Opinion & Perspective
We Built the Culture. The Influencer Industry Refuses to Pay for It.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic creators are the core of the UK's £2.4bn influencer economy — yet a documented pay penalty, algorithmic suppression and now AI-generated lookalikes keep extracting their value without paying for it.
BAME creators sit at the core of the UK's £2.4bn influencer economy yet face a documented 44.63% pay penalty, algorithmic suppression and, increasingly, AI-generated lookalikes that copy their aesthetics without compensation. Closing these gaps requires legal reform — and pressure from the communities that built the culture in the first place.
About the author
Anandhikrishna G K is a PhD Researcher at Newcastle University Business School (MRes, MSc), examining racialised pay gaps and structural bias in the UK creator economy.
