---
type: source
title: "The Creator Economy in 2026: Tapping into Culture, Community, Credibility, and Craft"
author: "ExchangeWire"
url: https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2025/12/16/the-creator-economy-in-2026-tapping-into-culture-community-credibility-and-craft/
date: 2025-12-16
domain: entertainment
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
priority: medium
tags: [creator-economy, community-distribution, market-data, budgets, trends-2026]
processed_by: clay
processed_date: 2025-12-16
claims_extracted: ["creators-became-primary-distribution-layer-for-under-35-news-consumption-by-2025-surpassing-traditional-channels.md", "creator-brand-partnerships-shifting-from-transactional-campaigns-to-long-term-joint-ventures-with-shared-formats-audiences-and-revenue.md", "in-game-creators-represent-alternative-distribution-ecosystems-outside-traditional-media-and-platform-creator-models.md"]
enrichments_applied: ["creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them.md", "traditional media buyers now seek content with pre-existing community engagement data as risk mitigation.md"]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
extraction_notes: "Extracted three claims: (1) creators as primary distribution layer for under-35 news (likely confidence - strong data), (2) shift to joint venture partnerships (experimental - emerging pattern without case studies), (3) in-game creators as alternative ecosystem (speculative - single mention, no supporting data). Two enrichments: confirmed zero-sum dynamics with hard data, extended traditional media buyer claim with partnership evolution evidence. Key tipping point: 48% vs 41% marks creators overtaking traditional channels as primary distribution infrastructure for younger demographics."
---

## Content

ExchangeWire analysis of creator economy trends entering 2026.

**Market data:**
- Global creator economy value: £190B (projected 2025)
- US ad spend on creators: $37B by end 2025
- Influencer marketing investment increase: 171% year-over-year
- Under-35 news consumption: 48% via creators vs 41% traditional channels

**Key claims:**
- "Budgets will shift back toward creators who offer community, credibility, and craft"
- Creators are "now running their own businesses, becoming strategic partners for brands"
- "The most sophisticated creators are small media companies, with audience data, formats, distribution strategies and commercial leads"
- Predictions of "long-term joint ventures where formats, audiences and revenue are shared" rather than one-off transactional relationships
- "In-game creators" (modders, map-makers) represent alternative distribution ecosystems

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** The 48% vs 41% stat on under-35 news consumption via creators vs traditional channels is a tipping point signal — creators have ALREADY become the primary distribution channel for information for younger demographics. If this extends to entertainment (which is likely, given entertainment is inherently more creator-friendly), the traditional distributor's core value proposition (audience access) erodes.
**What surprised me:** The £190B market size is larger than I'd expected. And the 171% YoY investment growth suggests this isn't a niche trend but a macro reallocation of capital.
**What I expected but didn't find:** Breakdown of how much of that £190B flows through platforms vs directly to creators. The aggregate number doesn't tell us about value capture dynamics.
**KB connections:** [[creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them]], [[social video is already 25 percent of all video consumption and growing because dopamine-optimized formats match generational attention patterns]]
**Extraction hints:** Claim about creators overtaking traditional channels as primary content distribution for under-35s. The "small media companies" framing is important — it positions creators as integrated businesses, not just content producers.
**Context:** ExchangeWire is a marketing/advertising trade publication. Data sources include industry surveys and agency reports.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: creator and corporate media economies are zero-sum because total media time is stagnant and every marginal hour shifts between them
WHY ARCHIVED: The 48% vs 41% creator-vs-traditional news consumption stat for under-35s evidences that creators have already become the primary distribution layer, not just content producers
EXTRACTION HINT: The extractable claim is about the distribution function shift — creators aren't just making content, they're becoming the distribution layer itself. This has different implications than "creators are popular."


## Key Facts
- Global creator economy value: £190B (projected 2025)
- US ad spend on creators: $37B by end 2025
- Influencer marketing investment increase: 171% year-over-year
- Under-35 news consumption: 48% via creators vs 41% traditional channels (2025)
