The growing number of creators producing content for social commerce channels and networking websites has led to the emergence of the ‘creator economy’, which has created new roles predominantly within the financial services and technology sectors, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Job Analytics database found that new job listings referring to ‘creator economy’ increased from 121 jobs in January 2022 to over 200 jobs in February 2022.

Ajay Kumar Thalluri, Business Fundamental Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Companies are exploring multiple avenues to partner with creators. While some job adverts require prior understanding and experience in the content and creator economy landscape, there are other companies that are building partnerships, proprietary technology, products, and digital micropayments solutions that are an integral part of the creative economy.”

Mastercard and Visa have established a creator economy segment to align with creators on Twitch, Twitter, Clubhouse, and YouTube. The two companies are developing strategies for creating payment solutions across their platforms. A Mastercard role for ‘VP, Digital Consumer Solutions, Digital Micropayments & Creator Economy’ shows digital micropayments are expected to increase.

Alphabet’s YouTube has posted a job listing for a ‘Director, Product Management, YouTube Fan Funding’ to expand paid digital goods and channel memberships products. The company is developing a team as it sets out to define a roadmap for fan funding for YouTube Shorts to create incentives and drive growth in the new ecosystem.

Interestingly, Patreon is inching closer towards an initial public offering (IPO). A role listed in 2022 for a ‘Senior Manager, Finance Systems’ shows that the US-based company is operationalizing IPO readiness initiatives.

Grin, a creator management platform, is also readying for a potential IPO. The company recently listed a ‘VP Finance’ role that requires the candidate to have experience in leading a company go public through an IPO, special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), or a direct listing.

Thalluri adds: “Companies that provide solutions around the creator economy are listing and hiring for senior-level roles. In January 2022, Whalar, a creator commerce company, hired former Spotify EMEA head, Marco Bertozzi, to lead the EMEA arm of its business. The company also added two other senior executives.

“Glynn Capital Management, Alphabet, ADOBE, and Walt Disney are among other companies that have recently listed senior-level roles and are exploring partnerships with creators.”

Microsoft is hiring for a ‘Senior Product Manager’ for its Web Experience Collective (WXC) to surface the needs of consumers and content publishers for creating a product. Twitter is building a monetization roadmap focused on the FinTech and social audio spaces on topics including the creator economy.

Thalluri concludes: “The creator economy is fast gaining prominence with companies focusing on creators across social media. While occupations around software programmers are common, other roles such as operation managers, designers, and data scientists are becoming increasingly available. More jobs are anticipated as companies look to tailor strategies to tap into the prowess of the creator economy.”