Creator Economy

Field Notes is a video podcast series on consumer tech by a16z. Connie Chan talks to former Vogue publisher Susan Plagemann of WME Fashion about editorial and social strategy.

The rise of developers — as buyers, as influencers, as a creative class — is a direct result of “software eating the world”, and of key shifts in IT from on-prem to cloud & SaaS to the API eco...

In one of our special “2x” episodes of 16 Minutes (32ish minutes;) — our show where we quickly cover the headlines and tech trends, offering analysis, frameworks, explainers, and more — we cover t...

This episode, part one in a two-part series on the Creator Economy, explores the process and economics behind creating an independent newsletter. In this candid conversation, host Lauren Murrow talks with four Substack w...

We’re living in an unprecedented era of online collaboration, coordination, and creation. All kinds of people are coming together — whether in an open source project or company, an R&D initiative, a depar...

This episode of the a16z Podcast covers the the rise of online platforms that enable people to make a living off their unique interests and skills. It’s a trend that’s become increasingly relevant as the dema...

The idea of “1000 true fans” — first proposed by Kevin Kelly in 2008 and later updated for Tools of Titans — argued that to be a successful creator, you don’t need millions of customers or clien...

We’ve been financing good writing with bad advertising — and “attention monsters” (to quote Craig Mod) for way too long. So what happens when the technology for creators finally falls into place? ...

This is the 13th episode of 16 Minutes, our weekly-ish news show where we quickly cover the top headlines of the week, the a16z Podcast way: what’s real, what’s hype from our vantage point in tech. This week, we cove...

Creator economy is a buzzy, often catchall term used to describe independent contractors. But in reality, most of the innovation has revolved around passion-project content (Substack for writing, Teachable for courses, e...

Today’s episode, part two in our two-part series on the Creator Economy, focuses on the new potential revenue streams and fan-engagement models opened up by emerging decentralized technology. It’s a new type of f...

As the shelter-in-place restrictions have tethered many people to their homes, livestreaming—broadcasting user-created video in real time—has skyrocketed. Platforms like Twitch, Caffeine, YouTube Live, and Facebook h...

More than a decade ago, Wired editor Kevin Kelly wrote an essay called “1,000 True Fans,” predicting that the internet would allow large swaths of people to make a living off their creations, whether an artist, music...

The Passion Economy is growing by the day. From writers launching newsletters on Substack to influencers-turned-designers on Pietra, more people are taking advantage of digital platforms to make money off their unique sk...

The top-earning writer on the paid newsletter platform Substack earns more than $500,000 a year from reader subscriptions. The top content creator on Podia, a platform for video courses and digital memberships, makes mor...