One of my favorite TikTokers, Bran Flakezz, quit his full-time job so he could have more time to do tequila shots on camera. I can’t stop laughing at the hangover solution he posted over the weekend, and I don’t even drink. This can’t be sustainable, right?

For The Vergecast’s three-part Creator Economies series, we explore emerging elements of the business of being a creator. We dig deep on creator funds and how giant pools of platform money change the way those platforms operate. We also look into livestreaming and why everything from shopping to sleeping is suddenly big livestream business.

This week, producer Hadley Robinson reports on the often uncertain world digital creators find themselves in trying to make a living on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Should these platforms pay creators directly? Are creator funds even a good idea? Creators and experts tell us what they have found behind the curtain and what it’s like to chase the dream of making a living as a digital creator.

You can listen to the full show here or in your preferred podcast player.