Selling Pickaxes in a Digital World
Think about it. During the California Gold Rush, the people who reliably got rich weren't the prospectors, it was the merchants who sold them supplies. The same principle applies today. The foundational infrastructure of the creator economy is provided by a handful of global tech titans.
Take Alphabet, for instance. Its platform, YouTube, is the grand stage where these Brazilian creators perform and, crucially, get paid. Every advert viewed, every sponsored video, funnels revenue through Google’s systems. Then you have Meta. Its platforms, Instagram and Facebook, are the bustling town squares where creators build their following and engage with their audience. They are indispensable tools for brand building.
And what about the actual creative work? That’s where a company like Adobe comes in. Its Creative Cloud suite, with tools like Premiere Pro and Photoshop, is the digital equivalent of a Hollywood studio. It’s what separates the amateurs from the professionals. As Brazilian creators get more serious, they inevitably upgrade from free apps to these industry-standard subscription services, creating a lovely, predictable stream of revenue for Adobe.