UNESCO Warns Generative AI Could Slash Creators' Revenues by 2028-Policy Isn't Keeping Up

Generative AI Is Squeezing Creators: What the New UNESCO Report Means-and What to Do Now

A new UNESCO report sends a clear signal: without action, creators lose big. By 2028, music creators could see revenues drop 24%, and audiovisual creators 21%, as AI-generated tracks, films, and visuals flood the market and compete head-to-head with human work.

The data spans 120+ countries. Policy is lagging, inequality is widening, and the platforms setting the rules benefit most. Digital now makes up 35% of creators' income (up from 17% in 2018), but that growth comes with unstable earnings, murky IP, and winner-takes-most algorithms.

What's inside the UNESCO findings

• Projected losses: 24% for music creators and 21% for audiovisual creators by 2028 due to AI output saturating markets.
• Digital shift: 35% of creator income is digital-double 2018-yet volatility and platform dependency have increased.
• Mixed signals: Global trade in cultural goods doubled to US$254B in 2023, while public funding for culture sits under 0.6% of GDP.
• System risks: Weak safety nets, a persistent digital divide, and rising threats to artistic freedom.

The report, Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity (2026 edition), offers a blueprint with 8,100+ policy measures from countries party to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. It urges governments to prioritize culture, protect livelihoods, and improve mobility and market access for artists.

Read more from UNESCO: Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity and the 2005 Convention.

If you're a creator, here's how to respond now

You don't need to fight AI head-on. You need to win where AI is weak and where humans create real value: originality, taste, trust, and community.

• Make your work scarce and specific: Tighten your niche, style, themes, and medium. Clear positioning beats "generalist with tools."
• Turn process into product: Share drafts, behind-the-scenes, and creative decisions. People pay for access, context, and curation.
• Proof of human work: Use provenance tools, timestamps, and clear credits. Add "made-by-human" tags where it matters to your audience.
• Own your distribution: Build email, SMS, or private communities. Platforms rent attention; your list compounds it.
• Price for outcomes, not hours: Packages, retainers, and licensing beat one-offs. Add usage terms that reflect AI risks.
• Guard your IP: Use watermarked previews, track leaks, and register critical works. Negotiate training and data rights in contracts.
• Stack skills that AI can't fake: Live performance, community leadership, taste-driven curation, and brand strategy.
• Offer human-only experiences: Limited editions, live sessions, Q&As, commissions, and memberships with real interaction.

Music creators: specific moves

• Offer stems, VIP sessions, and personalized drops to superfans.
• License hooks, vocals, and textures with clear do/don't terms for AI use.
• Build a catalog with consistent sonic identity so your name carries demand.
• Explore authentic "human + AI" workflows to cut costs without losing your voice.

Train with practical resources: AI for Creatives

Audiovisual creators: specific moves

• Lean into taste, directing choices, casting, and story arcs-where human judgment wins.
• Sell formats and series bibles, not just deliverables. Protect format IP.
• Offer premium "director's cut" editions, commentary tracks, and live screenings.
• Use AI for pre-viz and iteration speed, then sell the human finish.

Build skills where it counts: Generative Video

What to ask from platforms and policymakers

• Transparent labeling: Clear badges for AI-generated or AI-assisted content.
• Data and consent: Opt-in/opt-out controls for training on your works, with audit trails.
• Fair splits: Revenue models that don't drown human creators in synthetic volume.
• Modern contracts: Standard clauses for training rights, attribution, and derivative works.
• Public funding with teeth: Direct grants, micro-funds, and social protections for cultural workers.
• Artistic freedom protections: Defend voices at risk and keep markets open to diverse expressions.

The bottom line

AI will pump out infinite content. That's noise. Your edge is finite: taste, story, trust, and the relationships you build around your work.

Double down on what only you can do. Use tools to cut costs and increase output, but sell the human behind the work. The creators who treat this as a business-brand, audience, distribution, rights-won't just survive; they'll set the standard others follow.