A visionary Nigerian tech founder recently laid out an argument that should make every content creator uncomfortable, most creators stay broke not because they lack talent, but because they’re paid by algorithms instead of audiences.
In a recent video, Xilolo founder GU Abraham broke down the math nobody wants to do out loud. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube decide how far your content travels. You can spend three days editing a video only to watch the algorithm quietly bury it. And because your income is tied to views, ad revenue, and brand deals, the platform — not you — is effectively running your business.
Musicians, he argued, cracked this code long ago. When a major artist like Davido puts a tour on sale, the numbers are refreshingly honest: fans pay for tickets, upfront, no algorithm involved. Add merchandise, streaming royalties, sponsorships, and fan memberships, and you get an artist who can forecast income like an actual business because it is one. The typical content creator has no such comfort. Followers watch. They rarely pay just to keep watching.
His conclusion, delivered with the bluntness of someone who has clearly had this conversation before: a follower is not a customer, even if they’re the same person double-tapping your latest post. Millions of views can still add up to zero naira in the bank.
To be fair, this isn’t an argument against social media itself, plenty of creators have built genuine wealth riding the algorithm’s wave. The point is narrower and, frankly, harder to argue with: don’t let the algorithm be your only paymaster. Abraham’s prescription is to go live, charge for access, sell event tickets, build paid communities, and accept gifts and tips directly from the people who already show up for you.
That thesis is essentially the business case for Xilolo, a platform built on the idea that creators should own their audience relationship instead of renting it from a feed that can change the rules overnight.
It’s a fair point, even for the skeptics, views are a compliment. Customers are a business. And in Lagos traffic-length attention spans, only one of those pays your data subscription.
