One Million Followers, Still Underpaid: The Black Creator Pay Gap

"Black influencers earn lower marginal returns to visibility (operationalized as follower count) than otherwise comparable White influencers, and these returns are less stable over time, indicated a 2021 research study on the Black-White influencer pay gap."

"I started on Twitter, going viral, back in the day, and from there I branched off to starting my own podcast in 2019, she explained. I began on TikTok in 2021 and my content is about my personal thoughts and perspectives on life topics. I'll talk about trending topics on social media, but I'll also talk about personal development, the lessons that I've learned as I get older, the experiences that I've had, and how they've shaped me as a person."

"I've learned since being on TikTok, that companies are very niche-oriented. They want to invest in creators who are already making content that aligns with their product, so makeup artists are more inclined to be hired by makeup companies. It is encouraged for you, as a creator, to have a niche that is easily detectable and easily noticed, so that companies are able to pick you up."

"That sounds great; however, people have talents that lie outside of these niches: travel, makeup, beauty, health, and wellness...people's talents lie outside of that, and me, my talent is my voice. It is what I talk about, but I'm able to captivate an audience based on what I speak on."

Black influencers earn 35% less than white counterparts, with lower marginal returns to visibility measured by follower count and less stable returns over time. The racial wealth gap continues to grow across industries, prompting more creators to speak out about disparities. Cindy Noir is a content creator with more than a million followers across social media over the last decade. She started on Twitter, went viral, launched a podcast in 2019, and began on TikTok in 2021. Her content centers on personal thoughts and perspectives on life topics, including trending social media issues and personal development. She learned that companies prefer niche-aligned creators, but her talent is her voice, which lets her captivate an audience beyond narrow categories.

Read at Forbes