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By Ralph Tathagata
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‎WPP Media has revealed that content creators will see a 20% increase in their revenue through ads, brand deals and sponsorships this year. The report projects their revenue will more than double to $376.6bn (£278.3bn) by 2030.
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‎According to the report, content on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram will attract more advertising income this year than content from traditional media companies.
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‎The agency’s analysis shows that user-generated material, videos, podcasts and posts created by individual creators will eclipse the ad revenue that professional media produced by TV networks, cinemas and news companies attracts.

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‎The report states, “In 2025, for the first time, user-generated platforms and content will account for more than half of content-driven advertising revenue rather than professionally produced content.”
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‎While the analysis points out that the distinction between user-generated content and professional production remains blurred, WPP Media acknowledges that many content creators use high-quality production and often cooperate and overlap with traditional media platforms.
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‎The report adds, “Although individual creators often rely on professional media channels as source material, the idiosyncratic takes and views mean that any individual’s media diet increasingly personalises around a particular topic or point of view.

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“Those audiences may view their purchase decisions as extensions of those belief systems and views more than they did in previous eras when brand messages more often appeared in professionally produced content regulated for objectiveness and fact-based commentary.”
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‎The media world has witnessed a revolutionary cultural shift in recent times as transformation in viewing habits favours social media content creators over traditional media professionals. Influencers now film themselves with their smartphones on tripods and upload the footage on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for a global audience, whether they stay at home, go to the mall, or hit the gym.
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‎These seismic shifts have also forced media outlets that traditionally relied on advertising to struggle with holding on to income and to cut costs elsewhere.

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While some traditional media platforms explore creating in-house studios to generate new income sources, others place big bets on uploading their content on TikTok and YouTube to attract younger viewers.
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‎YouTube in particular has become the pivot of the media world, taking a share of ad revenue for the content it hosts and compelling traditional media to upload their content to the platform.

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As advertisers shift revenue in line with media consumption trends toward online platforms, the journalism sector also faces a significant battle.
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‎Five companies — Google, Meta, the TikTok owner ByteDance, Amazon and Chinese e-commerce outlet Alibaba — accounted for 54% of all revenues in 2024.

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