Don't change the channel

In the world of YouTube creators, magic pays the bills, gaming is a full time job, dance crews hit it big. See how doing what you love is finally paying off

- Karishma Kuenzang

A mindreader, a gamer and a dance crew walk into the YouTube Fanfest... There's no punchline. Just a look at a new generation of content creators. It's no longer unfamiliar territory. They're not afraid of cameras. They know a troll from a bully. They're hustling hard. They're also just human, sharing moments of self-doubt, apologising for missteps and struggling to explain their jobs to their parents. This is creator life in 2024.

Payal Dhare (@PayalGamingg)
Gaming content creator

Like everyone else, Dhare, 23, played PUBG Mobile (now BGMI) in Rungta College Bhilai in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. "I was not into sports. But gaming was interesting," she says. She set up a YouTube channel in 2019.

Dhare was merely putting a part of her life online. But viewers seemed to like her gameplay hacks and the easy-going vibe that made gaming seem like anyone could do it. They cheered her on, now forming a subscriber base of 4 million.

Fans watch and rewatch her videos for walkthroughs, interactive live streams, reactions to industry developments, and memes. She won first place at the Streamer Quest Battle in 2022, taking home 5 lakh, and money streams in from other wins, ad revenue, and collabs with gaming brands.

Dhare's parents were initially sceptical about what their BCom++ graduate daughter wanted to do for a living. Her father came around first. "He convinced my mother. And now that they can see that I earn by making gaming content, it's all good," says Dhare. She bought them a car last year.