The Ownership Economy: From Influencer to Founder

The era of the lifestyle influencer, once defined by glossy Instagram aesthetics and aspirational brand partnerships, is coming to an end. In its place, a new model is emerging, one that redefines value, control, and sustainability for creators: the ownership economy.

The creator economy gained popularity by allowing individuals to monetize their talents and personalities on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. In this system, creators build audiences and generate income through brand deals, ad revenue, and platform-based monetization tools. However, they remain dependent on algorithms, fluctuating engagement rates, and third-party control over their content distribution.

In contrast, the ownership economy gives creators direct control and equity over the value they produce. It represents a shift from renting digital space on platforms to actually owning the underlying assets, whether it's content, data, communities, or revenue streams. As Andrew Christian Davis notes, this system allows creators and consumers to "collectively produce, distribute, monetize, and own digital assets within digital communities."

The Ownership Economy: Why the Shift to Ownership Matters Now

Several factors are accelerating this change:

• Algorithm fatigue: Creators are exhausted from constantly chasing trends to stay visible on social platforms.

• Decreasing ROI for brands: Companies are reducing one-off influencer campaigns and instead seeking long-term, authentic community engagement.

• Monetization limitations: Ad revenue and sponsored content are unreliable and platform-dependent.

• Community-led growth: Decentralized models and niche digital communities are gaining traction through Web3 tools and token-based ecosystems.

Real Ownership, Real Stakes

In the ownership economy, creators become entrepreneurs. They launch their own brands, monetize their intellectual property, and build communities where both they and their audiences have a stake. This model utilizes technologies like blockchain to enable content tokenomics, enabling creators to issue social tokens or NFTs that fans can purchase, trade, or earn. Rather than being passive followers, audiences become co-owners and co-builders.

"Consumers, creators and employees aren't just participating anymore. They expect and deserve to own a piece of what they help build." - Thai Randolph, former CEO of Kevin Hart's Hartbeat

Implications for Social Media-First Creators: From Likes to Equity

For creators who built their careers within the confines of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, the rise of the ownership economy is both a wake-up call and a golden opportunity.

The Risks of Staying Platform-Dependent

Social media-first creators face increasing instability:

• Algorithm unpredictability: A viral hit today can be invisible tomorrow; creators are at the mercy of platform logic they don't control.

• Monetization bottlenecks: Ad revenue fluctuates, and brand deals are becoming more selective. Sponsored posts no longer pay like they used to.

• Platform risk: From shadow banning to demonetization, creators can lose income streams overnight.

These are not just inconveniences; they are existential threats to careers built on rented digital land.

The Opportunity: Own Your Audience, Not Just Your Aesthetic

The ownership economy flips this script. Instead of being just content producers, creators become business owners. They no longer rely on platforms to grant them reach; they build ecosystems where they own the platform, the audience, and the value generated.

Here's how creators can embrace this shift:

1. Build and Monetize a Community, Not Just a Following

• Traditional model: Post to grow reach → monetize via ads or sponsors

• Ownership model: Grow a community → monetize through shared ownership

Example: Platforms like Rally and Mirror.xyz allow creators to launch their own social tokens or memberships. Creators can offer exclusive content, voting rights on creative decisions, or early access to drops in exchange for token ownership. These tokens can appreciate in value and provide genuine community investment.

Action step: Transition followers from Instagram into a token-gated Discord community where your superfans co-own benefits with you.

2. Tokenize Creative Work

NFTs and digital collectibles are not just hype; they represent a new form of intellectual property ownership and revenue generation.

Example: Audius enables musicians to publish music directly to their fans and earn cryptocurrency every time it's streamed. Unlike Spotify, the value stays with the artist and their audience.

Action step: Visual creators can launch limited-edition artwork or "digital passes" as NFTs, granting holders exclusive benefits such as one-on-one mentorship calls, early access to merchandise, or lifetime discounts.

3. Launch Products You (and Your Fans) Own

Why sell someone else's products when you can launch your own, backed by your community?

Example: Creators like Ali Abdaal and Mark Tilbury moved from YouTube ad revenue to launching courses, productivity tools, and private communities where they control pricing, access, and user data.

Ownership layer: Imagine launching a product where early supporters own equity or earn rewards via token distribution. That's what Web3-native brands like Friends With Benefits are doing: blending community, commerce, and culture with shared ownership.

