Isabella Ubaldi is an optimistic nihilist and writer/copywriter with a background in advertising. She likes to write about the human condition: be it emerging cultural movements, the psychology of grief or uncovering scientific advancements in biohacking.

If you haven’t heard the term the passion economy, 2021 will be the year you can’t escape from it. Simply put, it comprises a series of online community platforms that provide a space for people to connect over niche interests. In January 2020, Adam Davidson, co-founder and co-host of NPR’s 

, a book that explores how the 21st-century economic paradigm is forging new pathways for people to make money and achieve professional fulfillment. “If you think of the development of the modern corporation, the modern job, and the modern career path, lots of signals tell people to get rid of things that are unlike the requirements of being a worker in this field and to adopt these external metrics instead,” says Davidson. “A tonne of literature talks about suppressing your nature for the sake of your work. This [new] economy rewards or can reward the opposite – that you can look inward and find or develop those things that drive you forward, and specifically those things that make you different from other people.” 

, the leading online streaming platform for gamers, 

, which has a stake in online sex work and is tightening the celebrity-fan relationship, and 

, which is a popular platform for independent writing. But Patreon, founded in 2013, is perhaps at the forefront of the passion economy. With a mission to help creators build meaningful relationships with their fans, it has over six million monthly active patrons, more than 200,000 creators, and has paid out more than $2 billion to its creators. 

 A subscription-style payment model underpins each of these platforms, with community members paying their favourite creators a monthly amount in exchange for exclusive access, content, and insight into their journey.

The passion economy differs from the gig economy in that it allows people to take control of their workflow, rather than pitching and waiting for a job to land. Mass appeal drives profit. Benji Vaughan is CEO and founder of Disciple Media, a community platform leading the UK in this emerging space. “We had hundreds of thousands fans and we didn’t know what to do with it,” Vaughan says. “The bigger it gets, the less value it becomes. It felt like our audience was passionate about what we did, and they had that interest in terms of the label and the artists. But more importantly, they had an interest in that kind of culture that we were leaders of – that they could be a part of.” 

 So how is this sort of symbiosis disrupting social media, redesigning influencer marketing, and monetising hobbies?

Between the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the popularity of Netflix’s 

, and the sheer amount of low-quality content littering newsfeeds, people are starting to pay attention to where they put their attention. The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer highlights that global trust in social media is down three points year-on-year on a nine-point scale. When respondents were asked how much they’d trust each type of source for general news and information, social media lagged behind search engines, traditional media, and owned media for respondents across all continents. 

 “The Cambridge Analytica scandal was a fairly intellectual problem to do with data,” says Vaughan. “But it did raise the alarm bells and made people think. That’s when we really saw our business start to take off.” 

In 2020, 50% of Britons said they’d join a new social platform or app dedicated to one of their passions. 

 Indeed, heavy hitters like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook hold space for niche communities, however, what these communities offer is a chance to capitalise on your creativity rather than wait for sponsorship. It drives direct engagement with the creator and allows for intimacy at scale. Photographer Emma Davies has 

 and has been managing her online community, ‘A Year With My Camera’, since mid-2019. “I started looking for an alternative to traditional social media a few years ago when I thought Facebook was getting too bloated and intrusive to be viable long-term,“ says Davies. “It’s also rare to find anyone under the age of 40 on there – where are their next generation of users going to come from?” Davies wanted to be ready with an alternative in case it imploded, so tried a couple of platforms and did a soft launch with Disciple in 2019. “This year was a turning point – when Black Lives Matter happened and Facebook continued to host hate speech. It was the signal for me to move my community off Facebook and onto my app (I had been running them separately).” 

A different social business model heralds a different type of influencer. While the attention economy chases eyeballs and rewards mass followings, the passion economy invites a new type of creator who repays with engagement and the opportunity for an unfiltered voice. “On Instagram and Facebook I have an audience: they listen to what I say but probably won’t notice if I stop posting,” says Davies. “The community in my Disciple app will keep going even if I don’t post anything – they’ll share photos, chat, ask questions, and help each other out. They belong to and care about the community.” 

 Another success story is Emily Atkin’s 

, a newsletter that delivers climate science and politics stories to subscribers’ inboxes every morning. For $8 per month (or $75 a year), thousands of members get to read the type of reporting Atkin believed traditional media outlets were failing to deliver. 

 Since its launch in 2019, it’s been called “confrontational”, “deeply reported”, and a “must-read” by 

Community media platform Disciple has seen growth during the pandemic

COVID-19 is transforming jobs and challenging industries

The global economic storm of the pandemic has driven job loss, challenged industries, and continues to transform employment. In March 2020, the International Labour Organization projected unemployment rates will rise by a range of 5.3 million and 24.7 million. This is starting from a base of 188 million, with crucial factors dependent on the collective global response. 

 Millions of Americans experienced temporary layoffs, and 42% of those will result in permanent job loss. 

 These financial strains will no doubt act as a catalyst for people to find new online revenue streams to supplement income and stay afloat. And it’s already happening. In April 2020, Only Fans reported a 75% increase in monthly sign-ups. 

And according to Vaughan, Disciple has grown 180% in 2020. “It’s had a pretty profound impact,” he says.

Indeed, data from multiple sources indicates lockdowns have encouraged the exploration of creative pursuits. Handmade marketplace, Etsy, saw revenue double from 2019 to 2020. Meanwhile, on Shopify, the number of new businesses between April and June 2020 increased by 71% year-on-year. 

