Rep. Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) on Thursday launched the bipartisan Congressional Creators Caucus to support the creator economy.
Making a living from the Internet once seemed like a pipe dream, but this industry has become a reality. Oxford Economics estimates that the YouTube ecosystem alone created more than 390,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2022. Goldman Sachs also estimates that the value of the creator economy could reach $5 trillion by 2027.
However, the U.S. government currently lacks sufficient regulatory oversight and understanding of the creator economy, and the creator business is in dire straits.
“The online presence of digital content creators continues to reach billions of people around the world, and Congress must work to ensure that the resources and protections are in place to help them succeed in this new era of startups,” Congressman Clark said in a statement.
Matthew Patrick (MatPat) and Stephanie Patrick, founders of popular digital production studio Theorist Media, spoke at the caucus launch press event. The couple has spent more than a year lobbying on Capitol Hill to advocate for the needs of creators.
“We’re trying to educate legislators about what the creator economy is and that it’s a real job and that we’re actually small businesses. As a result, there are certain tax rules and things that apply to small businesses,” Matthew Patrick, the creator known as MatPat, told TechCrunch last year. “Even when you’re talking to accountants, they say, ‘Really? Because there’s no clear metrics on your tax return. Like, what is a creator business?’
The Patricks also sought to point out that the creator economy is not an industry confined to the coasts of entertainment industry hotspots like New York City or Los Angeles, but rather an industry that needs nationwide support. The world’s most popular YouTubers, Theorist Media and MrBeast, are both based in North Carolina. Meanwhile, John and Hank Green have used their YouTube success to launch businesses like Complexly, an educational media company headquartered in Indiana and Montana.
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Patreon and YouTube, two of the most important companies helping creators run their businesses, announced their support for the new caucus.
As explained in a Patreon blog post, creators often build businesses without the same protections as traditional businesses, such as insurance, disaster relief, and access to loans. Even startups like Karat Financial have sprung up to fill some of these gaps, offering business credit cards and banking to creators who are often denied these services because traditional financial institutions don’t understand their businesses.
“Creators are small business owners, employers, and cultural trendsetters in every congressional district, yet they are too often ignored in economic policy discussions,” Courtney Duffy, head of external relations and strategic engagement at Patreon, explained in a statement. “The bipartisan Congressional Creators Caucus is an important step in recognizing their impact and ensuring they have a seat at the table when creating policies that impact their lives.”
