Content flows in from villages now but for not much in return

A clear divide has emerged in India’s booming digital creator economy, with non-metro areas accounting for 66% of the country’s 4.12 million creators as of 2025, though their content creation remains largely a low-cost entry into the labour market with most earning little from it, a study found.

Creators from non-metros who get repeat campaigns usually earn the local average monthly urban salaried wage of Rs 24,434 or less, the study by the Indian School of Business (ISB) and influencer marketing company HashFame found.

A key reason behind this is that more than 80% of creators in non-metro areas are nano-creators (fewer than 10,000 followers) and micro-creators (fewer than one lakh followers).


This broad network helps brands reach more people but keeps the earnings of non-metro creators low. A nano-creator completing two campaigns earns only about 20% of Rs 24,434. A micro-creator completing five campaigns reaches about 102% of that benchmark, the study showed.

Relatively lower purchasing power is a key reason for the low income of non-metro creators, said influencer marketing companies.

"The gap in earnings between metro and non-metro creators is mainly about the audience and not the location of creators. Purchasing power is lower in non-metro areas. So, brands pay less,” said Anirudh Sridharan, co-founder of HashFame, an influencer marketing company. “A creator from a village can charge a premium if the creator’s followers are from metros or high-income groups. So, one must understand that brands pay for audiences they can reach,” added Sridharan.

Content quality is another reason for the low income of non-metro creators, said digital marketing companies.

“The content quality of many creators is a big question, especially for brands. To become a creator who can command a sizable income, effective storytelling is a must. Mere communication does not lift a creator’s brand equity. Brands pay creators well if they score well on measurable metrics such as cost per view and engagement rate. This may not be the case with nano- and micro-creators in non-metro areas,” said Samarth Misra, co-founder, SMIK-Creative Intelligence Studio, a marketing company.

Digital marketing companies said for smaller creators an engagement rate above 7-8% is considered healthy.

For larger ones, an engagement rate of 2-3% is considered healthy. According to the study, about 85% of non-metro creators do not complete a single paid campaign in a year.

Lack of access is a major challenge for non-metro creators, said companies that provide infrastructure for content creation.

“Metro creators are approached more readily by agencies that want to represent and manage them. Agencies are the easiest avenue for any creator to earn because they get them brand deals and representation more easily. In comparison, non-metro creators lack the knowledge to negotiate with brands. This impacts their income-generating potential,” said Afreen Zeb, CMO, StudioBackdrops, a company that provides the infrastructure required to create content.

According to the study, the campaign-to-creator ratio for metro creators rose to about 0.33 in 2025 from about 0.22 in 2020, indicating repeat engagements with brands. The same ratio in non-metro markets fell to about 0.10 from about 0.37 over the same period.