Content creators earn income from digital content via:
Direct transactions with consumers e.g. subscriptions, content sales
Patronage relationships with consumers e.g. donations via Patreon, crowdfunding campaigns
Ad-stream revenue from aggregators e.g. YouTube, Twitch
Sales of content to aggregators e.g. Netflix
Revenue from sales and royalties e.g. Spotify, Apple Music
Revenue from downstream licensing e.g. music in games
Digital sales of in-person and digital live experiences and merchandise
These methods each have pros and cons. For example, placing content on an aggregator like YouTube has low barriers to entry, but makes content creators vulnerable to changes in company policy (e.g. the YouTube ‘Adpocalypse’).
Direct transactions with consumers mean greater proportions of each sale goes directly to the creator, and are not vulnerable to aggregator policy changes. However, it can be difficult to create a large enough online community to earn revenue. One way is to first uses the tools of the aggregators to build an audience, then convert a proportion of users to direct consumers.
Revenue from digital uses of content can depend on the ability of rights management societies to manage micro-transactions and background music rights.