YouTube creator economy flourishes with $30 billion payments

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Faceless YouTube channels are the next big side hustle

The Trend: Faceless YouTube channels — those that deliver content without featuring the creator's face — are rapidly gaining traction among creators. Take HowToBasic, for example, which has amassed over 17 million subscribers, or Lofi Girl, which streams music to 14 million subscribers. B... See more

In the past few years, startups like Substack, Patreon, and Shopify have created alternative ways for creators to build businesses online through direct transactions, rather than advertising. This shift exposed a simple fact: in an ad-driven world, creators were generally under-monetizing their audiences.