Access, Not Monetisation, Is the Real Problem in the Creative Economy
A Creative Systems Essay Based on a Conversation with Ronald C. Pruett, Jr., Managing Partner at The Boston Associates.
There’s a common assumption in the creator economy that the hardest part is making money.
That if monetisation tools were better, more accessible, or more evenly distributed, most of the system’s problems would be solved.
But when you look at how the system actually works, that diagnosis starts to feel incomplete.
Because in many cases, monetisation is not the first barrier.
Access is.
Access to distribution.
Access to audiences.
Access to systems that determine what gets seen, scaled, and sustained.
AI Didn’t Lower the Ceiling. It Lowered the Barrier to Entry
AI is often framed as a disruptive force in the creative economy.
But in practice, Ronald C. Pruett, Jr. sees it as part of a longer historical pattern.
“When I became active with Internet ventures in the mid-1990’s, the fear then was that old economic models… would be forever changed and disrupted.”
Every major technological shift has triggered the same anxiety.
Film disrupted theatre.
Television disrupted radio.
YouTube disrupted broadcast.
AI now enters that same lineage.
But the direction of impact is not simply destruction. It is enablement.
“As with the Internet, the goal is to see AI innovation as a tool to leverage not deny.”
The key shift is not just that production becomes easier.
It is that value increasingly depends on something harder to replicate:
A distinct point of view.
“Value will be built and enhanced when Creators use AI to shape a truly unique POV… that they, and only they represent.”
So AI expands creation.
But it does not automatically expand reach.
And it does not solve distribution.
More Content Doesn’t Fix the System
A common fear in the creative economy is that supply will overwhelm monetisation.
Too many creators.
Too much content.
Not enough money to go around.
But Pruett challenges that assumption directly.
“The ability to monetize is different from the capability to monetize. That functionality exists.”
In other words, monetisation systems are already there.
The issue is not whether money exists in the system.
It is who can access it.
“Supply won’t suffocate monetization.”
The real constraint sits elsewhere.
In how audiences are controlled, aggregated, and converted.
And in how visibility is allocated before monetisation even becomes possible.
Africa and the Access Problem in Plain Terms
Nowhere is this distinction clearer than in emerging markets.
In places like Africa, creative output is growing quickly.
But access to distribution systems and scalable monetisation pathways still lags behind.
The question, as Pruett frames it, is not just about infrastructure or capital.
It is about what creators can actually build within constraints.
“What product or services can be offered that take advantage of the limited availability of resources including distribution and capital?”
There is an intentional shift in language here.
Not limitation.
But positioning.
Creators, in his view, are not just operators.
They are entrepreneurs responding to market realities.
And that means working with what exists, not waiting for ideal conditions.
He points to formats like micro dramas as an example of how constrained systems can still produce scalable creative models.
Economic Maturity Requires More Than Visibility
There is a moment in every creative ecosystem where attention is not enough anymore.
Where being seen is not the same as being sustainable.
For Pruett, that moment is tied to something very specific:
Structure.
“Economic maturity is reached when true Creator superstars are made and reap the financial wins from their acclaim while at the same time building an ecosystem of sppliers and partners beneath them.”
In other words, maturity is not just about individual success.
It is about systems forming around success.
Ecosystems.
Value chains.
Support structures.
Without that, the system remains fragile, regardless of how much attention it generates.
The System Doesn’t Break Where People Expect
If the creator economy fails to address its structural gaps, the impact will not be evenly distributed.
But the first visible fracture is likely not where people assume.
“The lack of enough Creators making a living off of the digital economy will be the first, most visible gap.”
This is important.
Because it reframes the conversation away from platforms collapsing or institutional trust breaking first.
Platforms, in Pruett’s view, are structurally resilient.
They survive because they diversify across markets, geographies, and user bases.
Even when individual creators struggle, the system continues.
And creators, importantly, continue creating.
“Creators will continue to create because that is what they do.”
There is something intrinsic about creation itself that sustains participation, even when financial outcomes are uneven.
When Creation Becomes an Asset Class
The long-term question is not just about sustainability.
It is about structure.
Specifically, whether the creative economy can evolve into something investable in a deeper sense.
Pruett draws a comparison to existing creative markets:
Music catalogues.
Art markets.
Long-term value tied to intellectual property.
“Music… is an asset class. Art… is an asset class. They are transactional.”
These systems work because value can be tracked, priced, and exchanged over time.
The creator economy, in its current form, does not yet function this way at scale.
But that is the direction of evolution he points toward.
“When the Creator Economy has a sustainable model… then it will become its own standalone asset class.”
This is the structural gap beneath everything else.
Not visibility.
Not production.
But long-term value recognition.
So What Is the Real Problem?
It is tempting to say the creator economy has a monetisation problem.
But that is only partially true.
Monetisation exists.
Tools exist.
Platforms exist.
Audience demand exists.
The real limitation is access.
Access to distribution systems that determine visibility.
Access to audiences that determine scale.
Access to ownership structures that determine long-term value.
And until that changes, the system will continue to feel uneven.
Not because it is broken.
But because it is still incomplete.
Credits
This article is based on a written conversation with Ronald C. Pruett, Jr., Managing Partner at The Boston Associates. He advises consumer and creator economy brands globally, with a focus on how value is created, distributed, and captured across evolving media and platform ecosystems.
Written by Layo
Lead Editorial Writer, Creative Brief Africa
Outside of her editorial work, she writes Curious Health, a newsletter focused on everyday health questions, explored with clarity and care.