Are We Building an Economy or Just Feeding Platforms?
A Creative Systems Essay Based on a Conversation with Ronald C. Pruett, Jr.
The creative economy is expanding.
More creators.
More platforms.
More tools.
More content moving across global systems.
From the outside, it feels like growth. And in many ways, it is.
But growth alone does not define an economy.
Beneath the expansion, a more structural question remains unresolved, one that sits at the center of a recent written conversation with Ronald C. Pruett, Jr.:
Is the creative economy actually functioning as an economy, or is it still a fragmented system of tools, platforms, and disconnected value chains?
The Platform’s Role in Value Creation
There is a tendency to assume that creativity itself is the primary driver of value in today’s system.
But that is only part of the picture.
In Pruett’s framing, platforms play a central, enabling role, particularly in how creative work is discovered, distributed, and monetised.
He points to a familiar example: YouTube.
Platforms like YouTube allow creative work to be found and consumed at scale, often with some form of payment attached. But this dynamic is not new. It mirrors an earlier system.
Before digital platforms, there was broadcast.
Television networks built the infrastructure.
They aggregated audiences.
They created environments where advertisers could reach those audiences at scale.
Content and talent were essential, but they operated within a broader system that was ultimately driven by advertising and, later, subscription revenues.
Today’s platforms extend that model.
They provide infrastructure.
They enable distribution.
They connect audiences and monetisation systems.
But importantly, they are not the entire economy. They are part of it.
And their role becomes more complex when we look at how value actually moves through the system.
An Economy That Isn’t Fully Circulating Yet
One of the most important distinctions Pruett makes is linguistic, but it reveals something deeper.
He suggests that what we often call the “creator economy” may be more accurately described, at this stage, as an “economy of creatives.”
That distinction matters.
A fully functioning economy implies circulation.
Participants transact with each other.
Value moves across multiple layers.
Ecosystems sustain themselves internally.
But that is not yet fully happening.
Creators are producing.
Platforms are distributing.
Advertisers and brands are funding much of the system.
But creators are not, at scale, transacting with each other in a way that creates a self-sustaining economic loop.
As Pruett puts it, the current system is still building toward something more integrated, something that does not yet fully exist.
Where the Money Actually Flows
Another structural gap becomes visible when you follow the money.
There is significant investment flowing into the broader ecosystem, particularly from venture capital.
But where that capital goes is revealing.
It is largely directed toward:
creator tools
advertising infrastructure
analytics and data platforms
In other words, systems built around creators.
But not necessarily into the creators themselves.
Pruett notes that the “trickle-down” effect of this investment, the portion that actually reaches creators directly, remains relatively small.
This creates a structural imbalance.
The ecosystem is expanding.
The tools are improving.
The infrastructure is becoming more sophisticated.
But the financial upside for most creators does not scale at the same rate.
Participation Is Not the Same as an Economy
One of the defining features of the current system is accessibility.
Anyone can create.
Anyone can publish.
Anyone can participate.
On the surface, this looks like democratisation.
And in many ways, it is.
But participation alone does not create an economy.
For an economy to function, there must be:
consistent value exchange
sustainable income pathways
interdependence between participants
That level of integration is still emerging.
Pruett is clear that what we are seeing today is not a finished system, but one that is still evolving toward something more cohesive.
The System Is Still Being Built
There is a tendency to interpret the current moment as maturity.
But Pruett’s perspective suggests something different.
The creative economy is not fully formed.
It is still in development.
The infrastructure exists in many areas.
The tools are advancing rapidly.
Distribution is more accessible than ever.
But the economic layer, how value is consistently created, shared, and sustained across participants, is still incomplete.
This is why the distinction between growth and structure matters.
Growth can happen without coordination.
Structure requires alignment.
And that alignment is still taking shape.
Africa and the Question of Access
This structural gap becomes even more visible in emerging markets.
Across Africa, creative output is growing rapidly.
Music, film, digital content, all expanding in reach and influence.
But the supporting systems remain uneven.
It is easy to frame this as a lack of infrastructure.
But Pruett introduces a more nuanced perspective.
In many cases, the issue is not that solutions do not exist.
It is that they are not accessible.
Not evenly distributed.
Or not yet adapted to local realities.
Which shifts the question.
Instead of asking what is missing, the more useful question becomes:
What can be built within existing constraints?
This reframing opens up a different kind of thinking, one focused not on replication of existing global systems, but on adaptation.
An Economy in Progress
At its core, this conversation is not an argument against platforms, or against the growth of the creative economy.
It is an attempt to describe the system more accurately.
Platforms enable discovery and distribution.
They play a critical role in how value is created and accessed.
But they do not, on their own, constitute a fully functioning economy.
That requires something more.
It requires:
value circulation between participants
sustainable monetisation pathways
broader access to infrastructure and capital
systems that allow creators to both earn and spend within the ecosystem
Those conditions are still developing.
The Open Question
The creative economy is expanding. That much is clear.
But expansion is not the same as completion.
The system is still being built.
The flows of value are still uneven.
The structures that define a true economy are still forming.
Which leaves the central question unresolved:
Are we building a fully functioning creative economy, or are we still in the early stages of something that looks like one, but has not yet become one?
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.