He plays Fortnite in front of his followers – more than 400 thousand between TikTok, YouTube and Twitch – commenting on news and trends relating to the video game, which is very popular especially among younger people. Yet Clint Brantley, a full-time content creator for three years, despite an important average of 100 thousand views per video, closed the last fiscal year with an income lower than the average annual salary of US workers, 58,084 dollars. An amount obtained mainly thanks to the tips left by followers (plus some small sponsorship agreements) but which is not enough to buy a house, because the money arrives in fits and starts and could disappear at any moment. Nothing but yachts, luxury cruises and starred restaurants. Earning a decent income as an influencer today has become a challenge.
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As the Wall Street Journal points out, last year 48% of digital creators earned less than 15 thousand dollars, while only 13% managed to exceed the 100 thousand dollar ceiling. Figures that make the dream of big “easy” earnings thanks to digital content increasingly similar to one of the many low-paid jobs of the new economy. Of course, the content creator market, which is worth 21 billion dollars globally, remains in constant growth here in Italy too, where there will be 350 thousand professionals in the sector in 2023, with a total turnover of 348 million euros. The most profitable social network – explains DeRev, a company that deals with digital marketing, in a report – is YouTube, where advertising content can be worth from 500 to 35 thousand euros. Instagram follows, with compensation from one hundred euros for 10 thousand views up to 75 thousand euros for 10 million visits. Back to TikTok on the compensation for minimum views (50 euros) but even there you can get up to 75 thousand euros per post. In the ranking of the highest paid influencers in Italy we find Khaby Lame in first place, 160 million followers and 325 thousand euros per post. In second place, Chiara Ferragni, who earns around 95 thousand euros with a single post. Clio Zammatteo, aka ClioMakeUp, had a turnover of 11.6 million euros in 2022. However, these numbers only photograph a part of that enormous iceberg that is the creator economy, specifically the top. Earning a decent, consistent income as a medium-to-low popularity digital creator (so-called micro-influencers) is becoming increasingly difficult: platforms have raised the bar on monetization requirements, while brands are more selective about what they want from sponsorship agreements. In short, in the end even the magic wand towards a billionaire’s life promised by the platforms has turned into a mirror of society: the majority of content creators earn medium-low figures, just like people who carry out “traditional” jobs. And only a few reach the top of that 13%, which meanwhile appears increasingly distant and fraught with obstacles.
Behind the scenes, creators have repeatedly denounced the risk of burnout, so real that in some cases it has pushed them to suicide. To elbow their way through an increasingly crowded market and present themselves healthy at the negotiating table with sponsors, aspiring influencers are forced to constantly produce increasingly engaging posts. And so they spend their days planning, filming, editing photos and videos, all while maintaining a constantly open thread with their community of followers. Many confessed that they had no time to do anything else. But like many other freelancers, they do not receive paid time off or health care benefits (a huge problem in the United States), nor pension contributions or other perks that companies typically provide to their employees.
To make the situation even worse, the prospect – increasingly concrete – that TikTok could close its doors in the United States next year, thus leaving 170 million users without a point of reference. Added to these problems is the progressive distrust of users. In Italy we saw it with the Pandoro-gate, and the crisis of the Ferragnez model. And the controversy over the case of the Cynical Beautician, aka Cristina Fogazzi, who rented the Pinacoteca di Brera for 95 thousand euros: a trashy event, with dinner in the historic Braidense Library. In the States, the blow to the heart of the fan base came from the Kardashian case: the well-known influencer was fined 1.26 million dollars by the SEC for having secretly advertised a cryptocurrency company, causing its price to rise and allowing her to sell her own shares with profit, to the detriment of followers. For some it seems like an inevitable path, and the road to that 13% would more often than not mark the beginning of the end. «Once creators start collaborating with brands – users comment on the web – I no longer trust their contents. Too many interests at stake.”
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