Where Online Content Creators Make Money

Re:Create Coalition estimates that close to 17 million people in the U.S. earned income posting content online in 2017. By comparison, there were only about 12 million manufacturing workers in the U.S.

According to the analysis of the data, content creators earned close to 4 billion dollars in 2017 on YouTube, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. While YouTube earned the most for content creators in the aggregate, Instagram saw the biggest uptick in earnings. The total amount of money that content creators earned on Instagram grew by 50 percent year-over-year. WordPress was the only platform that saw total income earnings for content creators shrink year-over-year.

While the study analyzes the number of creators and income earned, the study only focuses on 9 platforms. The research focuses on independent creators, excluding major artists and celebrities who generate significant money through their social media presences and brand sponsorships. Re:Create Coalition collected and analyzed data from the platforms included in their study and the financial market analysts who follow them, absent standardized data from government agencies or private organizations.