Action step: Use platforms like Gumroad or Zora to launch co-owned products with your most loyal followers.

4. Form or Join a DAO

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) offer creators a way to co-create and govern with their audience.

Example: Songcamp is a music collective DAO where artists collaborate on tracks, share revenue via smart contracts, and vote on creative direction.

Action step: Partner with other creators to launch a DAO around a shared theme, like sustainability, wellness, or streetwear. Invite your community to help shape its roadmap and share in its success.

The Shift: From Brand Collaborators to Brand Owners

In the ownership economy, social media-first creators can still utilize traditional platforms, but not as their primary goal. Instagram becomes a funnel, not a business. YouTube becomes a showcase, not a primary source of income. The real power lies in:

• Owning your audience relationship

• Owning your data

• Owning your creative output

• Owning your revenue streams

  
  

Owning Your Audience Relationship

This concept refers to having a direct, unmediated line of communication with your followers rather than relying on a third-party platform to facilitate that connection. On traditional social media, your access to your audience is contingent on the platform's algorithms, policies, and existence. Owning the relationship means having the ability to reach your audience without needing to pay for ads or fear being "shadow-banned" or demonetized. Here are some examples:

• Email List: Building an email list (as discussed in the supplement) is the quintessential example. You directly control who receives your messages and when. If Instagram shuts down tomorrow, you still have your email subscribers.

• Token-gated Communities: Instead of a public Discord server open to anyone, a creator might establish a Discord server where only holders of their specific social token or NFT can gain access. This creates a highly engaged, curated community whose access is tied to a digital asset you control.

• Direct Messaging Apps (with caution): While platforms like Telegram or WhatsApp offer direct messaging, they still operate under a third party. However, if a creator builds a strong following on these, they have more direct access than relying on a feed algorithm. The "ownership" comes from cultivating direct communication, not just posting.

  
  

Owning Your Data

In the traditional creator economy, platforms collect vast amounts of data on your audience: their demographics, engagement patterns, content preferences, and even their purchase history. The platform often uses this data for its own purposes (e.g., targeted advertising, optimizing its algorithms) and is rarely fully accessible or portable for the creator. Owning your data means having direct access to, control over, and the ability to export and utilize insights about your audience without platform restrictions. Here are some examples:

• Self-hosted Analytics: If you run your own website or blog, you can use tools like Google Analytics (or privacy-focused alternatives) to gather detailed data on visitors, their behaviour, and traffic sources. This data is yours to analyze and act upon.

• First-Party Transaction Data: When you sell products directly from your own e-commerce store (e.g., Shopify, Gumroad) instead of through a platform marketplace, you collect the customer's purchase history, contact information, and preferences. This data is invaluable for understanding your customers and creating targeted future offerings.

• Blockchain-based Community Data: In Web3, if you run a DAO or a token-gated community, the data on who holds your tokens, their participation in governance, and their on-chain activity is transparent and owned by the community, not a centralized platform.

  
  

Owning Your Creative Output

This refers to having full intellectual property rights, control over distribution, and the ability to monetize your creative work without the limitations or revenue splits imposed by centralized platforms. It's about moving beyond licensing your content to a platform and instead directly controlling its value and how it's shared. Here are some examples:

• Minting NFTs: A digital artist mints their artwork as an NFT on a blockchain. They retain the copyright, but the NFT acts as a verifiable certificate of ownership for a specific digital item. They control the scarcity of initial sale prices and can even earn royalties on future resales without needing a gallery or platform intermediary.

• Self-Publishing Music/Books: Musicians using platforms like Audius (a blockchain-based platform) or Bandcamp (an independent platform) can directly upload their music and set their own prices, retaining a significantly larger share of revenue than traditional streaming services. Authors self-publish e-books or print books directly through platforms like Amazon KDP (with careful rights management) or their own website to maintain more control over their content and earnings.

• Open Source/Creative Commons Licensing: While not directly revenue-generating in all cases, a creator can release their code, designs, or educational materials under an open-source or Creative Commons license, explicitly defining how their work can be used and ensuring they retain fundamental ownership rights.

  
  

Owning Your Revenue Streams

This concept means having direct control over how you earn money from your creative work, minimizing reliance on platform-specific monetization tools (like ad revenue shares) and reducing the cuts taken by intermediaries. It's about building diversified income streams that you directly manage. Here are some examples:

• Direct Subscriptions/Memberships: A podcaster uses a platform like Patreon or Substack to offer premium content directly to subscribers who pay a monthly fee. While these platforms facilitate payment, the creator sets the pricing and content strategy, and the revenue split is often more favourable than ad-based models.

