Also called influencer marketplace
A creator marketplace is a platform where brands and creators find each other for paid collaborations, with discovery, briefs and payment handled in one place.
Marketplaces exist because both sides have a search problem. Brands cannot easily find creators whose audience matches a product; creators cannot easily reach the brands that would want them. The platform sells that matching, usually taking a percentage or a subscription.
They are efficient for a first deal and mediocre for a career. Rates are compressed by visible competition, briefs are standardised, and the relationship belongs to the platform rather than to you — the same dependency problem as any rented channel.
Treated as a source of first collaborations to convert into direct relationships, they earn their fee. Treated as the pipeline, they cap what the work can be worth.
In practice
A first paid collaboration found through a marketplace, then continued directly on the next campaign, keeps the introduction and drops the commission.
Common mistake
Building an income entirely inside a marketplace. Your rates, your visibility and your client access all sit behind someone else's ranking.
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