Oxford Economics has brought out a report that says that YouTube’s creative ecosystem has been minting thousands of crores of money. In the year 2020, its content creators contributed Rs 6,800 crore to the GDP of India.

That way, YouTube also enabled 6,83,900 full-time equivalent jobs in India in 2020.

There are at least 40,000 YT channels run by Indians with over 1,00,000 subscribers. The number of YouTube channels generating revenue of six figures or more, the report brought out by the independent consulting firm says.

What works for YouTubers?:

Utsav Verma says that the best part with the creator's economy is that the entry barriers are very low. "If someone has any content, a half-decent smartphone is all you need," he writes.

Two factors have significantly contributed to the YT economic growth: Cheap data (enabled by Jio), and the increased use of smartphones during the pandemic-induced lockdown.

Challenges involved:

YouTube content creators are also facing challenges. "There are many channels that create original and unique content but are at the receiving end of YT's number games (subscribers, watch hours etc.). Add to this - the rampant and devious copyright claims by big companies and tricksters killing freelance creators' share in revenue," writes Raghothama Rao.