Hyderabad: India’s creator economy has reached an important inflection point and moved decisively beyond metropolitan centres, with non-metro creators now accounting for 66% of the country’s creator base, according to a study conducted by the Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy (SRITNE) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) and HashFame.According to the report ‘Understanding the Canvas of India’s Creator Economy’, the number of creators in India rose from about 9.6 lakh in 2020 to over 41 lakh in 2025, marking more than fourfold growth.The study, which was based on data from the Qoruz Creator Intelligence Platform and other official datasets, found that creator growth outside metros increased 6.4 times during the period, compared with 2.6 times in metro markets.Also, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra together account for nearly a quarter of India’s creators, while Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat show creator participation above their population share, pointing to the rise of regional creator ecosystems rather than merely slower growth in big cities.While Hindi accounts for 42% of India’s creator base, regional languages collectively form the majority, as per the report.The report says that audience engagement has also strengthened, with average engagement rates rising from 1.8% in 2020 to 7.2% in 2025, even as the creator base expanded sharply. Brands have followed the shift, with annual creator campaigns increasing from about 14,000 to 42,000 and average campaign spending rising 3.6 times.However, the report warns that earnings remain uneven. Non-metro creators participating in brand campaigns grew from about 38,000 to more than 408,000, but most creators still do only one paid campaign a year.Madhu Viswanathan, associate professor of marketing and executive director of SRITNE, ISB, said the next phase will depend on improving creator productivity, stronger creator-brand relationships and durable economic opportunities.According to Hashfame’s co-founder and head of product, Anirudh Sridharan, creators are becoming an integral part of how brands reach consumers across India. As the ecosystem expands beyond metropolitan markets, businesses increasingly need to think beyond one-off influencer campaigns and build long-term partnerships with creators who have earned trust within their communities.
