After nearly 200 videos, millions of views, and a loyal following in the hundreds of thousands, cookbook author and food content creator Carla Lalli Music is leaving YouTube behind. Her new home? Substack, a subscription platform that’s rapidly growing into a haven for creators seeking sustainable revenue streams. Music’s decision, announced
in a recent CNBC interview, follows a year on Substack where she earned nearly $200,000—outpacing her YouTube earnings since 2021. As Substack expands into video monetization and courts creators amid TikTok’s uncertain U.S. future, Music’s move underscores a broader shift in the creator economy. Here’s why this matters and what’s driving the change.
Substack’s Rise: A Creator-First Platform
Launched in 2017 in San Francisco, Substack initially carved a niche as a newsletter platform, enabling writers to charge subscribers for exclusive content. With $100 million raised and a valuation exceeding $650 million, the company has grown beyond its roots. On February 20, 2025, Substack unveiled a major update: creators can now post and monetize videos directly within the app, complete with paywall options and detailed analytics on revenue and viewership. “There’s a huge world of video-first creators we’re only starting to reach,” Co-founder Hamish McKenzie told CNBC.
This pivot comes as social media giants like YouTube and TikTok rely on unpredictable algorithms, leaving creators at the mercy of platform whims. Substack’s direct-to-fan model offers a stable alternative, an appeal heightened by TikTok’s January 2025 disruption—when a U.S. ban briefly took it offline and off app stores for nearly a month. In response, Substack launched a $20 million fund to attract creators, positioning itself as a safeguard against such volatility.
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Carla Lalli Music’s Journey: From Losses to Gains
For Music, a celebrated food creator and author, YouTube’s financial model proved unsustainable. Producing a single video at home cost her $3,500, and with four videos monthly, she netted just $4,000 in revenue—resulting in a $10,000 monthly loss. “It’s depressing to operate at a deficit,” she told CNBC. Even brand deals, a common lifeline for YouTubers, barely offset her expenses. In contrast, Substack’s subscription approach yielded nearly $200,000 in her first year, offering a profitable path forward.
Music now plans to focus on Substack, writing another cookbook, sharing paywalled recipes, and occasionally posting videos. “I benefit more from a smaller, focused audience than chasing billions of viewers,” she said, highlighting the platform’s appeal for creators, prioritizing sustainability over scale.
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The Creator Economy Shift
Music embodies the type of creator Substack aims to attract: established, multimedia-savvy, and disillusioned with traditional platforms. The company reports over 4 million paid subscriptions and 50,000 revenue-generating creators, with 82% of its top 250 earners already using audio or video. This aligns with broader trends in the $290 billion creator economy, where over half the value stems from direct-to-fan channels like paid memberships and livestreams, per a Patreon survey.
Substack’s video push taps into this shift. Previously limited to its Notes feed, video content can now sit behind paywalls, empowering creators to monetize directly. “Video-first, mobile-oriented creators have untapped potential with this model,” McKenzie said, eyeing competition with YouTube, TikTok, and others rattled by regulatory uncertainty.
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TikTok’s Shadow and Substack’s Opportunity
The timing of Substack’s expansion is no coincidence. TikTok’s January outage—triggered by a Biden-era law forcing its sale or ban—exposed the fragility of platform-dependent livelihoods. Though President Donald Trump extended TikTok’s U.S. operations via an executive order on his first day back in office, that reprieve expires April 5, 2025, leaving its fate uncertain. “If TikTok vanishes for political reasons, your work’s value tanks through no fault of your own,” McKenzie warned. Substack’s pitch: control your audience, not the platform.
This resonates with creators like Music, who see Substack as a bulwark against such risks. With tools to track subscribers and revenue impact, the platform offers transparency and autonomy that algorithmic giants often lack.
Conclusion: A New Frontier for Creators
Carla Lalli Music’s exit from YouTube for Substack signals a tipping point. As Substack doubles down on video and direct monetization, it’s carving a niche for creators seeking stability over viral gambles. With TikTok’s U.S. status in limbo and YouTube’s margins thinning, the creator economy may tilt toward platforms that prioritize ownership and profitability. Will more follow Music’s lead? Share your predictions below.
