Digital content creation grows 30% and boosts Brazilian job market, survey shows
More than 389,000 people were directly or indirectly employed in the sector in the last 12 months, according to the second edition of a survey by FGV ECMI, carried out in partnership with Hotmart.
The number of jobs directly and indirectly generated by the creator economy in Brazil has grown by 30% in the last 12 months. This is one of the findings of a survey called “The Socioeconomic Impact of Digital Businesses in the Brazilian Creator Economy,” carried out by Fundação Getulio Vargas’ School of Communication, Media and Information (FGV ECMI), which reveals that there are now more than 389,000 jobs in the Brazilian digital products sector. The survey, which is supported by Hotmart, a global technology company and a leader in the creator economy, identified more than 302,000 jobs in its first edition. The methodology involved telephone interviews between August 26 and September 4, 2024 with 612 content creators who sell digital products on Hotmart, as well as internal company information and market projections.
In all, 42% of respondents said that selling digital products is their main source of income. In these cases, their sales are 154% higher than last year. In turn, the revenue of producers who have set up a formal company is on average twice as high as that of individuals without a company. Of those interviewed who said that Hotmart is their main source of income, 64% said they saw a significant increase in earnings over the last year.
The majority (61%) of the interviewed content creators were under 40. As for education, 59% had an undergraduate degree and 16% had a graduate degree, underscoring the high level of qualifications and distinctive experiences of those who decide to turn their knowledge into a digital product. The main reasons for becoming a digital information producer were to generate new forms of monetization (33%), make a bigger income (24%), gain more time freedom (20%), gain more geographical freedom (16%) and pursue entrepreneurship (13%).
Regarding the sector’s prospects, 32% of respondents are interested in expanding their digital business to sell physical products, suggesting that the digital information product market is diversifying. In addition, more than half (55%) of producers and co-producers already use artificial intelligence tools in some content creation task or routine. Out of those who use AI, the majority (83%) use it to create or edit images, followed by text creation or editing (80%) and audio creation (27%).
“The results indicate that the sale of digital products has contributed to the diversification of these producers’ sources of income. We also saw that content creators have begun to use more technology tools and increasing numbers are formalizing their work by setting up a company,” says Beatriz Pinheiro, a researcher at FGV ECMI, who coordinated the survey.
“Growing demand for content developed by creators has encouraged the expansion of the creator economy service chain, encompassing graphic design, video editing, social media management, data analysis and the creation of launch or co-production agencies,” says Nathalia Cavalieri, general manager at Hotmart. “The increasing number of jobs being generated only adds to the view that the sector’s potential is enormous, and we’re only at the beginning,” she adds.
You can access the full survey results here.
About FGV ECMI
Founded in 2022, Fundação Getulio Vargas’ School of Communication, Media and Information (FGV ECMI) is a pioneer in training the new types of professionals who will work in strategic communication, media and information at public, private and third sector organizations. The school combines FGV’s tradition with the extensive experience of FGV’s Department of Public Policy Analysis (FGV DAPP) in applying technology and data science to innovate and propose solutions in the field of communication. Visit FGV ECMI’s website here.
About Hotmart
Hotmart offers solutions for online and physical businesses based on the production of digital content. It operates in the creator economy, with more than 1,900 employees in seven countries, including its head office in Amsterdam, as well as branches in North America, South America and Europe. To find out more, visit its website.
Leia também