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Front Burner

The $250-Billion Influencer Economy

There are 13 million full time influencers in the U.S. It’s seven per cent of the American workforce. Author Emily Hund explains an industry that defines millions of economic and social lives.
CBC News ·
Three men hold up snack products and smile.
From left, YouTube influencers KSI, MrBeast and Logan Paul released Lunchables-style snacks called Lunchly in the United States in September. (Lunchly/Instagram)
Front Burner28:49The Billion Dollar Influencer Economy

There are a reported 13 million full time influencers in the U.S. today. According to Goldman Sachs, the influencer economy is worth around $250-billion, a number expected to double by 2027. 

Despite its quick rise, the influencer economy remains a nascent industry that, in many ways, has no meaningful oversight or standard and practices. 

We're joined by Emily Hund, author of 'The Influencer Industry: the quest for authenticity on social media' to better understand one of our quickest growing cultural and economic sectors, and the need to professionalize the industry, before it's too late. 

In this episode, we refer to a previous installment of Front Burner, which you can find below:

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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