Creators far beyond advertising

The Creator Economy has consolidated itself, once and for all, as a global financial engine. Far from being a passing fad, the sector projects a leap from the current US$250 billion to an impressive US$480 billion by 2027according to Goldman Sachs estimates.

However, this meteoric growth hides a cruel reality: money is not being distributed equitably.

The environmental crisis and the urgency of professionalization

The market is brutally polarized. If, on the one hand, the top creators grow exponentially, on the other hand, the base increasingly seeks a share of this investment that increases annually.

For the base, however, formats such as CPM (Cost per thousand) increasingly represent a vital remuneration option, ensuring that the volume of content is converted into revenue, even for smaller creators. Data from YouPix, in the “Creators and Business 2025” survey, shows that around 28% of influencers in Brazil they still cannot monetize their content, with almost half earning less than R$5,000 per month.

The main driver of this crisis is the dispersion and sophistication of investment in influencer marketing. Brands are seeking increasingly surgical investments: they concentrate their biggest budgets on macro-influencers for massive reach and has migrated in recent years to nano e micro-influencers in search of greater authenticity and lower costs.

The result is a flattening of the midsize breeder. To prosper, the only way out is to abandon the “content producer” mentality and embrace that of CEO of your personal brand, making the most of building your community. The entrepreneurial vision is no longer an advantage; it is the new survival imperative.

The new asset: from Content to Intellectual property

The big transition lies in the migration of recipes dependent on third parties to models where the creator holds the ownership of the asset.

The most ambitious model that has been under great discussion in the last year is the creation of Original Intellectual Properties (IPs). The creator, here, transcends the role of “media” to become the owner of a narrative universe that can be licensed and monetized on different platforms.

The value is exponential: while the publish post is short-term revenue, an IP generates royalties and licensing profits for years on end, in formats such as series, films, games or merchandising.

In Brazil, this movement is consolidating with the support of large networks. THE PlayActioncontent producer for Play9 Content Groupfor example, launched the label 9 Linesdedicated to the production of vertical microdramas. This demonstrates the institutionalization of the search for creators who know how to transform their language into long-lasting content for other screens.

Other examples confirm the translation of influence into physical and editorial assets. The illustrator’s case Rafaella Tuma is emblematic: she saw her illustrations, which were already a digital success, turned into a coloring book by Sextant Publishinga project intermediated by Play9.

Still on pre-sale, the book went from position #207 to TOP 1 on Amazon Brazil, only with the strength of the Rafa community. This is the path to maturity: converting digital language into off-the-shelf products and, most importantly, registered intellectual property.

Expanding your business to stand out

Market maturity requires the creator to build a diverse financial ecosystem to shield against instability and a platform-independent future.

Business expansion is not restricted to IPs alone. It encompasses:

1. Private Brands: Creation and sale of physical or digital products that carry the authenticity of the personal brand (such as cosmetic lines, where we actually have the biggest cases known by beelza influencers today in Brazil and the United States).
2. Subscription Savings: Selling content premium via paid newsletters or exclusive communities, ensuring recurring revenue and control of the customer base.
3. Strategic Affiliate Programs and Equity Deals: High-level partnerships that result in commissions for performance or even in shareholdingaligning the creator as a long-term partner.

That amplification of business scope from content to products and services, it is the only way for creators of any size to stand out in the war of investment dispersion.

By positioning himself as an entrepreneur, and not just a creator, of a brand with diversified assets and revenue sources, he not only ensures financial survival, but also amplifies your image and the institutional value of its name, becoming a business partner for agencies, brands and partners.