In a world where digital innovation is rapidly transforming traditional broadcast, media and entertainment industries, the creator economy has emerged as a driving force, reshaping the landscape and redefining how content is created, distributed and monetized.
The NAB has responded, with “The Creator Lab” now added to the schedule for the 2024 NAB Show.
This show floor experience includes interactive exhibits, expert panels, hands-on workshops and networking events that focus on creators, equipment, distribution channels and monetization techniques.
Sessions will explore the role of AI in the production workflow, the opportunities behind effective creator/brand partnerships, emerging technologies like VR and spatial computing, designing the perfect workspace and mobile kits for speedy and effective content creation and building a robust and flexible infrastructure to power the creator-driven content economy.
“The creator economy continues to upend traditional media creation, production, advertising and distribution while borrowing the best of past models,” the NAB says.
It quotes Goldman Sachs in noting that 50 million people around the world now work in the creator economy, and the industry’s total economic value may have jumped to $250 billion in 2023. “That number is expected to double in the next few years as the creator economy approaches 25% of the overall global value of the entertainment industry,” the NAB says.
Chris Brown, executive vice president and managing director, NAB Global Connections and Events, comments, “We are witnessing an unprecedented surge in the number of people actively participating in the creative economy.” That’s why Creator Lab has been launched as “a home base at NAB Show for this community – a hub with tailored education and networking, all in the center of the world’s largest showcase of the tech and tools that make content come to life.”
Jim Louderback, author of the weekly Inside the Creator Economy newsletter, will emcee this year’s event, along with Robin Raskin, a journalist and events producer.
According to the NAB, nearly 25% of show participants identify as content producers and creators. “That number will continue to increase as more and more people recognize the rewards of new media platforms,” the association predicts.