In today’s digital world, the rise to dizzying heights is as swift as the fall to new depths. Such is the case of YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, who had made quite the name for himself with his podcast. However, it has been a rather difficult time for Ranveer after his comments in Samay Raina’s show, India’s Got Latent (IGL), led to a lot of outrage and multiple cases. Although, the Supreme Court recently allowed him to resume his podcast, things aren’t the same, according to a Moneycontrol report.
The report stated that the primary concern for many influencers in the post-IGL era is their livelihood taking a hit. Sumon K Chakrabarti, founder and CEO of ad agency Buffalo Soldiers, told the publication, “The drop is significant, with rates falling by over 50 percent in some cases, and in some instances, influencers are not even being considered.” Giving insights into the numbers aspect of the drop, lifestyle and travel influencer Shivaditya Barjatya said that there has been a 5-10 % drop in the rates after the Ranveer controversy.
Also Read | India’s Got Latent row: ‘Simply not acceptable’, says NCW after Ranveer Allahbadia, Apoorva Mukhija issue apology
A marketer, who works with many influencers. revealed that it has become a classic case of once bitten twice shy. “Some are going back to posts they posted 10-12 years ago and deleting them. With families facing backlash, influencers have become very sensitive about their content,” said the marketer, who also spoke about how Flying Beast aka YouTuber Gaurav Taneja had his market rates halved after the birthday celebration fiasco at Noida Sector 51 Metro station. “Brands are looking for someone influential but not polarising.”
In fact, mirroring this sentiment, travel and beauty influencer Ankita Rai opened up about how a bunch of influencers lost their deals because it is not just about the sponsored content but also the personalised content that is coming under scrutiny. “We are now careful about how it will be received. We don’t really know what will trigger a negative reaction. We are not as open as we used to be as creators have become more vulnerable,” she said.
ALSO READ: Jyotika says Suriya’s Kanguva getting harsher reviews than other ‘pathetic’ movies irked her: ‘Maybe some parts weren’t good, but…’
Sumon believes that the future of content creation is undoubtedly in self-introspection, and this has already begun with the likes of comic Harsh Gujral, who had to take the decision to remove two episodes from his new show, Escape Room, to ensure there is no backlash of any sort.