Who’s making video content and how they’re winning
The creator economy in 2025 is increasingly professional, talk‑first, and long‑tail. Small accounts produce a disproportionate share of content; “face‑to‑camera” clips dominate feeds; and the typical creator is part editor, part distributor, and, more often than not, part business operator.
Used by 12M+ creators and businesses
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The rise of the creator-operator
The rise of the “creator-operator” signals a new phase of the industry. No longer just hobbyists experimenting online, a growing majority now see themselves as professionals or at least semi-professional. These creators aren’t chasing celebrity-scale followings, they’re building sustainable careers around consistent output and repeatable workflows.
Video creators come in all sizes
72.9%
of creators have <10k followers
72.9%
of creators have <10k followers
Personas
Producer
Publishes original content.
Distributor
Specializes in clipping/editing footage with their unique style.
Hybrid
Does both original creation and systematic repurposing.
Production Partner
A team producing content on behalf of clients.
Delivery style
Talking Head
Primary value delivered via spoken on‑camera narrative (e.g., face‑to‑cam, explainers).
Visual
Primary value via visuals/on‑screen text, b‑roll, or graphics (minimal talking‑head).
Podcast
Audio‑first episodes, including video podcasts.
A content creator is someone who uses their creativity and skills to create content that’s informative, educational, and engaging.
Rob Balasabas
Head of Creator Partnerships & Community at Uscreen
Who’s behind the content?
Creators now wear multiple hats. In our dataset, Producers account for 36.38%, Distributors for 30.89%, Hybrid for 28.75%, and Production Partners for 3.99%. The sizable “Hybrid” cohort shows that original creation + systematic distributing is a mainstream workflow—not a niche tactic.
36.4% of users identify as original creators
The long tail is the majority
The market skews small but vibrant. 56.52% of creators sit under 1k, and another 16.36% under 10k — that’s 72.88% below 10k. Only 7.65% exceed 500k. This distribution reshapes how we think about “influence”: consistency and format fit often matter more than sheer size.
Follower tier distribution
Roll-ups
Talking Head content wins
Talking Head video leads at 56.89%, well ahead of Visual at 28.38% and Podcast at 14.74%. Talking to the camera remains the fastest path to capture ideas, test hooks, and generate clips that travel across platforms.
57% of all content is Talking Head — nearly 4× more than podcasts.
Role identity & professionalization
Professionals (31.76%) are the largest identity group, outnumbering Amateurs (15.13%) and Hobbyists (14.89%). The remaining share spans Other (9.51%), Educators (6.53%), Business (6.34%), Intermediate (6.25%), Media (5.33%), Event Organizers (2.25%), and Agencies (2.02%). The professional tilt suggests demand for repeatable processes and revenue operations — from analytics to sponsorship packaging.
Role identity distribution
Professionals are now the single largest creator identity (31.8%).
What video creators talk about
Content clusters around a handful of themes. Entertainment & Lifestyle (33%) and Business & Marketing (27%) lead, followed by Education & Self-Improvement (25%), News & Commentary (15%), Together, these categories make up nearly all video creator output in 2025, capturing the balance between entertainment, expertise, and real-time conversation that drives the modern creator economy.
Five categories define what most creators are talking about today.
Methodology
"This report is based on a subset of OpusClip-connected accounts active between January 1 and August 31, 2025, representing creators who connected their platforms or uploaded content through OpusClip during that period. The dataset reflects user-declared profiles and automated content labeling across key dimensions such as follower tiers, personas, delivery styles, role identities, and niches. While not inclusive of our full user base, it provides a strong directional view of creator behavior."