In the early days of TikTok, it seemed that the winners were those who could fit an idea into fifteen seconds. Now the tables are turning. Many creators who only recently bet everything on short videos are talking about a return to longer formats. AI finally gives them time and space to create differently. This is shown in this year’s report from Epidemic Sound.
The Future of the Creator Economy shows that creators are balancing creativity with optimising their everyday activities. That is why 91% of them already use AI today, and among full-time creators it is as many as 96%. Tools for automatic transcription, music adaptation or visual generators remove the routine that used to mean hours of work.
As Jim Louderback, editor of the Inside the Creator Economy newsletter, notes: Just as creators disrupted the traditional media ecosystem, AI is now transforming creators themselves. But not all of them. To stay ahead, creators should explore tools that strengthen creativity, build digital twins and focus on what makes them uniquely human.
Routine disappears, long-form arrives
The report shows that it is not only about generating visuals or texts, but mainly about removing routine. Four in ten creators use AI to work faster, and 46% use it as a source of inspiration. The specific tools vary, from chatbots and virtual assistants, through content recommendation systems and image or video recognition, to tools that can automatically adapt music. The result is not only saved time, but also the chance to put more energy into creativity and long-term formats.
When technology saves time, ambitions change too. 26% of creators plan to make more long-form content over the next 12 months. Not because they are giving up on short videos, which remain key to helping new viewers discover them. Long formats, however, are generally the way to keep an audience, deepen the relationship and turn impressions into a community.
The report also shows a change in how creators define success. A quarter link it to balance, a combination of stable income and the joy of creating. A fifth link it to community loyalty. Short clips can take off quickly, but long-form content gives creators a sense of control and gives the audience a reason to stay.
AI opens the door to depth
Creators are quietly moving from a “fast and lots” mode to a “deeper and longer-lasting” mode. AI is becoming a catalyst that speeds up routine but gives content more time, story and emotion. In this sense, the next wave of the creator economy may be paradoxical: less scrolling, more listening, watching and reading.
We think about using AI in a similarly comprehensive way too. We use it at many levels of creation. From expanded video content, which we publish to social networks up to ten times faster with AI, through the automated transformation of printed content into podcast form, to entirely new forms of media experience, such as the first Czech AI presenter for Frekvence 1. For us, AI is not just a tool but a way to speed up work, open up new formats and bring greater value to the audience.
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