 Indeed, 22% of Britons took up a pastime during lockdown and 35% rediscovered one. 

 An overall mindset shift towards hustle culture and a desire to work independently is only likely to grow.

The number of independent workers in American businesses grew 15% from 2010 to 2019. 

 The annual ‘Freelancing in America’ report, which surveyed more than 6,000 workers, found that 53% of Gen Zers freelanced. 

 Organisations that can offer empathy, support, and education to independent workers can help facilitate the changing job landscape. The 

 is a non-profit co-working space that supports freelancers by offering free tax and legal advice. It was created as a partnership program between the City of New York and the Freelancers Union. On a tech level, apps such as 

 help freelancers find co-working spaces and stay on top of administrative tasks, such as drawing up contracts, proposals, tracking invoices, and reports.

The passion economy engages audiences and challenges the influencer model

Shifting attitudes towards work and money

What’s clear is that people have been concerned about job satisfaction and striking the right work/life balance both before and during the pandemic. Before the virus struck, 82% of American employees wanted to work from home at least one day a week. 

And, even in 2018, almost a third of Australian freelancers said they’d need to be offered more than $100,000 to return to full-time work. 

 The mentality of finding meaning within work is also represented in the types of work that people are chasing. In Australia, 44% of people spent time learning online and upskilling themselves during lockdowns. 

Wider access to information, support, and communities points to the trend of pursuing hobbies for cash. It’s met with a consumer sentiment that supports independent experts and creators. Take artisanal bread, for example. The global Artisan Bakery Market will be worth $4.5 billion by the end of 2024 and is expected to grow by 4.1% between 2019 and 2024. 

 While it remains a hands-on hobby for some, ‘sourdough bread’ was 

 third-most- popular recipe search in 2020 – it’s become a career pivot for many others. Between 2016 and 2018, the UK saw a 48% increase in the number of independent bakeries opening. 

 As the pandemic causes people to reflect on their work-life balance, more flexible workplaces for employees, and messaging that taps into pursuing interests and passions could chime with the workforce.

People are seeking a more personalised experience from brands

The democratisation of social media is not a shortcut to success

The passion economy, while exciting, isn’t the knight in shining armour for all job loss. “You still need a solid business underlying the platform and I think there’s a touch of idealism in the passion economy backlash against traditional social media… to turn a profit you’ll need to do some of the things that drove people away from Facebook in the first place – sell to them,” says Davies. “I think the answer is in transparency. Be upfront and don’t try to hide what you are doing.” 

 There’s an opportunity here for brands to use these platforms to educate. The passion economy is neither a quick fix for work-life balance problems nor will it necessarily teach people how to make it on their own. But the brands on the platform just might. The success of online toolkit 

 illustrates this. The site provides women with financial information, networking opportunities, and access to professionals. In turn, users are educated, empowered, and one step closer to a solution towards closing the gap. Creating communities around education and support not only adds value but has the opportunity to shift societal attitudes.

The breadth of communities that make up the passion economy demands brands drill down to a target market and understand them on a hyper-specific level. “A lot of businesses come to us on the complete opposite side of the passion economy,” says Vaughan. “Banks that want to build networks with their customers around certain kinds of demographics. They believe if they can network their customers together, there’s value to be had. If they can bring a group of people together, it’s a kind of micro Linkedin that they’re trying to build around a very defined sort of customer.” 

 This offers a chance for the consumer to not only be better understood but to be known. Being able to provide tailored help to people is a significant driver of offering tangible value, and, with 88% of people globally reporting not receiving this tailored help, there’s a huge opportunity for brands to create communities for effective personalisation. 

 It could also pay off, since 80% of consumers are more likely to do business or purchase from brands offering personalised experiences. 

“The passion economy is not about garnering as much attention as you possibly can to sell that attention to other people,” says Vaughan. “It’s about building a core audience of people who love what you do, and who are willing to exchange real money to be part of something important in their lives. It’s about bringing meaning, not sucking up time. And the creators who are ideally suited for the attention economy are not your typical influencer of today.” 

They come with their own set of metrics that range from converting free fans to paying subscribers to monthly recurring revenue (MRR). 

 Brands can collaborate, co-build, or help facilitate the continuation of more content by encouraging the passions of those who can influence others. Nikon is already tapping into this, promoting the ‘next generation of storytellers’ through its 

. Over 100 days, the camera company selects up-and-coming photographers worthy of exposure. Crucially, being able to determine the difference between the influencer and the creator, and learning how to tap into each, as well as maintaining their voice, will enable brands to ease into the shifting social landscape.

Benji Vaughan is an electronic musician and label owner, recording under the aliases Prometheus and Younger Brother. He is also the founder of Disciple Media, a community media platform.

Emma Davies is a commercial and fine art flower photographer and photography instructor. She is the author of number-one Amazon bestselling beginners’ photography workbooks, A Year With My Camera. She hosts an online community of the same name on Disciple.

Global

Behavioural Scientist

Patreon About

Interview with Benji Vaughan conducted by the author

Edelman Trust Barometer

Passion Index Report

Interview with Emma Davies conducted by the author

The Write Life

Heated

International Labour Organization

National Bureau of Economic Research

Canvas8

CNBC

The Healthy Work Company

ADP Research

Slideshare

Expert 360

Yahoo Finance

Market Research Future

Simply Business

Gartner

Epsilon

A16Z

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