram, and authors can publish their books through Amazon Publishing and shorter writings on WordPress and Tumblr. Moreimportant, the internets reach and ubiquity give creative people with few resources genuine access to tens of mi
42、llions of consumers and fans across the country and around the world. Finally, the virtual nature of the internet allows creators in cities, suburbs and rural places of all sizes and across all regions to earn income from their creative activities in a range of ways, although the most common is by a
43、ttracting internet advertisers.These estimates are not drawn from standardized data, since neither the governments statistical agencies nor any credible private organization collects those data. To estimate these numbers, we collected and analyzed the most recent data provided by those nine leading
44、platforms themselves and/or by financial and market analysts who follow them. Our selection of platforms covers a substantial part of this new creative economy but far from all of it. For instance, platforms suchas Pandora and SoundCloud are driving revenues for many thousands or perhaps millions of
45、 independent musical artists. Similarly, 500px and Artsy are major platforms for showcasing the works of photographers, painters, and sculptors. We could not cover music or fine arts here, simply because there are still insufficient data available to estimate the dimensions in the new creative economy. All of our estimates, therefore, are highly conservat
