The price of creativity
Episode of TED Radio Hour · August 14, 2026 · 50 min
Manoush Zomorodi talks with Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler about the history of creativity, the creator economy, and his proposed artist corporation (A Corp).
Summary
In part one of a two-part TED Radio Hour series on the creator economy, host Manoush Zomorodi spoke with Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler. Strickler traced the modern idea of creativity to post-World War II U.S. research, partly funded by the Department of Defense, that sought to counter conformity during the Cold War, drawing on Samuel L. Franklin's book The Cult of Creativity. He described himself as a "second-generation creative American" and argued today's explosion of creative output is the payoff of those investments.
Strickler recounted founding Kickstarter with Perry Chen, its 2009 launch, and roughly $9 billion moving through the platform. The episode profiled dancer Shivani Shah, who alternates between content creation and corporate work for health insurance, and cited Goldman Sachs data that only 4% of creators earned more than $100,000 in 2023. Strickler argued that creators are overburdened, prone to burnout, and exploited by systems such as standard record deals and 360 deals.
His proposed solution is the artist corporation, or A Corp: a state-level legal entity at least 51% owned by artists, able to hold IP, accept both for-profit and nonprofit funding, share revenue among members, and issue shares or form joint ventures with labels. Zomorodi reported that Colorado passed A Corp legislation in June 2026, with California, New York, and Illinois considering bills.
The final segment revisited Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" and turned to AI. Strickler predicted a "creative century," argued that personality and audience relationships will distinguish work in an AI age, called AI art "art for non-artists," and admitted feeling gatekeeper-y about AI books. He closed by describing his father, a country musician turned waterbed salesman, and his lifelong dedication to supporting creative people.
Chapters
- 0:48
The invented history of creativity
Strickler explains how post-WWII U.S. defense and social science research created the modern concept of creativity.
- 7:30
Founding Kickstarter
Strickler recounts meeting Perry Chen, launching Kickstarter in 2009, and its growth into a crowdfunding giant.
- 11:10
Searching for a structure for creative peers
After leaving Kickstarter, Strickler looked to the indie record label model for a way creators could share money and audiences.
- 14:47
The economics of being a creator
Dancer Shivani Shah's story and statistics illustrate how few creators earn a stable living and how burnout is common.
- 21:27
The artist corporation (A Corp)
Strickler describes his proposed legal entity for creative businesses and how it would change deals with labels and investors.
- 28:17
Artists respond and Colorado passes A Corp law
Artists describe their struggles and hopes for the A Corp, and Zomorodi reports Colorado's 2026 legislation.
- 34:33
Ken Robinson and creativity in education
The episode revisits Sir Ken Robinson's famous TED Talk arguing schools stifle creativity.
- 37:18
AI and the creative century
Strickler and Zomorodi debate AI's effect on creativity, commodification, and whether everyone can be a paid artist.
- 46:51
Strickler's personal mission
Strickler reflects on his musician father and his lifelong work supporting creative people.
- 49:33
Next week preview and listener mail
Zomorodi previews Adam Aleksic's episode on social media language and shares a listener message.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler said the modern concept of creativity emerged partly from post-WWII Department of Defense research aimed at countering conformity amid Cold War rivalry.
“Post-World War II, people were worried about American society becoming too homogenous. And the U.S. was worried about facing off against the Soviet Union”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler argued that today's creative boom is not a momentary trend but the payoff of investments made about 70 years ago.
“What I see is not some momentary blip, but I see the payoffs of investments that were made 70 years ago”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler said there are more creators and more demand for content than ever but fewer support systems.
“right now we find ourselves more people than ever creating, more demand for content than ever, yet less support systems than ever”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler estimated that about $9 billion has changed hands through Kickstarter.
“At this point, I think it's $9 billion or something like that that's changed hands through the platform”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler argued that creators burn out because they must act as artist, marketer, community manager, and order fulfiller while running small businesses around hobbies.
“You're the artist. You're the marketer. You're the community manager. You're the order fulfiller. You're all of these things because we're ultimately running these small businesses around our hobbies”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler explained that an A Corp must produce creative output and be at least 51% owned and controlled by artists.
“The project must be at least 51% owned and controlled by artists and creators, not outside investors”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler said that A Corps could issue shares to labels or commercial entities instead of selling their intellectual property rights.
“rather than just selling the rights to their intellectual property, which has been customary until now, as an artist corporation, they can issue shares”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler argued that labels and studios treat artists as service providers who create assets for larger entities to capitalize on.
“artists are essentially service providers who create assets that these larger entities acquire and capitalize on”
Listen from 24:43 · Record deals and music industry economics
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler proposed that records made by A Corp bands would be joint ventures co-owned by the band and label.
“I think their record would be like a joint venture co-owned by the band and the label at which they are both putting in some money or labor”
Listen from 27:00 · Record deals and music industry economics
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler criticized 360 deals offered to successful TikTokers as overly restrictive because they claim rights to everything a creator makes.
“These are basically deals that sign all rights of anything you might make. And so they are overly restrictive”
- Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson argued that creativity is as important in education as literacy and should be treated with equal status.
“My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy. And we should treat it with the same status”
- Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson argued that being unwilling to be wrong prevents originality, and that most adults lose this willingness.
“if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original”
Linked moment · 38:39Skip to 38:39 using a listen link in the info box.
Yancey StricklerStrickler predicted that in an AI-driven world, personality and relationships with audiences will distinguish standout creative work.
“I think it's personality and its relationship with audience that's going to distinguish what stands out from what doesn't”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler argued that AI marks the end of a classical era of culture production made largely by human hands.
“I feel like there is a classical era of culture production that has closed. And I think probably that dividing line is AI”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler described many AI creative demonstrations as art for non-artists that removes the enjoyable part of making things.
“A lot of the AI creative demonstrations I see is like art for non-artists to me. It's like, why would I do that? Like, that's the fun part”
- Yancey Strickler
Strickler said the bigger problem than commodification is that creators are not capturing the value of their work and are being exploited.
“I believe that people aren't capturing the value of what they do. And actually our work is being exploited in a way that doesn't actually reflect the value we create”
People
In the conversation
- Manoush ZomorodiHost of NPR's TED Radio Hour
- Yancey StricklerCo-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, writer and musician
- Ken Robinson
Discussed
- Perry ChenCo-founder of Kickstarter
- Samuel L. FranklinAuthor of the 2023 book The Cult of Creativity
- Shivani ShahProfessional dancer and content creator profiled in the episode
- Adam AleksicLinguist and TikTok creator featured in part two of the series
Topics
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From the publisher
The words "content creator" may make you roll your eyes. But in part 1 of our series, Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler explains how the creator economy is changing work, art and what we value. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 10, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.