YouTube is touting the economic value of its creator ecosystem in India, as the competition among global tech giants and domestic Internet firms heats up to attract creators to their respective platforms in the country.
The Google-owned platform stated that its expanding base of creative entrepreneurs contributed over Rs 10,000 crore to the Indian GDP in 2021 and supported the equivalent of 7,50,000 full-time jobs in the country, citing a report by the consulting firm Oxford Economics unveiled on December 19.
This is a substantial increase since YouTube last reported these findings for 2020 on March 3, 2022. In 2020, the report stated that the YouTube creator ecosystem contributed Rs 6,800 crore to India's GDP and supported the equivalent of 6,83,900 full-time jobs.
"We are delighted that YouTube’s creative ecosystem continues to power India’s creator economy, supporting new jobs and opportunities across the length and breadth of the country. We have come a long way in this journey and remain committed to introducing new ways for creators to engage with their audiences, across languages, and grow their revenues," Ajay Vidyasagar, YouTube's Director of South, Southeast Asia, and APAC Emerging Markets, said in a statement.
Oxford Economics stated that for this year's report, they surveyed 5,633 creators of all sizes, 523 businesses, and 4,021 YouTube users.
Google defines creative entrepreneurs as creators with at least 10,000 subscribers on their largest channel and those with fewer subscribers who receive funds directly from YouTube, generate funds from other sources with their YouTube videos, and/or permanently employ other people to support their YouTube activities.
To be sure, this report includes the "direct, indirect, induced and catalytic" impact of YouTube's creative ecosystem on the Indian economy.
So the Rs 10,000 crore figure includes revenue earned directly by creators from YouTube through multiple revenue streams such as advertising, subscriptions, channel memberships, and Super Chat, among others, as well as revenue earned by music and media companies.
It also includes money spent by creators to create content for the platform, such as video editors, video software makers, graphic designers, producers, and sound and film equipment makers, among others.
In addition, it includes the worker spends of those employed by this creative ecosystem as well as the estimated off-platform revenues that creators earn from other sources, such as product sales, brand partnerships, or live performance engagements as a result of their YouTube presence.
"These off-platform revenues have a catalytic impact on the economy, stimulating further direct, indirect, and induced impact," the report said.
It's unclear how much of the revenue is generated solely by creators. YouTube and Oxford Economics both declined to disclose the industry split.
Industry executives have previously told Moneycontrol that the music industry and media companies contribute a significant portion of the direct revenue earned by YouTube's creative ecosystem.
As of December 2021, India had over 4,500 channels with over one million subscribers, representing a 40% year-on-year increase, while the number of YouTube channels earning Rs 1 lakh or more annually increased by more than 60% year-on-year, according to the company.
Also read: Short-form video creators dominate YouTube India's top creator list for 2022
YouTube is looking to defend its turf as the preferred destination for creators amid rising competition from Facebook parent Meta (Reels) and local rivals such as ShareChat (Moj and Takatak), VerSe Innovation's Josh and InMobi's Roposo, among others.
Short-form content is emerging as a centrepiece of the Google-owned platform's pitch to attract the next wave of creators, especially in tier-two, tier-three and tier-four cities.
YouTube may have an advantage over its competitors when it comes to helping creators monetise content, with the recent announcement that short-form creators will be able to join the YouTube Partner Program beginning in early 2023. This will enable creators to earn money on the platform through various formats such as ad revenue sharing and Super Chat, among others.
Also Read: Shorts is helping us go deeper into India's hinterlands: YouTube's Ajay Vidyasagar
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