The creator economy is no stranger to innovation.
Creators tens of thousands of miles apart from each other – from their opposite ends of the globe – can collaborate in real-time on projects, connect using any number of apps and devices, streamline their marketing efforts together, and achieve global reach with their work.
So how have massive verticals like the music industry and creator economy not yet figured out global payments for creators?
It turns out they simply didn’t have the right payments solution — until now.
Continue reading as we look at the payments infrastructure that is currently in place and unpack the tools creators and businesses alike can use to simplify real-time payments, empowering creators across the world to continue doing what they do best: Creating amazing work.
How are Creators Currently Getting Paid — and Paying Each Other?
The fintech industry has taken significant strides in making online payments quicker and easier. Peer-to-peer payment solutions like Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App allow creators to send instant payment to their collaborators.
Where things get hairy, however, is in setting the split terms:
Say two creators collaborate on a social media campaign, or multiple artists, songwriters, musicians, and producers collaborate on an album. Each player in that equation is compensated based on a certain percentage that’s mutually agreed upon beforehand. That requires one of the creators, a manager, an admin, or someone to be responsible for noting those split terms, keeping track of project completion, manually calculating the split based on revenue earned, then completing money transfers to payees.
It’s a lot to keep track of, and the music industry and creator economy are still handling these payments manually. And, as with any case of human error, cash flow can be hindered if the responsible payer doesn’t make accurate or timely payments.
Needless to say, there needs to be a better solution for creators.
Better Payment Solutions for Creators: What Features and Functions Do They Need?
Faster, smoother cross-border payments won’t just help creators — the use cases span to other verticals or industries where collaboration is core to what they do. These features will enable those payments to happen:
Defined Clear Splits
Establishing clearly stated terms of split payments will prevent misunderstandings. The perfect solution won’t just note the split each collaborator is receiving and how and when they accept payment — it will complete the payout automatically.
Automated Revenue Collection
Personalized Payout Options
How creators prefer to get paid varies by person to person and country to country. The perfect payment solution for creators will allow a creator to get paid to their personal preference, in their preferred payment method, in their local currencies. These payment methods include:
- Bank transfers via payment rails like ACH
- Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Via a debit or credit card (including Visa or Mastercard)
- Cryptocurrencies
- Via payment networks like Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, or PayPal
Regulated Compliance
There are different countries with different laws when it comes to cross-border payments and their respective financial institutions. These look different in every country, from the US to Singapore to Africa, Europe, Asia, and beyond.
It is important to know and comply with their rules, as not all noncompliance issues are worth the legal hassle. The right payment platforms will help, as they usually handle compliance on your behalf. The evolving business industry has raised the requirement of safe and effective cross-border payment solutions.
Now that it’s been established what’s needed in a better cross-border payment solution for creators, what will the implications of having a better solution be? Keep reading to learn more.
What Will a Better Payment Solution for Creators Actually Help Solve?
Expanding Global Business
The world of e-commerce and the digital economy have significantly pushed creators to expand their footprints — and businesses — worldwide. International payments allow business organizations to pay creators and collaborators at global scale.
Enabling Financial Inclusion
Global payments have made a great impact on enabling financial inclusion. This has helped businesses and individuals in underserved regions access financial services like never before. As a result of this, the people of these regions can participate in the global economy.
Converting Currency & Smoother Exchange Rates
The current payment solutions on the market aren’t always equipped to know exchange rates and currency conversion. These have major impact on the value of cross-border transactions. The right tools reduce the cost and optimize the worth of international payments.
Connect Creators and Collaborators
Creators are business owners, and collaborating with others is part of their day-to-day. Having a solution that connects the creators to their global revenue streams requires a strong payout infrastructure. These payout systems help in maintaining transactions in different currencies, making timely payouts, and accommodating distinct payment methods across different countries.
Security and Risk Mitigation
The perfect payment solution for creators puts the power back into their hands, allowing them to own their remittances and secure their transactions. In fact, sensitive information like bank account details are secure behind two-factor authentication (2FA) and can be hidden to payers and other payees.
With the help of a secure payment experience, creators can unlock new growth opportunities, strengthen global partnerships and provide an enhanced customer experience.
Introducing a Truly Global Payment Solution for Creators: mozaic
Born from decades of music industry experience, mozaic is the first global split payment platform for creators.
mozaic combines all of the necessary features creators need to pay their collaborators and get paid for their work. We’re a multi-currency solution that makes even the most complex split payments simple and, coming soon, mozaic will have the first white-label API for businesses to complete split payment processing at global scale, and automation will change the way creators pay and get paid.
Simplifying international payments is necessary for content creators who are looking to reach and monetize a global audience. With mozaic, creators can spend more time doing what they do best — creating — and less on logistical challenges around paying & getting paid.
Click here to learn more about mozaic.