2025 STATE OF THE VIDEO CREATOR INDUSTRY

Who’s making video content and how they’re winning

The creator economy in 2025 is increasingly professional, talk‑first, and long‑tail. Small accounts produce a disproportionate share of content; “face‑to‑camera” clips dominate feeds; and the typical creator is part editor, part distributor, and, more often than not, part business operator.

Usado por mais de 10 milhões de criadores e empresas

Grant Cardone
4,7 M
Scott Galloway
192K
E se
7,9 M
Logan Paul
23.6M
Jenny Hoyos
4M
Linguamarina
8,52 M
Estúdios Dhar Mann
24,8 M
Violino de dois conjuntos
4,3 M
Jon Youshaei
435K
Historiador de poltronas
2,2 M
SaaStr
54,4K
Sébastien Jefferies
422K
FLAGRANTE
1,5 M
Mai Pham
3,3 M
Retenção de valor
5,3 M
Jubilee Media
Jubilee Media
9,79M
Tom Bilyeu
Tom Bilyeu
4,5 M
Jacksfilms
Filmes de Jack
5,08 M
Mark Rober
Mark Rober
65,9 M
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memphis grizzlies logo
chili piper logo
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audacy logo
visa logo
iHeartMedia logo
GitHub logo
nvidia logo
telefonica logo

The rise of the creator-operator

The rise of the “creator-operator” signals a new phase of the industry. No longer just hobbyists experimenting online, a growing majority now see themselves as professionals or at least semi-professional. These creators aren’t chasing celebrity-scale followings, they’re building sustainable careers around consistent output and repeatable workflows.

Video creators come in all sizes

72.9%

of creators have <10k followers

72.9%

of creators have <10k followers

Creators
  • Personas

    • Creator icon

      Producer

      Publishes original content.

    • Repurposer icon

      Distributor

      Specializes in clipping/editing footage with their unique style.

    • Both icon

      Hybrid

      Does both original creation and systematic repurposing.

    • Agency icon

      Production Partner

      A team producing content on behalf of clients.

  • Delivery style

    • Creator icon

      Talking Head

      Primary value delivered via spoken on‑camera narrative (e.g., face‑to‑cam, explainers).

    • Repurposer icon

      Visual

      Primary value via visuals/on‑screen text, b‑roll, or graphics (minimal talking‑head).

    • Both icon

      Podcast

      Audio‑first episodes, including video podcasts.

A content creator is someone who uses their creativity and skills to create content that’s informative, educational, and engaging.

Rob Balasabas

Rob Balasabas

Head of Creator Partnerships & Community at Uscreen

Who’s behind the content?

Creators now wear multiple hats. In our dataset, Producers account for 36.38%, Distributors for 30.89%, Hybrid for 28.75%, and Production Partners for 3.99%. The sizable “Hybrid” cohort shows that original creation + systematic distributing is a mainstream workflow—not a niche tactic.

36.4% of users identify as original creators

36.4% of users identify as original creators

The long tail is the majority

The market skews small but vibrant. 56.52% of creators sit under 1k, and another 16.36% under 10k — that’s 72.88% below 10k. Only 7.65% exceed 500k. This distribution reshapes how we think about “influence”: consistency and format fit often matter more than sheer size.

  • Follower tier distribution

    Follower tier distribution
  • Roll-ups

    Roll-ups

Talking Head content wins

Talking Head video leads at 56.89%, well ahead of Visual at 28.38% and Podcast at 14.74%. Talking to the camera remains the fastest path to capture ideas, test hooks, and generate clips that travel across platforms.

  • Delivery style share
  • Relative differences
57% of all content is conversational — nearly 4× more than podcasts.

57% of all content is Talking Head — nearly 4× more than podcasts.

Role identity & professionalization

Professionals (31.76%) are the largest identity group, outnumbering Amateurs (15.13%) and Hobbyists (14.89%). The remaining share spans Other (9.51%), Educators (6.53%), Business (6.34%), Intermediate (6.25%), Media (5.33%), Event Organizers (2.25%), and Agencies (2.02%). The professional tilt suggests demand for repeatable processes and revenue operations — from analytics to sponsorship packaging.

Role identity & professionalization

Role identity distribution

Professionals are now the single largest creator identity (31.8%).

What video creators talk about

Content clusters around a handful of themes. Entertainment & Lifestyle (33%) and Business & Marketing (27%) lead, followed by Education & Self-Improvement (25%), News & Commentary (15%), Together, these categories make up nearly all video creator output in 2025, capturing the balance between entertainment, expertise, and real-time conversation that drives the modern creator economy.

Five categories define what most creators are talking about today.

The top 5 niches account for 65% of all creator output

Methodology

"This report is based on a subset of OpusClip-connected accounts active between January 1 and August 31, 2025, representing creators who connected their platforms or uploaded content through OpusClip during that period. The dataset reflects user-declared profiles and automated content labeling across key dimensions such as follower tiers, personas, delivery styles, role identities, and niches. While not inclusive of our full user base, it provides a strong directional view of creator behavior."