Rebuilding Creator Economy: P2P & Token Solutions

Over the past 15 years, video streaming has been fundamentally reshaped by recommender systems that prioritize engagement above all else. YouTube’s watch-time algorithm pioneered this model, Netflix refined it with big-data analytics to maximize binge-watching, and TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts perfected it by capturing every micro-interaction as inputs to optimize retention. This precision comes at a significant cost: algorithms now actively mold user preferences through repeated exposure and reward cycles that condition viewing habits, favoring sensational hooks over nuanced storytelling.

For creators, the algorithm acts as an opaque gatekeeper where success depends less on originality and more on conforming to hidden signals like hook length, posting cadence, and retention thresholds. The pressure to ‘play the feed’ has led to widespread burnout, with a 2022 Awin/ShareASale Creator Burnout Report finding that 72% of creators experienced burnout directly tied to algorithmic demands—a figure that has been echoed in 2024 updates from MarTechEdge. Respondents reported losing joy in creation, adopting formulaic content strategies, and experiencing declining well-being as they chase algorithmic approval.

The economic impact is equally stark, with large studios armed with IP-driven franchises dominating platform distribution while mid-tier creators struggle for visibility. The system rewards quantity over quality, creating a homogenized content landscape that leaves little room for creative experimentation or authentic storytelling.

The next major stress test for the creator economy comes from generative AI, which can mass-produce synthetic video, audio, and imagery at near-zero cost. Analysts at WIRED warn that this volume of AI-generated content—often described as ‘slop’—risks drowning out human creators in an already crowded digital landscape. The threat is twofold: creators lose visibility while audiences face a collapsing signal-to-noise ratio that makes meaningful content discovery increasingly difficult.

Regulators are taking notice of these developments. The EU AI Act introduces transparency and watermarking requirements for synthetic content, forcing platforms to address the proliferation of AI-generated material. Meanwhile, platforms like TikTok and YouTube face growing scrutiny over their recommendation systems, with the debate around TikTok divestiture in the U.S. underscoring how algorithmic distribution has become both a geopolitical issue and a cultural battleground.

The solution to these systemic challenges lies in rebuilding the foundational infrastructure of content distribution and monetization. By combining peer-to-peer infrastructure with tokenized incentives, platforms can shift from optimizing for retention to prioritizing creator ownership and resilience. Distribution is already being reimagined through decentralized protocols like Livepeer, which reduce reliance on centralized servers and feeds by enabling community-run nodes to handle video compute, thereby eliminating the opaque ranking systems that dictate visibility on traditional platforms.

Monetization is undergoing a similar transformation on platforms such as Audius, where artists receive direct fan-to-artist payouts through token incentives that align compensation with genuine community engagement rather than ad-driven watch time. This approach creates more sustainable revenue models that reward quality over quantity. Governance also evolves in decentralized systems through token-weighted voting and community curation, giving audiences an active role in shaping content discovery and moderation while transferring power from unilateral platform decisions to shared governance.

Flixxo, launched in Argentina in 2016, illustrates how this model can extend to token-gated releases. Its Ticket 3.0 NFT enabled community-funded access to the film ‘Bull Run,’ demonstrating that new funding models are possible though scalability, onboarding, and regulatory clarity remain challenges for Web3 streaming platforms seeking mainstream adoption.

The future of the creator economy hinges on whether we continue optimizing for short-term engagement or rebuild systems that prioritize ownership and creative depth. If distribution and revenue primitives remain centralized, creators will keep fixing for feed instead of creating for people. However, by decentralizing the underlying infrastructure, creators can reclaim autonomy, audiences can discover content beyond algorithmic constraints, and storytelling can regain its cultural significance.

As Adrián Garelik, CEO and Co-Founder of Flixxoo, argues, the last decade was about engineering engagement—the next must be about engineering ownership. The combination of peer-to-peer distribution, transparent tokenized economics, and community governance offers a viable path forward for a creator economy currently strained by algorithmic demands and threatened by AI-generated content proliferation.