• Selling Digital Products Directly: A fitness influencer sells their own workout guides, meal plans, or online courses through their personal website using a payment processor like Stripe rather than relying on a marketplace that takes a significant percentage.

• Social Tokens and DeFi: A creator issues their own social token. Fans buy this token, which may grant them access to exclusive content or voting rights. The creator directly benefits from the demand for their token, and holders can potentially earn interest or participate in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols associated with the token. The revenue stream is directly tied to the value of the creator's ecosystem rather than ad impressions or brand deals.

Those who embrace this shift will move from chasing likes to building a lasting legacy. The ownership economy is not just a trend; it's a fundamental change in how value is created and shared in digital spaces. For creators and influencers, it's time to stop chasing reach and start building ownership. The lifestyle influencer might be fading, but the era of the creator-founder is only beginning.

Those who embrace this shift will move from chasing likes to building a lasting legacy.

The ownership economy is not just a trend; it represents a fundamental shift in how value is created and shared in digital spaces. For creators and influencers, it's time to stop chasing reach and start building ownership.

The lifestyle influencer might be fading, but the era of the creator-founder is only beginning.

Email Marketing: The Creator's Direct Line to Ownership

While the ownership economy emphasizes decentralized platforms and Web3 tools, a traditional yet powerful tool remains indispensable for creators seeking true audience ownership: email marketing. In an era of unpredictable algorithms and platform dependence, an email list serves as a direct, unmediated channel to your most engaged followers, offering a crucial bridge to the principles of the ownership economy.

Here's how email marketing empowers content creators in this new landscape:

1. Owning the Audience Relationship

Unlike social media followers, whose access is controlled by platform algorithms, an email subscriber is someone who has explicitly opted in to receive direct communication from you. This creates a proprietary channel where you control the messaging, delivery, and frequency. You're not renting space; you own the direct line to your audience. This direct access is vital for:

• Building deeper connections: Email allows for more in-depth, personalized communication than short social media posts. You can share behind-the-scenes insights, personal stories, and exclusive content that fosters a stronger sense of community and loyalty.

• Segmenting your audience: Email marketing platforms enable you to segment your subscribers based on their interests, engagement levels, or past purchases. This allows you to tailor your content and offers to specific groups, making your communication more relevant and effective.

• Reducing platform risk: If a social media platform changes its policies, experiences an outage, or even disappears, your email list remains intact. It's an asset you control, safeguarding your ability to communicate with your community regardless of external factors.

2. Driving Direct Monetization and Ownership Initiatives

Email marketing is a powerful tool for directly monetizing your creations and facilitating participation in ownership economy initiatives.

• Selling your own products: Whether you're launching a course, selling merchandise, or promoting a premium subscription, email is the most effective channel for direct sales. You can craft compelling narratives, offer exclusive discounts, and guide subscribers through the purchasing process without platform intermediaries taking a cut.

• Promoting tokenized assets: When you launch social tokens or NFTs, email marketing can be used to educate your audience, announce new drops, explain the benefits of ownership, and provide direct links for purchase or participation. It's a key communication channel for onboarding your community into your tokenized ecosystem.

• Building membership models: For creators transitioning to subscription or community-based models (such as token-gated Discord communities), email can be utilized to convey the value proposition, manage sign-ups, and deliver exclusive content to members.

  
  

3. Fostering Community and Collaboration

Email can play a central role in cultivating the community aspect of the ownership economy.

• Announcing community initiatives: Use email to invite subscribers to participate in DAOs, vote on creative decisions, or join exclusive community events.

• Sharing community highlights: Feature user-generated content, spotlight active community members, or share success stories that reinforce the shared ownership ethos.

• Gathering feedback and insights: Email surveys and direct replies allow you to gather valuable feedback from your audience, involving them in the creation process and making them feel like co-builders.

The Unsung Hero of Creator Ownership

While the spotlight often shines on emerging Web3 technologies in the ownership economy, email marketing remains a foundational and essential layer. It provides a direct, owned channel that allows creators to build genuine relationships, drive direct monetization, and effectively onboard their audience into new ownership models. For any creator serious about moving from mere influence to true ownership, a robust email strategy is not just a nice-to-have – it's a strategic imperative.