YouTube CEO Neal Mohan: ‘The Creator Economy Is Just Getting Started.’

YouTube says as of January, there are more than one billion monthly active users of podcast content on its platform. “One of the most relevant formats driving culture — podcasts — is thriving on YouTube,” it says in its annual Impact Report highlighting YouTube’s contributions to the creator economy. YouTube says it has paid more than $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies in the three years prior to January 2024 as it says creators earn 55% of ad and subscription revenue through the YouTube Partner Program.

“With more viewers and more advertisers coming to YouTube, the opportunity for creators has never been greater. For over a decade, the total amount YouTube has paid creators has grown every single year. And this growth has accelerated the last three years,” CEO Neal Mohan says. “There are more ways for creators and businesses to make money on YouTube than ever, and we’re seeing them reinvest this money in their content, teams and operations. Looking at this momentum and toward the next two decades, the creator economy is just getting started.”

For the first time, YouTube says it eclipsed $50 billion in total U.S. GDP contribution in 2024, supporting 490,000 jobs based on data from Oxford Economics. That is up from $35 billion of economic impact and 390,000 jobs reported in 2022 by YouTube.

There are over 20 million videos uploaded to YouTube every day and over 20 billion videos on YouTube worldwide according to company data. A survey conducted in April by Oxford Economics found broad support among creators.

Seven in ten creators agreed that personalized recommendations on YouTube are important to grow their audiences. Two thirds (67%) agreed that YouTube is an essential platform to earn a global presence. And 71% of creators who earn money from YouTube agree that YouTube provides an opportunity to create content and earn money that they wouldn’t get from traditional media.

Read YouTube’s 2024 U.S. Impact Report HERE.