The European creator economy is a big part of this, sharing the continent’s culture, languages, and creativity with audiences around the world. To get a clearer sense of how our creative ecosystem connects with communities every day, we asked the experts at Oxford Economics to assess the impact of this new economy across the European Union (EU).
The research showed that even in 2020 — against a backdrop of lockdowns and widespread economic disruption — YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported 142,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the EU. In fact, the total contribution of YouTube’s creative ecosystem to the EU27 GDP was €2.38 billion — almost as much as the EU’s generous Creative Europe fund.
Behind these big numbers are the stories of people in communities across Europe, earning a living and supporting their families through this new economy.
People like Jonna Jinton, who lives in the forests of Northern Sweden, posting videos of her paintings, music, and lifestyle. Jonna employs a full-time team to support the channel and virtually all of her customers come from YouTube. Through her content, Jonna has inspired many fans to travel to her home country to experience Swedish culture for themselves.
Or people like German creator Sally Özcan, who turned the success of her wildly popular channel, Sallys Welt, into her own product line, cookbooks, online shop, and flagship store. Sally now employs more than 100 people.