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Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube are each chasing ambitious revenue targets—and lofty market caps that reflect their potential as platform giants in the race for dominance in entertainment and media. Yet behind the sleek UIs, global content libraries, and licensing battles lies a common truth: The power of the creator economy is key to sustainably scale to the next $100 billion in value.
The streaming wars are not just about studios and labels anymore. They're about people—creators who command attention, trust and community at scale. The creator economy is no longer a niche subculture of vloggers and influencers. It's a $250 billion industry projected to surpass $480 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs, and platforms that fail to integrate it will risk stagnation.
YouTube has arguably been the most creator-centric of the three, paying out over $70 billion to creators from 2021 to 2023. In 2023 alone, YouTube ad revenue hit $40.7 billion, and creators powered the lion's share of this through major names like Mr. Beast, Dhar Mann and Ms.Rachel (who has since gone on to license her show to Netflix).
Furthermore, YouTube has fast become the most watched video provider on televisions in the United States underscoring its growth as arch rivals Netflix lag behind with only 7.5% of television viewing time in the US compared to the Google owned platform's 12.5%.
The opportunity remains in YouTube Shorts; its response to TikTok is now generating 50 billion daily views—yet monetization remains limited. If YouTube can crack short-form monetization and pair it with affiliate commerce, creator memberships, and IP licensing more effectively, it stands to add $10-15 billion annually in incremental revenue over the next three years.
Indeed, the JMG Media Network or more commonly known as Joe, the UK based aggregator and male focused social media publisher recently put their politics podcast behind a Patreon Paywall citing issues with Youtube's current subscription model as taking 30%.
Just 25% of Gen Z say they use YouTube as their primary search engine. These aren't passive viewers; they're loyal fans, ready to spend—just not yet on YouTube.
Spotify's biggest challenge isn't just competing with Apple Music—it's building a defensible moat. With over 615 million active users and 239 million paying subscribers (Q1 2025), Spotify has already become the largest audio platform globally. But revenue per user remains low, and music licensing fees dominate cost structure.
Spotify's most compelling growth lever? Creators. Podcasts like Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper's newly minted $125 Million Call Her Daddy, and Steven Bartlett's The Diary of A CEO are brand empires in their own right. Yet Spotify still lacks a native creator monetization ecosystem. A scenario where Spotify introduces tipping, live audio experiences, and personalized merchandise—all integrated directly into the app—offers significant upside and engagement for consumers.
More radically, Spotify could become the Patreon for audio creators, charging 5-10% platform fees on memberships, exclusive content, and fan-first events. With just 5% of their monthly users converting to $5/month direct support, Spotify could add over $1.8 billion in annual revenue, with high-margin upside.
Early signs that Spotify's attempt to compete in the content streaming arms race with their new partner program launched in January which offers creators 50% of the ad revenue have seen them pay out $100 million as of April.
Spotify's aggressive push into video podcasts has also seen an uptick in recruitment of big name celebrities to join their native creators with the likes of Dua Lipa signing up to the service to start a book club. The merging of native platform creators with celebrities illustrating the importance in the streaming talent arms war to drive engagement.
It remains, however, that of the over $1 Billion paid to podcast creators in the last three years -- less than 3% of that came from fan payments.
Netflix increased revenue 16% and reduced operating margins as well to cap a buoyant Q2 of 2025 however, ad revenue still only accounts for less than 10% of total earnings, and customer acquisition costs are rising as subscriber numbers in North America are expected to have reached scale. Meanwhile, its share of most watched shows dropped from 80% in 2021 to 50% in 2025 as competition in the streaming landscape grew to meet consumer demand and the Los Gatos based company stuck a deal to stream Wrestling for $5 Billion and had huge viewership with the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight as well as having talks with Spotify to partner on Music awards or live concerts as part of its diversification.
Another pathway to maintain margin and user growth, Netflix needs a scalable, low-cost content layer—and that's where creators come in.
While Netflix dabbled in creator partnerships (see: Rhythm + Flow, Hype House) and are testing the water in other regions with shows like House of Streams licensed in the UK and Ireland where creators fight for a Bitcoin, however, it has yet to build a systemic creator ecosystem. In contrast, TikTok, with less than half of Netflix's annual revenue, is already driving more cultural moments and new IP. Why? Because TikTok doesn't produce; it amplifies.
Consider a Netflix Creator Fund for emerging storytellers, docuseries creators, or international influencers. With the right infrastructure, Netflix could build a pipeline of creator-led content that costs 80% less to produce than traditional originals—but performs 10 times better on engagement taking the formats from YouTube and adding more professionalization of production and editing values. Even a pilot of 10 creator-led shows could potentially yield breakout hits at fractional cost, feeding the content flywheel, reducing churn and most importantly adding engagement from the coveted 16-30 demographic.
As it stands, 44% of Gen Z and Millennials say they would "likely" watch shows created by their favorite YouTubers or TikTokers -- if they were available on Netflix. The financial analysis backs this up with Wells Fargo's Steven Cahall suggesting "that a lot of YouTube creators monetize (i.e. cost) at a lower cost per hour vs some of the biggest Netflix originals. Their content is high-value and coveted by their audiences. And, this content is much, much cheaper than most live sports."
The precedent already exists for the conglomerate; Netflix have successfully tested comedy by bringing in smaller acts like Ali Wong and Hannah Gadsby (who as a result became major stars and indeed went on to create more programming for the streamer) before entering larger scale with globally recognized names like Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart and others paying huge upfront sums to draw new subscribers and take over a space traditionally owned by legacy cable networks like HBO and Comedy Central.
The Creator Economy Isn't Just a Channel -- It's the Future
The creator economy is not just an opportunity for distribution; it's a model for production, monetization, and fandom at scale. Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube already own infrastructure, audience, and data. But the next wave of growth—the additional $30 billion in topline; the extra $100 billion in market cap—will only come by activating their most underleveraged asset: creators.
CAA Digital Media executive Brent Weinstein explains that at the world's biggest talent agency who represent the likes of Dhar Mann, Ms. Rachel, Rhett and Link "creators who have built the biggest audience and IP have had the opportunity to expand their reach into other verticals" adding that "audio and podcast is a big part of the flywheel as the overall appetite for content consumption has grown."
These companies don't need to become TikTok. They need to become enablers of creator ecosystems—offering tools, monetization, and scalable collaboration models. The creators are ready. The audiences are waiting. The platforms just need to unlock the gate.
In the end, platforms may own the rails—but creators own the trains that keep them moving.