At first glance, the answer looks simple: when one platform is not enough, expand to another. Creators are doing exactly that, with 94% of them preparing to diversify their channels. These include YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, but also smaller platforms such as Lemon8 or Rednote. Each new channel brings not only new audiences, but also new formats, algorithms and pressure to produce more.
This year’s The Future of the Creator Economy report by Epidemic Sound shows this. For a third of creators, diversification is a way to cope with environments where conditions on individual platforms change quickly. It is not only about YouTube or Instagram. 44% of American creators plan to expand to TikTok, despite the threat of a possible ban. At the same time, they are also looking at other Chinese alternatives: 12% are heading to Lemon8 and 8% to Rednote. This shows that creators are not waiting for algorithms or regulators to decide for them. They are preparing for alternatives that give them more control over their future.
The price of growth: more work, less time
However, diversification also means more work, which comes at a clear cost. 36% of creators struggle with a lack of time, 35% report creative burnout, and 34% are battling algorithms. On top of that come licensing questions, demanding channel management and pressure for constant production.
Instead of a feeling of freedom, the opposite often arrives: exhaustion and chaos. More channels bring more content, and that content needs to be not only created but also adapted for different formats and audiences. AI may be the answer to this growing pressure.
Use of AI is still basic
Creators are reaching for technology on a large scale. 91% of them use AI, and among full-time creators the figure is as high as 96%. However, widespread use of AI is still mainly for basic tasks, such as automatic transcription, visual generators or chat assistants. Four in ten use AI to speed up their work, and 46% to find inspiration.
The potential is much broader, though. AI can help not only to speed up editing, but also to automate distribution across platforms, evaluate performance and recommend large volumes of content to different audiences. In other words, it can turn diversification from a threat into an opportunity. It may well be that the era is ending when creators were divided into YouTubers, streamers on Twitch and Instagram influencers. An AI-driven era requires everyone to work across many platforms at the same time.
Creators now face a decision: whether diversification will be a path to new audiences, or just a path to further exhaustion. Without AI support, growth can become a race against time. With it, expanding to more channels can turn into a long-term strategy that connects new audiences with a sustainable pace of work.
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