As all social platforms look to implement more ways to enable creators to monetize their on-platform efforts, with a view to keeping them posting to their apps more often, the growth in creators becoming businesses has lead to what’s been coined ‘The Creator Economy’, opening up more opportunities for all types of experts and enthusiasts in virtually every niche.
But while becoming a web creator may sound like a fairly simple proposition – build a following on social media, create content aligned with your interest, then monetize that attention – it actually takes a lot of work, not only in terms of consistent content creation, but then with respect to marketing, establishing revenue flow, managing your own business, etc.
That’s often more than most people expect, and to help shed some more light on this, today, YouTube has launched its first ever podcast called ‘The Upload: The Rise of the Creator Economy’.
As outlined in the above clip, The Upload will feature interviews with a range of YouTube stars who’ve gone on to create their own business based on their work, providing insight into the technicalities of how they manage the various aspects.
As explained by YouTube:
“We wanted to showcase the magic of the creator economy in an entirely new way, by taking people behind the scenes to learn what goes into the businesses of the creators whose videos they watch every day.”
That, ideally, will help more prospective YouTube stars bet a better understanding of what they need to know, while it’ll likely also help in providing some valuable perspective as to what these stars have learned, and the path they’ve taken to internet fame.
The podcast will be hosted by journalist Brittany Luse, who also co-hosts the popular ‘For Colored Nerds’ podcast, and will feature profiles on well-known YouTubers like Lilly Singh, Caleb Marshall and Emmy Cho.
“Throughout the series, Brittany will introduce listeners to creators with channels of all sizes who are building dynamic and thriving businesses. New episodes will be released every Wednesday, starting on September 22nd.”
It may seem a little odd for YouTube, a video platform, to be launching a podcast, but audio has become a bigger focus for the platform of late, as it seeks to align with rising social audio trends.
Many popular YouTubers now have their own podcasts, which they share on the platform, delivering audio-focused content to their massive audiences, while YouTube has also made music a bigger focus, with audio-only listening options providing another means to consume YouTube content.
Late last year, YouTube reported that music video streaming was at an all-time high, while YouTube Music itself now has more than 77 million paying subscribers. So while visual elements remain central to the platform’s broader offering, there’s clearly significant interest in audio-only offerings as well, which YouTube is leaning into with this new program.
It could be worth tuning in, especially if you’re looking to build your own YouTube following.
You’ll be able to download ‘The Upload’ wherever you get your podcasts - from YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, and via smart speakers with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and more. You can also subscribe to The Upload on YouTube here.