Equity

The startup boom failed to build a creator utopia

Jun 21, 2023

Eric Silver, Head of Creative at Multitude, shares his insights into the ups and downs of the creator economy. He discusses Spotify's struggles with layoffs and how major platforms fail to support a thriving creator class. The conversation also dives into the disparities between independent creators and corporate giants, exploring how authenticity often gets lost in the chase for ad revenue. Silver touches on the impact of AI on creativity while advocating for unique human storytelling in an increasingly automated world. It's a candid look at the state of creativity today.

32:03

Creator website

Episode guests

Eric Silver

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

Contrasting Fortunes in Podcasting

4min

The Cycle of Media Creation and Disruption

3min

Navigating the Indie Creator Landscape

12min

The Future of Creativity in an AI-Driven World

2min

Navigating Creator Challenges

8min

Before we get started: all the cool kids are filling out the Equity listener survey. We want to hear from you!

On today's episode, Alex had Eric Silver, Head of Creative at the podcast collective Multitude on the show to help us sort through:

What the hell happened with Spotify's big podcast push, and its resulting layoffs.
Why tech platforms have not yet found a way to make creative work lucrative enough to engender a new 'creator middle class.'
The state of the ad market, and its impacts on creative work more generally.

Towards the end we had a moment to comment on AI, but we kept that somewhat far from our central theme.

Long-time Equity listeners will recall that we've covered the creator economy a few times on the show and the blog, including:

And if you need even more, this investor survey from 2021 on all things creator-economy is a great look-back in time!

For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.

Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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