Is the creative industry dying?

A look back at the first half of 2025

Well, that title is a bit of bait, isn’t it? A more accurate one might be: is the creative industry as we know it dying? The main topic I’ve discussed most with creative colleagues this year has been the concerning state of our field, and how to navigate it as a freelancer. There’s a sense of collective anxiety in the air, and I thought this halfway-point of the year was a good opportunity to reflect and share my thoughts.

Hey everyone!

I hope you’re doing well and managing to stay cool if, like here in Germany, you're being hit by heatwaves. I can’t quite believe we’re already past the 50% mark of 2025. Work-wise, this year has felt quite different for me compared to the last couple. While I’ve been on a short trip to Belgium last week, I had the idea to write down this bit to say hello to months 7-12/2025.

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We’ve all become very good at pretending on social media. Even with honest trends like I’m not afraid to admit... making the rounds, most creators still work hard to maintain the illusion of being super busy and successful. No blame here, I’m the very same! But behind the curtain, there’s been a noticeable shift, especially since late 2024:

• Freelance jobs seem to have become rare, even for experienced professionals.

• Many creatives are reporting their slowest year in a long time.

• Some studios, particularly in concept art, have closed down.

• It’s not just the usual freelance rollercoaster. It feels like a system-wide crash.

I’ve heard these stories again and again. There aren’t clear numbers available yet, but this doesn’t feel like coincidence anymore.

Why is this happening?

It’s no secret that lots of creative freelancers are struggling, both to find work and to charge a fair rate. It’s kind of symptomatic for our industry, the starving artist, and so on.. In my opinion, this is not entirely the fault of clients, but also the fault of the creative community (I may write another bit on that matter in another letter).

Waiting for that client to call.. “Garden Window”, 2022

What we can point to right now are a few major factors that seem to be colliding all at once:

1. Economic pressure: we’re experiencing one of the most unstable periods in recent times. Political unrest, global conflicts, and inflation have caused many businesses to cut back on marketing and creative budgets, or do more in-house to save money.

2. Agencies struggling: creative agencies, often the biggest clients for freelancers, are under pressure. Several large agencies have shut down, downsized, or merged. Freelance budgets are often the first thing to go when cost-cutting happens.

3. The elephant in the room - AI: it’s obviously disrupting the creative industry, even though I don’t think gen AI currently is the main issue. It’s eating up low-level jobs (the ones that used to go to Fiverr), but what probably hits harder is the fact that companies shift their focus to AI topics at the moment. With funds that once have been invested into creative work being shifted along. We just saw this last week with Microsoft closing (successful!) game studios while investing into AI server farms.

Alone, none of these would be enough to cause such a drop. But all three at once is kind of a perfect storm.

So..what can we do?

Honestly, this all feels devastating and scary. Many of us are used to a certain level of uncertainty. It’s part of the freelance life. But the current situation feels heavier and more structural, and now just like a temporary dip.

And I won’t give you a pep talk here, and this also isn’t one of those 5 hacks to stay productive kind of newsletters. (Though let me know if you’d like to read that some time 😄) But us creative workers are good at adapting and finding solutions - or at least that’s what I believe we should have in our core abilities: being flexible and curious.

So here are a few real, honest and helpful thoughts that I took from recent conversations with other creative freelancers:

1. Be your own client: if no one is there to give you tasks, come up with your own! Starting my own projects is something I’ve been doing for a long time. Sometimes they actually turn into money, but even if they don’t, they sharpen your skills and grow your portfolio.

2. Build connections: the internet isn’t what it used to be. This might be the perfect time to look more locally, or lean into in-person events again. Several people I spoke with told me that they recently started exhibitions, local art shows, or went to more cons. If that’s not your thing, you can still start small online communities that don’t have to rely on social media platforms and algorithms.

3. Earn elsewhere: this might be controversial, but having a plan for fallback income can provide relief. That doesn’t have to mean changing fields entirely. Sometimes I take on graphic design gigs I’d normally turn down in favor of illustration. It’s not ideal, but this could cover the dry spells and may even help keeping your joy for creating.

“Mirrored Dreams” was a fully self-initiated project. I didn’t make any money, but at least 11 other artists got a paycheck from it 😉 You can order a copy at gooeygoo.se

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There’s much more that can be done, and I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts. How are you experiencing the current situation in the creative industry?

Let me know in the comments or via reply! I’ll certainly follow up on this topic in a couple months, and I will also keep talking to fellow freelancers about this in the next Podcast episodes I’m planning to record.

Cheers
Stefan