Why Creatives Struggle to Make Money—and What We Can Actually Do About It
From fake communities to real cooperatives, a look at what it takes to survive and thrive as a creative
Hey there! I hope you are having a good weekend!
At some point, every creative asks themselves a fundamental question: How do I actually make money doing this? It’s not a vanity thing. It’s survival. Rent is due, groceries cost more, and exposure doesn’t pay the electric bill.
We live in a world where the myth of the "creative economy" is ever-present—but the reality is that most of us are still trying to figure out how to make it work.
Platforms Call It “Community.” Is It?
Medium, Substack, YouTube—they all sell themselves as “communities” for creatives. A place to be seen, share ideas, and build connection. But when I talk to other writers, artists, and creators, they all say the same thing: it doesn’t feel like a community.
So I decided to ask. Directly.
I sent a survey to over 3,000 creatives. Here’s what I asked:
Do you feel like you earn a living from your creative work?
Do others truly appreciate the creative license you present?
What is your creative medium?
I also asked them to tell me which platforms they use and how they actually feel about them. The response floored me.
The Responses: Honest, Raw, and Eye-Opening
Over 2,340 people completed the survey. I never expected that. I took the data to a few academic friends, and what we found was clear: creatives want more than what platforms currently offer.
59% of respondents are involved in some form of online writing
255 reported Medium as a primary platform
133 used Substack
874 said their platform “felt like a community”—but on closer inspection, they meant more of a network
That word—community—is thrown around constantly. But when there’s no shared governance, no accountability, and no collective decision-making, is it really a community? Or is it just branding?
The Platform Problem
Take Medium, for example. It’s a for-profit company that charges users to read and sometimes to write. Some reports claim it pays writers over $2 million per month—but simple math suggests that to sustain that, they’d need at least 400,000 paid subscribers, not counting operating costs or investor returns.
This isn’t to throw shade. It’s to be real. These platforms are businesses. That’s fine—but we shouldn’t confuse that with community.
What’s Missing: Governance and Distribution
The creatives I heard from pointed to two big problems:
No real community governance
Limited content distribution beyond the platform itself
Opening the doors to everyone doesn’t inherently build value. And while validation is great, it doesn’t buy groceries. We need more than applause—we need infrastructure.
A Lesson From the Land
I grew up in a farm town in Texas. Out here, real cooperatives exist. Farmers pool resources, elect leadership, and share in the profits. These aren’t nonprofits in name only—they function to sustain their members.
But here’s the kicker: you don’t just sign up. You have to contribute. You have to offer value, play by the rules, and align with the group’s goals. That’s what keeps the whole thing sustainable.
Could Creatives Build That?
What if writers and artists had a real cooperative? One that distributed content, shared revenue, and offered support—not just likes? It would be hard. It would take time, structure, and buy-in.
But it might be the only path forward.
Short of building that from scratch, platforms like Medium and Substack need to evolve. They need to:
Advocate more for their creators
Curate more intentionally
Develop smarter revenue-sharing models
Build something that can actually last
This isn’t about burning it all down. It’s about building something better.
Let’s Talk About What’s Next
This survey is just one step. But research like this can push the conversation forward. If we want something better, we have to start by working together—and demanding more from the systems that claim to support us.
Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Reply to this email or comment below:
Have you found real community as a creative online? What would make that possible for you?
Until next time,
Matt
Governance and regulation are the biggest issues on platforms.
Even if they start off as communities, clout eventually centralises in the hands of a few.
Like democracy.