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# 1.5M in US earn a living as a digital creator or influencer
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/earn-a-living-as-a-digital-creator-or-influencer/
- Published: 2025-05-01T15:09:09.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-01T15:45:23.000Z
- Description: 1.5M in people in the US earn a living as digital creators and social media influencers. That stat is both encouraging and frightening if you’re trying to grab attention online to market music or live shows.
- Author: Bruce Houghton
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Music Marketing, Social Media, creator, DIY musicians, music, Music Business, music industry, musician, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 11:15

1.5M in people in the US earn a living as a digital creator or social media influencers. That stat is both encouraging and frightening if you’re trying to grab attention online to market music or live shows.

![earn a living as digital creator or influencers](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3a/95/3a957c06-c825-4057-9939-0a274cc16d23/content/images/www-iab-com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/websiteimage-2000x610-1-e1744747264184.png)

### 1.5M in US earn a living as a digital creator or social media influencer

The competition and opportunities are greater than ever to build an audience, according to a new Interactive Advertising Bureau study.

More than 1.5 million Americans work as digital creators – a nearly eightfold increase since 2020\. 10% of full-time internet-dependent U.S. jobs are now digital creators and social influencers who generate content and build audiences.

### 25% Annual Growth

While traditional media is expanding at roughly 5% annually, the creator sector is now growing at five times that pace.

Overall, the U.S. digital economy now tops $4.9 trillion annually and fuels 28.4 million U.S. jobs.

“The creator economy has clearly become a major factor in the digital growth story, driving spend, engagement, culture, and of course, employment,” said **David Cohen, CEO of IAB**. “The impact is felt across the ecosystem, shifting the way that we think about information, entertainment, commerce, and community. In some ways, it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more that creators succeed, the stronger the platforms they use become.”

Learn more about the IAB’s economic research series **“Measuring the Digital Economy: Advertising, Content, Commerce, and Innovation”** [here](https://www.iab.com/news/measuring-digital-economy-2025/?ref=hypebot.com)

***Bruce Houghton*** *is the Founder and Editor of [Hypebot](https://www.hypebot.com/), a Senior Advisor at [Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/?ref=hypebot.com), a [Berklee College Of Music](https://online.berklee.edu/courses/touring-101?ref=hypebot.com) professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency*