Nium and NewtonX Research Tackles Challenges of Content Creator Payments

Is the Creator Economy past due on its payments? Nium and NewtonX surveyed 120+ creators around the world to improve the payment process on social media platforms.

Across the diverse Creator Economy, Nium sought to help creators turn their posts into payments with ease and without delay

We’ve seen from Hollywood studios how dissatisfied creators have the power to shut down an industry. For digital content creators on social platforms, getting paid fairly is just as crucial to their livelihood. But, because creator economies are diverse and distributed, the payment process is even more challenging.

Nium, a global payments leader, knows that a seamless payment process is the foundation of the Creator Economy. It’s essential for creators to build a sustainable career and for social media platforms to attract and retain more creators. But speed and simplicity are hard to achieve. Payments must be secure, compliant, and efficiently made across borders in multiple currencies.

There are approximately 200 million creators worldwide — from amateurs to full-time professionals, from nano to mega-creators. It’s also growing. According to a 2022 Influencer Marketing Hub study, the value of the Creator Economy has more than doubled since 2019, with the current market size standing at more than $104 billion, on par with the growth trajectory of the Gig Economy. 

However, the same diversity that enriches the Creator Economy ecosystem also presents challenges in how different creators get paid. Each has different financial needs, tax obligations, and geographical requirements. Nium sought to learn from creators across key global regions about their distinct payment hurdles with each social media platform. Nium would use their insights to usher in better payment processes where creators get paid on time and with ease.

NewtonX surveyed 120+ global creators and influencers in just 6 days to uncover their real pain points with payments

The creator economy is constantly evolving, and Nium wanted to get insights quickly from verified creators who had experienced payment issues. The data needed to be as accurate and timely as possible to make the study relevant and urgent for social media companies to take action. Nium partnered with NewtonX to tap into access to 1.1 billion global professionals, including paid content creators and influencers across key geographies. NewtonX drew on experience conducting strategic research for social media companies like Meta and Pinterest, and closely partnered with Nium to synthesize insights quickly and make actionable recommendations.

NewtonX fielded a survey of 121 verified content creators and influencers from across the globe within just 6 days. Everyone in this diverse group made money from their work on the major social media platforms: YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Survey analysis revealed common challenges creators faced getting paid by each platform. To follow up, the NewtonX team interviewed five paid creators from different key locations about the themes and trends discovered in the survey data. These interviews reinforced the survey’s key findings and revealed even more nuanced payment challenges.

NewtonX’s analysis drives at the crucial pain points creators face in their dealings. This report points to a key opportunity for social platforms to capture and retain their creator relationships simply by offering a quality seamless payment experience.

 

Jeremiah Glodoveza

Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications at Nium

Nium launches a breakthrough report that puts creator economy payment problems in the spotlight, offering solutions and advocating action from social media giants

Informed by NewtonX insights, Nium launched Like, Subscribe, Pay: Why the creator economy needs creative payments solutions, an industry-shaping report that unveiled a staggering truth: 91% of surveyed creators encountered challenges when receiving payments from social media platforms – a stat impossible to overlook. The report surfaced the consistent and burdensome payment challenges that so many creators across regions face like long wait times, limited payment options, and high transaction fees.

The report also offered recommendations for social media platforms to enhance creator payment experiences, addressing five key areas: reliability, security, speed, flexibility, and choice. It underscored the urgency for social media firms to tackle these pain points preemptively – creators follow effortless payments, and addressing these issues is a competitive imperative.

“NewtonX’s analysis drives at the crucial pain points creators face in their dealings,” said Jeremiah Glodoveza, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications at Nium. “This report points to a key opportunity for social platforms to capture and retain their creator relationships simply by offering a quality seamless payment experience. Clearly, any creator engine in this industry needs to ensure frictionless, globally-aware payment operations that meet creator expectations or risk losing their multi-sided audience.”

NewtonX global content creator research & analysis (2023) was led by VP of Strategic Insights and Analytics, Patiwat Panurach, and Kaan Divitoglu, Account Executive.